Articles by Natalie Forster

Mega Western Sales, a full-service manufacturer’s representative for plumbing, HVAC, and building materials, is celebrating 55 years in 2025. With 137 employees and locations in California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona, the company transitioned to an ESOP in 2020, making it unique in the industry.

If everyone sticks to the confines of their role, it limits creativity and denies organizations the benefit of our innate desire as humans to solve problems.

Most people creeping up on 65 are at least thinking of retirement, if the plan isn’t in motion already. Only a select few would set out to become an entrepreneur at age 65. Joe Abeling, founder of California-based Consumers Pipe and Supply, is one of those select few tenacious individuals.

Each year, the Premier 150 Distributors survey is conducted by BNP Media Market Research. BNP Media is the parent company of Supply House Times. The data from the survey is used to rank the top 150 PHCP-PVF industry distributors based on each company’s reported sales from the previous fiscal year. This list is based off fiscal year 2024.

My first ASA ELEVATE was in 2019 in San Diego. I had just joined the industry in mid-2017 and had only been to a handful of events. I’ll never forget the welcoming environment that surrounded me and the relationships I was able to begin at that very first event.

The Luxury Products Group (LPG) annual EXPO in Scottsdale, Arizona, attracted 400 attendees, focusing on creativity and growth. LPG celebrated its expansion and presented awards for Showroom of the Year, Vendor of the Year, and the Spirit Award. Executive Director Jeff MacDowell announced a 30% year-over-year growth, underscoring the plumbing industry's vitality.

In a recent discussion with Epicor, Supply House Times highlighted trends such as cybersecurity, onshoring, and automation in supply chain technology. By 2025, automation will be crucial for addressing the talent shortage and closing the knowledge gap as experienced workers retire. AI can help by organizing data, supporting new employees in maintaining productivity, and alleviating concerns about job displacement.

Cyber criminals often target distributors because they manage large B2B transactions, house valuable financial information, and sometimes use ERPs that are not up to date with modern security protection. Additionally, as infuriating as this is – cyber criminals know that distributors are essential to the supply chain, and are more likely to pay ransom in order to resume business operations quickly.

People in the surrounding area reported multiple explosions during the blaze. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Chemicals were present inside Rovanco’s facility, but fire officials said there were no air quality concerns associated with the flames.

World Vision is the largest nongovernmental provider of clean water in the developing world. Through World Vision’s work, every 60 seconds a family gets water, a hungry child is fed and a family gets the tools to overcome poverty.