Construction activity will increase as the need to attract young people to the trades grows. Last month, Supply House Times interviewed Viega LLC CEO and President Dave Garlow at his office in Wichita, Kan., on issues facing the plumbing-and-heating industry.

The Equity Plumbing buying group celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this year and recently held its well-attended first annual national meeting.

Supply House Times interviewed Steve Richman, president of Milwaukee Tool Corp., this summer during the company’s 2013 New Product Symposium in Milwaukee.

Bettendorf, Iowa-based JMF Company is celebrating 65 years in business as a provider of an expansive line of rough plumbing products through plumbing and HVAC wholesale distribution channels. 

Ed Ismert, Jr., started plumbing product manufacturer Sioux Chief in 1957 as a way to smooth the boom-bust housing cycle his plumbing wholesale supply company experienced. Nearly six decades later, Sioux Chief, still run by the Ismert family, continues to thrive as an American manufacturer of a wide variety of plumbing installation products. 

The independent wholesaler is a team effort that continues to carry great value.