2012 August

SWA convention emphasizes best practices in a recovering market

SWA convention emphasizes best practices in a recovering market.

August 1, 2012

Severe weather made another appearance at a major wholesale industry event. Back in April, tornadoes whipped through the Dallas-Ft. Worth area while WIT’s 2012 Distributor/Vendor Conference was going on just two miles away.

Best Plumbing Tile & Stone has forged its own path to success

Bucking the trends with Best Plumbing Tile & Stone.

Hank Darlington

August 1, 2012

Since I sold my showroom business in 1995, I have had the unique pleasure of working with dozens of wonderful plumbing wholesalers; some of the very largest and a number of smaller ones, as well.

Trade show promotes a greener China

ISH China-CIHE in Beijing showcases energy-efficient products.

Bob Miodonski

August 1, 2012

What impresses many Western visitors to China is the massive scale of public events, product quantities and population. Other impressions include the hazy air quality and limits on potable water at the taps in public restrooms.

Flipping the script

Forte Buying Group gives its members new material, chances to learn at summer meeting.

John McNally

August 1, 2012

Jeff Valles and Tom Cohn have delivered strong content at Forte Buying Group meetings for a long time. Valles – Forte’s director of membership services – believed the group’s summer meeting was going to follow a typical schedule; seminars, workshops and receptions. But in the end Valles felt the July meeting in Rosemont, Ill., was the perfect time to shake things up.

Supply House Times Profile: Legend Valve is covering all bases

Legend Valve goes to great lengths to provide superior customer service.

Mike Miazga

August 1, 2012

Legend Valve continues to evolve since its founding almost 25 years ago. The Michigan-based manufacturer recently relocated to a new 151,000-sq.-ft. headquarters and warehouse facility in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, designed to further add to its commitment to superior customer service.

New kids on the block

Generation Y is easier to understand than you think.

Mike Miazga

August 1, 2012

Southern Wholesalers Association convention in Panama City Beach, Fla., in late June. As Hira pointed out, to qualify for the Generation Y designation you need to have a birth year between the late 1970s and 1995. My early 1970s birth year bumps me back to the Generation X category (1964-1977).

Novel thoughts

Pulitzer authors chronicle heating professionals’ importance.

August 1, 2012

While researching people who subscribe to magazines, an advertising company came across an elderly farmer who recently began subscribing to both National Geographic and Playboy.

Don't get burned

Scott Benfield

August 1, 2012

Wholesalers who dismiss outside research and new models of commerce may be playing with fire.

Food for thought

Al Levi

August 1, 2012

How suppliers can help contractors reduce their warehouses.

Beat the heat

Education is paramount when dealing with high-temperature working conditions.

Mary Prahler

August 1, 2012

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year.

Explosive hydrocarbon refrigerants

R-22 replacement has its pros and cons.

Jim Wheeler

August 1, 2012

Has it come to this? Well, not yet, but possibly soon! I recently read an article telling of how some companies are marketing a hydrocarbon refrigerant to replace R-22 in air conditioners, and they are marketing it to consumers, not HVACR supply houses.

Understanding the future

Getting to know Generation Y can benefit your business in the long run.

Joshua Brown

August 1, 2012

Welcome Generation Y! That’s right everyone, Generation Y has infiltrated your companies and it’s about time that you start understanding it a little bit more.

Economy Plumbing Supply celebrates 80th anniversary

John McNally

August 30, 2012

John Strong said Economy doesn’t host too many after-hours events, but when the company does, it’s a hit.

Bradford White promotes Kozak and McKenney

August 23, 2012

Both have been promoted to director of sales.

Mansfield Plumbing to create 150 new jobs

August 28, 2012

Mansfield Plumbing will invest $9 million and create 150 new jobs to its operations in Perryville, Ohio.

Moen launches moenpro.com for trade professionals

September 4, 2012

Offers new ways for the trade to work faster and smarter with Moen.

Gerber's Drive 80 celebrates milestone anniversary

August 22, 2012

One lucky event attendee will drive away in a new 2012 Chevy Avalanche Truck.

HARDI distributor sales up in July

September 7, 2012

Including three regions with mid-to-high teens percentage growth.

Partnerships…APR Supply Co. and Schaedler Yesco Distribution

August 1, 2012

APR Supply Co. and Schaedler Yesco Distribution will expand their joint venture business model.

Legend Valve strategizes with rep advisory council

September 11, 2012

Industry veterans and Legend executive team discussed the course of the industry for the next five years.

Awards… F.W. Webb

August 1, 2012

F.W. Webb was honored by worldwide battery leader Rayovac with the Rayovac Industrial Outstanding Distributor Award.

People on the move…Modern Supply

August 1, 2012

Taco hired Dave Holdorf as its newest member of the training team.

Fulton Companies wins jobs award

August 1, 2012

Fulton Companies recently was the winner of the Jobs Award from the Central New York Economic and Job Development Authority.

Growth continues, but at slower pace for ASA members

August 27, 2012

There was a 4.8% improvement in per day revenues compared to 2011.

Letter From The ASA President - Still a relationship-based industry

August 1, 2012

It is refreshing to see that our industry still values relationships.

Partnerships…Jomar Valve and NEO Valves

August 1, 2012

Jomar Valve and NEO Valves have partnered.

Interline Brands, partners donate more than $50,000 in products to Habitat for Humanity

September 5, 2012

Products donated include hundreds of faucets, plumbing fittings, bathroom fixtures, HVAC materials, etc.

Football legend Terry Bradshaw teams with Ferguson

September 12, 2012

Bradshaw will serve as the spokesperson for Ferguson's contractor business which consists of commercial and residential plumbers, HVAC contractors, waterworks contractors, builders and remodelers.

RIDGID awards four PHCC Scholarships

August 30, 2012

Scholarship recipients will receive up to $1,000 in tuition assistance and $1,500 in RIDGID tools.

People on the move…Wilo USA

August 1, 2012

Chris Perkins has been named director of operations at Wilo USA’s manufacturing facility in Thomasville, Ga.

Economist Alan Beaulieu to Provide Industry Forecast at NetworkASA 2012

August 1, 2012

New for NetworkASA 2012 is the 2013 Industry Forecast session where Alan Beaulieu will provide attendees with a blueprint of what they can expect from the PHCP and PVF industry over the next several years.

Oil and gas forecasting highlight summer PVF roundtable in Houston

Prognostication was the name of the game at the recent summer PVF Roundtable meeting.

Mike Miazga

August 27, 2012

In front of another huge crowd of about 300 PVF industry executives, featured guest speaker Bob Tippee, Oil & Gas Journal’s longtime editor, returned and shared in detail his publication’s 2012 midyear forecast. He also took time afterward to speak with Supply House Times on a number of pertinent industry topics..