WinWholesale opens Windustrial Company in Seattle area Ward Manufacturing selects Datalliance VMI Val-Fit migrates to Prophet 21 Wolverine Canada acquires Granby’s Kamco Division APR Supply opens two new Pa. branches Ferguson announces new showrooms Swan announces partnership with HADCO

WinWholesale opens Windustrial Company in Seattle area

Dayton, Ohio -- WinWholesale Inc., one of the nation’s largest wholesale distributors, has opened Seattle Windustrial in Kent, Wash., to provide mechanical contractors from Olympia to Bellingham with a complete line of pipes, valves, fittings and accessories.

The new company provides counter sales and delivery service, and carries products such as Anvil pipe hangers and supports, Milwaukee ball and butterfly valves, and Star pipe and fittings.

Mike Baker is president of Seattle Windustrial. He joined WinWholesale in 1996 and previously was president of Portland Windustrial in Oregon and Elko Windustrial in Nevada.

“With two other successful Windustrial company starts under his belt, Mike knows the business cold,” said Monte Salsman, WinWholesale chief operating officer. “He’s the right person to expand WinWholesale’s reach into the busy I-5 corridor in the Seattle area with a team that has more than 50 years of experience. They offer their customers quality products, in-depth knowledge of those products and exceptional customer service.”

There are more than 470 local Win companies in 44 states and nearly 100 Noland locations, mainly in the Southeast. Noland is a wholly-owned subsidiary.

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Ward Manufacturing selects Datalliance VMI

Cincinnati -- Datalliance, a leading independent provider of Vendor Managed Inventory and other e-commerce services, announced that Ward Manufacturing has selected the Datalliance vmi service. Ward Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of pipefittings, maintains offices in Canada and the U.S., and sells its products to a network of more than 600 wholesalers throughout North America.

Matt Weigle, manager-information technology at Ward Manufacturing, explained, “By selecting Datalliance, we will be able to eliminate the time consuming elements of the vmi process and rely on their expertise. Their software-as-a-service architecture and extensive vmi experience allows Datalliance to assume a majority of the effort required to effectively maintain our vmi environment and also provides greater agility in implementing new customers. Through this partnership with Datalliance we will realize a reduction in it resources needed to manage vmi, thereby lowering our costs and allowing us to focus on our core business and other value-added opportunities.”

Tibor Egervary, vice president-marketing and sales with Ward Manufacturing, added, “From a sales and marketing perspective, we are anticipating traditional vmi benefits, including increased sales, reduced order errors, improved turns for our customers and expanded product penetration. Just as importantly, I expect our sales staff to use Datalliance vmi as a strategic tool to build partnerships with customers who value not only our products but our support services as well. These are the customers who see vmi as a tool to help grow sales and improve their profitability. Datalliance’s reporting capabilities are flexible, accurate and user friendly, making it easier for our customers to take full advantage of vmi.”

For more information, visit www.datalliance.com.

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Val-Fit migrates to Prophet 21

Stone Mountain, Ga. -- Val-Fit, a leading national master distributor of butt-weld fittings, flanges and forged steel, has “gone live” on Activant Prophet 21 erp software. The new system was installed in both Los Angeles and Atlanta and will allow Val-Fit to continue growing, while improving efficiencies and controls.

“Val-Fit’s growth in the last five years has been amazing,” said Val-Fit president Gyl Grinberg. “Not only do we need a robust platform to deal with the size of company we have become but it will also accommodate our future planned expansion. I am extremely proud of how our employees dealt with such a difficult change, and I truly believe we will improve our customer service once we iron out all the kinks.”

For additional information, visit www.valfit.com.

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Wolverine Canada acquires Granby’s Kamco Division

London, Ont. -- Wolverine Tube (Canada) Inc. purchased all of the assets from the Kamco Division of Granby Industries Limited Partnership in a transaction that closed October 31.

“Kamco is a leader in coated copper tube products and represents an excellent expansion opportunity to Wolverine Canada into a niche, value-added segment, which is our strategy for future growth,” noted Jean Noelting, president of Wolverine Canada. “We plan to move the assets of Kamco into our own facility to reduce costs and gain advantage of logistics efficiencies by shipping their products with our own as the customer base is often the same.”

Pierre Fournier, Granby president, added, “Wolverine Canada represents an excellent buyer for this division and the sale will allow Granby to focus on its core products and customers.”

Following the closing, the companies planned on an approximately one-month transition period during which the equipment was moved and order entry transferred to Wolverine Canada’s headquarters in London, Ont.

Wolverine is a leading manufacturer of copper tube products for the industrial, wholesale and refrigerated markets. The company has been in operation for more than 50 years.

Granby is a leading North American manufacturer of high-quality tanks for residential and light commercial storage of heating and other petroleum-based products, and is also a leading manufacturer of coated copper tubing, the business being sold. Granby has been operating in the heating and oil storage tank industry for more than 50 years and its primary business is manufacturing replacement residential tanks. Granby has operations in Granby, Que., and Oakville, Ont.

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APR Supply opens two new Pa. branches

Lebanon, Pa. -- Scott Weaver, president of apr Supply Inc., has announced the opening of apr’s two newest branches, through the September 8 acquisition of the assets of h&s Supply Co. in New Oxford and Gettysburg, Pa. The new facilities are located at 627 York Street, Gettysburg and 310 Lincolnway East in New Oxford. Gerald Wine will assume the branch manager duties at apr’s newest locations.
“We are very excited to open these facilities,” Weaver said. “Apr is now 23 branches strong. There is a lot of opportunity with expanding our presence into south central Pennsylvania. Because of the efficiency of our 250,000-square-foot distribution center in Lebanon, Pa., we are able to conveniently supply our branches and contractor customers with next day deliveries. Our customers have easy access to the supplies and equipment they’ll need to work each day.”

 

Founded in 1922, apr Supply is a leading wholesale distributor of hvac, air conditioning, plumbing and heating products and supplies. Serving central and eastern Pennsylvania for more than 76 years, this award winning family-run business now brings its commitment to superior customer service and quality to the web at www.aprsupply.com.

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Ferguson announces new showrooms

Newport News, Va. -- Ferguson has opened three new showrooms:

• A 12,500-square-foot facility at 2451 17th Street in Sarasota, Fla.
• A 4,300-square-foot facility at 3186 Cass Road in Traverse City, Mich.
• An 18,000-square-foot showroom at 2860 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

“We are excited to enhance our current location by providing our customers with a state-of-the-art facility for their clients to select products for their home,” said John Zink, appliance manager for the Ferguson’s Fort Lauderdale showroom. “This new site features a large selection of top-of-the-line products under one roof, providing a level of convenience never before available to our customers in this market.”

Ferguson’s showrooms are designed with homeowners, plumbers, builders, remodelers and designers in mind and offer a vast selection of plumbing products and fixtures, including appliances, lighting and cabinetry, from today’s most recognized manufacturers. They feature fully functional displays and a very knowledgeable staff.

“There is no facility in the Sarasota market like this.” said Sarasota branch manager Maleah Jordan. “It is thrilling to be able to service the market with such an assortment of products under one roof. It will allow us to meet the needs of more customers than ever before.”

Traverse City branch manager Kip Costigan noted, “We have a wide assortment of unique bath and lighting fixtures and outstanding customer service that you can’t find at big box locations. This facility is more than double the space of our old location, with more room for the latest products.”

To schedule an appointment, contact the Sarasota showroom at 231/946-1490 or the Traverse City showroom at 941/951-0110.

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Swan announces partnership with HADCO

St. Louis -- The Swan Corp. announced on October 1 that hadco will now serve as its company sales agency and master Swanstone distributor for the state of Florida.

“Hadco’s plumbing division will serve as both a master distributor and a sales representative for Swan’s products in the Florida region,” said Arnie Cohen, vice president-plumbing division with hadco. “Swan has a reputation for delivering affordable, high-performance bath and kitchen products, and we’re looking forward to now offering them to our customers.”

Hadco’s plumbing division is headquartered in Miami, Fla.

“As a master distributor, hadco will provide customers with the benefit of placing fill-in or quick ship orders at their convenience, making Swanstone products more available than ever,” said John Scott, vice president-distribution sales at the Swan Corp.

For additional information, visit www.swanstone.com.

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