The Wholesaler Blog

After nearly 100 years in the business, W.A. Birdsall & Co. is launching a new division, Birdsall Bath Design (BBD). The company has signed a 10-year lease for a 6,500-square-foot luxury bath showroom, located on Route 22 in North Plainfield, N.J., adjacent to Siperstein Paint. It is expected to open early this year.

“The company was on the forefront of technology 100 years ago when it was founded as a central heating and indoor plumbing provider, a novel concept at the turn of the last century,” said Michael Murphy, vice president of W.A. Birdsall. “We now follow in these footsteps by launching a new division in a new LEED®-certified showroom offering contemporary and green products, taking the company to the next level.”

Patricia Whelan, director of Birdsall Bath Design added, “This new division will allow us to utilize our knowledge and help educate the consumer on all high-end luxury bath products, technologies and trends, especially those that are green.”

William Adams Birdsall founded W.A. Birdsall & Co. on Mechanic Street in Newark, N.J., in 1911. He had been a sales manager for the Freed Heater Company, a manufacturer of heating boilers and radiators prior to opening W.A. Birdsall & Co. as a wholesale operation. After Birdsall’s death in 1924, his son E. Mulford Birdsall took over the company as president. In 1927, when the surrounding area was a dairy farm, “Mulf” Birdsall built the present headquarters in Linden, N.J., as a state-of-the-art facility complete with a railroad siding and a pipe shed housing an electric crane. He also opened a Rahway location for toilets & tubs. Two years later when the depression came about, W.A. Birdsall & Co. survived because of their knowledge and skill with the innovative products and technologies of the time.

Since then, their trusted brand has kept customers coming back for generations. Today, W.A. Birdsall is run by Tom Ditzel, whose father was an owner, and Michael Murphy, the visionary behind the company’s new direction. Since Murphy came onboard seven years ago, the company has tripled sales and they both feel that the new division will only bring them more success as it is a natural extension of the plumbing supply business.

W.A. Birdsall & Co. is a member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and is enrolled in the LEED® for Commercial Interiors (CI) Retail Pilot Program. They anticipate being certified at the Gold level allowing the showroom to be one of the first LEED®-certified retail spaces of its kind. Additionally, the space will be utilized as an educational center for professionals and consumers interested in learning about green products

For more information, visit www.wabirdsall.com or www.birdsallbath.com.