Here’s a countdown of the top 10 articles you read the most in 2021 based on the number of unique pageviews on www.supplyht.com.

“As we enter into 2022,” — when you say that out loud it sounds a lot like “2020-2.” Don’t be alarmed, I believe things are moving in a positive direction. I have laid out trends that I see as important factors moving into the new year. I am not going to prognosticate about where the stock market is going, but rather about what I feel is going to be the most important factors impacting supply houses across the country.  

Each year, ASA members compete for the award by submitting an application and their prior year’s incident rate (300A form). Thank you to all those that participated in the ASA Safety Award competition, and to all those who help form ASA's safety culture and education through volunteerism, and support through such efforts as its Safety Recognition Program.

After cancelling our 2020 in-person conference due to the pandemic, members of the association were able to come back together for an in-person meeting. The event welcomed 401 wholesaler attendees from 153 member companies for a grand total of 1,525 attendees from 578 member companies present at the event. The booth program sold out with 241 vendors participating.

Digital presence can be somewhat of a buzzword in the PHCP-PVF industry as it continues to adapt and evolve in an accelerating digital age. Each company may have a different definition of what digital transformation means to them. For Fargo, North Dakota-based PHCP distributor Dakota Supply Group, it’s simply about delivering the best online solutions to its customers.

There’s a shift happening in showrooms, and experts say it’s not about competing with the internet, it’s about offering an experience that can’t be matched by online shopping.

It is pretty rare to see a private, family-owned company reach fourth-generation leadership, much less fifth. For more than a century — 120 years to be exact — the Dowd family has led Charlotte, North Carolina-based pipe and fitting manufacturer Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. Built by W. Frank Dowd in 1901, the original foundry in Charlotte employed 25 men and produced cast iron soil pipe and fittings.

After enduring a unique set of challenges through 2020 and 2021, industry experts are excited to move forward into another high-demand year. The excitement is coupled with caution, as supply chain constraints, material pricing and labor shortages are not expected to resolve themselves in the near future.

The topic of labor has been front and center for quite some time now inside and outside of this industry. But it wasn’t until the recent Thanksgiving holiday break that it really hit home as to just how bad the current situation is. While waiting for my daughter to finish a recent fitness class, I decided to run a quick errand to mail a package. While driving down this road in an industrial park setting, business after business had roadside signs looking for labor — virtually every business on this busy road.

Plumbing and Heating Wholesale (PHW) announced the acquisition of Sioux City, Iowa-based industrial supplier Wigman Co. Wigman will initially continue to operate in their current location under the same name, plans will be made in the future to identify a new home for Wigman Co. and the industrial team.