Rogers, Minnesota-based manufacturers' rep firm, FourMation Sales was built from scratch. Twenty years later, it is celebrating success through challenging times by charging ahead, focused on building up the company for decades to come.

Eastern Industrial Supplies announced the eighth annual Eastern Cares Charity Classic has been scheduled for October 11 at the Furman University Golf Course. All proceeds from the golf tournament will benefit Daily Bread Life Children’s Home and Bread of Life Secondary School in Tanzania, Africa.

The industrial PVF sector is facing a set of challenges that market experts describe as “the perfect storm.” Top concerns among pros in the industrial sector include commodity price increases, tariffs and trade disruption, freight inflation, fleet shortages and — of course — the ongoing lack of skilled labor.

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is all about improving how we breathe, see, hear and feel inside a space. And this trend is becoming more important in residential structures, with our workforce moving from commercial buildings into homes — either partially or permanently.

Yes, I want to give back to the industry. Yes, I want to have my voice heard on the “big” issues. But probably the biggest reason is that through ASA, I have the opportunity to interact with other distributors, and I get to learn what sets highly successful business owners apart from everyone else.

Since Memorial Day this year, Dirk Beveridge, distribution expert and founder of UnleashWD — a design, innovation and strategy firm that helps distributors become market leaders — has been touring the U.S. in his 38-foot RV visiting independent distributors across various industries.

In the early 1980s, I bought a multi-location, contractor-supply distributor. The employees were panicked about a new owner from outside the industry. But — thanks to Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) — we all won big.

APR Supply Co. announced that it is has been named to the Central Penn Business Journal’s 25th annual list of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Central Pennsylvania.

On July 7, the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed AB 100 (with author’s amendments) unanimously, a bill that regulates the manufacture and sale of endpoint fixtures that conform to the NSF 61 2020 standard. ASA, along with its coalition partners, has obtained a compromise on the bill.