Able Distributing

Able Distributing Company was founded in the spring of 1960 as Able Plumbing and Heating Co. by Gerald and Lee Libman. It started with three plumbing and heating salesmen and one industrial supply salesman. Its beginning slogan was "We're Ready, Willing and Able" and sent its first letter of introduction out on March 23, 1960. Deliveries started after April 15th. The company has been successful from the beginning and continues to excel. Michael and Barry Libman purchased the company from Lee Libman in 1974. In 1966, Able started selling to the manufactured housing industry in Wisconsin. Larry Hammond, an Able industrial salesman at the time, had discovered a center of the manufactured housing industry around the Marshfield, Wisconsin, area. From 1966 to 1985, sales to the manufactured housing industry were a major part of our business. Able expanded and opened branches in Montevideo, Minnesota (1969), Grand Island, Nebraska (1970), and Jacksonville, Arkansas (1975) that primarily sold to the manufactured housing industry. Eventually, both Montevideo and Jacksonville diversified into plumbing contractor and retail sales. Then in 1986, the branches in Grand Island, Jacksonville, and Montevideo were sold when Able decided to no longer be involved in supplying mobile home manufacturers in order to concentrate on the plumbing contractor market. In March of 1985, Able opened an operation in Phoenix, Arizona, servicing primarily plumbing contractors. Able's success in the Phoenix metropolitan market led to the opening of a Gilbert, Arizona location in March 1992, and the substantial expansion of the Phoenix warehouse in 1995. A new state of the art facility in nearby Chandler replaced Gilbert in March of 1997. Able's continuing growth in the Phoenix market necessitated adding, in October 2004, the company's largest facility in Tolleson, Arizona. A Las Vegas location was begun in 1996 and is now a leader in that exciting city. On June 30, 1998, Royal Bath and Supply, a plumbing distributor in Tucson, Arizona, joined the Able family. By the end of that year Able moved into a new, larger building in Tucson. Then in 2000 we purchased the plumbing portion of Bud's Plumbing and Electric Supply in Payson, Arizona. The Appleton, Wisconsin warehouse was opened on December 1, 1993 serving eastern Wisconsin to facilitate Able's continual growth in Wisconsin. Later, we added a hydronic heating department headquartered in the Milwaukee area. In January 2003, to increase our presence in Wisconsin we opened a full line plumbing supply operation in Waukesha, Wisconsin by purchasing an outstanding facility to service Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin. Showrooms have become an important tool for plumbing wholesalers in marketing to custom home construction and remodeling. In 2000 Able opened a free standing plumbing showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2004 this showroom was joined by a Kohler Premier Showroom in Wausau and one in Las Vegas. Most of the business with our plumbing customers is today conducted through various partnering arrangements: Partners for Profit, Kit Programs, Prefab, or Vendor Managed Inventories. This kind of customer success orientated thinking, dictated by the first part of the Able Mission Statement, is a major reason that Able stands unique among plumbing distributors. During 1967, Able Distributing introduced a new marketing concept by specializing in sales of mechanical packing and seal products and later pumps for industry. By 1982, this department headed by Lyle Jones, its first permanent salesman, had sealing specialists servicing the northern two-thirds of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1982, it was formed into a subsidiary, "Able Technology Corporation". In 1989, Able Technology expanded again adding the rest of Wisconsin to its territory. Able Field Services was started in 1990 to independently provide in-plant contract maintenance services that originally were intended to complement products of Able Technology. The services AFS provides are ones that the customers do not have the manpower or the technical expertise to do for themselves. Beginning in 1994 AFS had its own facility added to the Wausau plumbing warehouse that included industrial pump, valve, and seal rebuilding capabilities. In 1995, by customer request, AFS began to conduct training schools in their specialties. These schools can be held in our house or in theirs. All of the services of Able Technology and Able Field Services can be combined into an effective partnering arrangement called "Equipment Reliability", another Able customer success directed program. The continued growth of AFS necessitated the construction in 2000 of a new "State of the Art", free standing, 15,000 square foot shop in Wausau as a repair facility, a home base for its field crews, and to support its mobile machine shops. Able Field also added safety valve testing and repair capabilities at that time. Able Field Services' customers include power plants, paper mills, mines, refineries and food processing plants, mainly in the Midwest. Today, Able Distributing is a division of Hajoca Corporation. In 2005 Hajoca Corporation and Able Distributing combined forces to help remain a leader in the industry. Able still remains in Wausau, Appleton, Waukesha, Phoenix, Chandler, Tucson, and Payson. Able maintains plumbing showrooms in Wausau, Appleton, and Scottsdale. Able Technology is in Wausau along with Able Field Services. Able still carries the tradition of emphasizing QUALITY IN PEOPLE, SERVICES AND PRODUCTS. Able Distributing has always been strong and with the backing of a large company such as Hajoca, it continues to maintain its leadership in the markets it's in. Able Technology is one of the most successful packing and seal distributors in the U.S. All of the parts of Able continue to demonstrate with pride that "WE'RE ABLE and WE DARE to be BEST". The Able Mission Statement provides the special guidelines that have sparked our four decades of success. It is a living creed that truly guides our actions. Today the future of Able continues to look very bright. WE ARE ABLE TO SUCCEED BY ALWAYS FOCUSING ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS' SUCCESS. WE ARE ABLE TO EMPLOY THE FINEST MEN AND WOMEN IN THEIR FIELDS, THEN DEVELOP THEM TO THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL.