Frank J. Martin

The Frank J. Martin Company was founded in 1957 by Frank Martin. The initial responsibility was the continued representation of the product lines which had been represented by Mr. Martin's prior employer, Osgood & Howell. Osgood & Howell had successfully represented leading manufacturers for over 50 years. The firm maintained offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The passing of Mr. Howell afforded Frank Martin the opportunity to acquire the company's Pacific Northwest business. The start-up strategy was simple: provide industry leading manufacturers with hard-working professional representation which produced sales and satisfied customers. The firm succeeded over the next 14 years. Changes during this period included establishing a professional office to insure timely customer service and the addition of product lines. In 1971 Jerry Martin joined the company and a year later became its second outside salesperson. Two years later Marty Martin became a full-time employee and subsequently the third sales person. This partnership became the platform from which our specialization and service growth developed. The Frank J. Martin Company's next evolutionary step was opening a warehouse in 1976. This tool allowed us to compensate for the extended delivery times which certain of our manufacturers were experiencing. The success of this service demonstrated clearly the power of making our manufacturers' products immediately available at factory pricing. Warehousing remains an important element of our sales strategy. The ensuing years produced continuous growth. Successful relationships generated referrals which became new representative opportunities. The personal responsibilities of the original partners became industry-specific concentrations of product lines. Sustaining our commitment to service prompted us to establish focused teams of effective inside and outside salespeople to augment the efforts of Frank, Jerry and Marty.