WinWholesale Inc. at a glance
Founded: 1956 as Primus Inc.
Industry: Construction and industrial supplies and materials distributor
Headquarters: 3110 Kettering Blvd., Moraine
Locations: 570 local companies in 45 U.S. states
Annual sales: $2.5 billion in fiscal 2014
The top executive who helped grow Moraine-based WinWholesale Inc. to a $2.5 billion business with hundreds of locations in 45 U.S. states will step down as CEO after 17 years, company officials announced today.
Rick Schwartz, who spearheaded the construction and industrial supply distributor’s exponential growth, will leave his executive role effective Sept. 1. He will remain chairman of the company’s board of directors.
WinWholesale President Jack Johnston has been named chief executive and will retain his title as the company’s president.
WinWholesale owns a majority stake in more than 570 wholesaler locations across the U.S. The privately held company remains committed to Moraine and the region, officials said in an interview Monday with this newspaper.
WinWholesale has 5,200 employees in the U.S., including 350 in the Dayton-Springfield region.
“We are proud to be a major company and employer in the Dayton area, sort of replacing some of the companies that have left this area. We consider that somewhat of a responsibility, as do our directors,” Schwartz said.
WinWholesale had annual sales of $2.5 billion for fiscal year 2014. The company’s goal is $3 billion in sales by 2017, Schwartz said.
WinWholesale has about 150 shareholders, many of whom are current or former employees.
Collectively, WinWholesale is known as the “Win Group of Companies” and includes Win-branded locations, Noland Co., Carr Supply, Security Plumbing & Heating Supply, and Wyatt Irrigation.
The group’s companies conduct business-t0-business wholesale distribution of plumbing, heating, ventilation and other industrial supplies and materials.
WinWholesale provides the locations with support services such as business consulting, accounting, payroll, information technology and marketing, which allows locations to focus on their local markets, products and serving customers.
In addition, WinWholesale offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to own a substantial portion of the local business through equity partnerships.
“Overall, the growth of the company that you see is what happens when you allow free enterprise capitalism to flourish unobstructed, and you allow a local entrepreneur to have a high degree of independence and ability to build their own companies, but provide them a very rich selection of support services as well as access to capital and training,” Schwartz said.
WinWholesale was founded in 1956 as Primus Inc. When Schwartz joined the company in 1972, it had 40 locations and annual sales of $35 million. He became chief executive in 1998.
Johnston joined WinWholesale in 1977 as an accountant with Dapsco Inc., now WinWholesale Group Services, which provides shared business services for WinWholesale local companies.
In 2005, a restructuring formed the current WinWholesale Inc. Following the restructuring, Johnston became chief financial officer. He was appointed president in July 2011.
Johnston credited Schwartz with championing relationships with vendors. “The ability of the local companies to access product has just dramatically improved over my tenure here,” he said.
As board chair, Schwartz will focus on strategy, recruiting and acquisitions. In addition, he will serve as 2016 president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.
About the Author