Winsupply Inc., one of the nation’s largest distributors, has opened Tri State Winsupply in Dubuque, Iowa, serving plumbing, heating and air conditioning, water well and septic contractors in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.
Ronald Slaats is the president of Tri State Winsupply. Slaats has 29 years’ experience in the industry, almost entirely in outside sales.
“Ronald has an excellent reputation among his customers as a knowledgeable expert,” said Rob Ferguson, president of Winsupply Local Company Group.
“After being an outside salesman for over 25 years and seeing what customers expect of their distributors, I plan on treating them with the utmost respect, with integrity and honesty,” Slaats said. “I also plan on presenting a positive work environment and will encourage personal and business growth, community involvement, and keeping the important decisions local. This will not only help my business grow but also that of my employees and, most importantly, my customers.”
Slaats, along with two other employees, invested in minority ownership of the new company along with majority owner Winsupply Inc. With this co-ownership model, local company presidents have the autonomy and flexibility to decide how best to meet the needs of the customers in their markets. They also share uncapped financial rewards and risks of ownership.
Winsupply Inc. provides the local company locations purchasing power, distribution, and other support services such as business consulting, accounting, payroll, IT and marketing.
Quad Cities Location
Winsupply also has opened Quad Cities Winwater, serving waterworks and utilities contractors in the Quad Cities including eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois.
Christopher Burgmeier is the president of Quad Cities Winwater. A resident in the area over the past 14 years, Burgmeier has been in the waterworks and utilities industry since 2002. Most recently he was in sales at Lincoln Winwater, a Winsupply company in Nebraska. Before joining Winsupply, he was territory manager for A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. based in Dubuque, Iowa.
The Quad Cities Winwater location has been operating as part of Lincoln Winwater, whose president is Eric Leatherman, for the past year. The location is now a separate company with Winsupply Inc. as majority owner and Burgmeier as minority owner.
About Winsupply Inc.
Winsupply Inc. (www.winsupplyinc.com) is a leading supplier of residential and commercial construction and industrial supplies and equipment headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. The privately held company has more than 600 wholesaling locations in 45 states and offers entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to own a meaningful part of the local business. Collectively, Winsupply is known as “The Winsupply Family of Companies” and includes Win-branded locations, Noland Company, Carr Supply, Security Plumbing & Heating Supply, APCO, and other regional suppliers the company has acquired. In the family are companies conducting business-to-business wholesale distribution of supplies and equipment in plumbing and heating; hydronics; pipe, valves and fittings; HVAC and refrigeration; electrical; fastening hardware; waterworks and utility; pumps; turf irrigation and landscape; and fire system fabrication. Follow Winsupply on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.