In business, we have all heard of the phrase “block and tackle.” Its meaning: Stick to the basics and deliver results. Sounds great in theory, but not always easy to carry out in practice. Staying disciplined and delivering against expectations consistently is challenging, especially in this industry. 

But for privately held Everflow Supplies, that phrase remains the backbone of the wholesale distributor’s continued success. In recent years, the company has continued to undergo significant growth while remaining committed to its vision of providing a wide range of quality products with unmatched service.

Founded in 1999 by David Templer, the initial focus was on valves, plumbing specialties and brass tubular products. The first customers were small and medium wholesalers in New York and New Jersey. Still, over the years, the reach has expanded tremendously due to multiple distribution centers and the extension of its sales network across the country. In fact, Everflow added 13 regional sales managers in the past two years alone. This has significantly driven the reach and expansion of the company. 

Everflow is all about efficiency, and its No. 1 priority is to keep up with its customers’ pace. With customer pickup available at all facilities, Everflow’s state-of-the-art distribution centers (Carteret, N.J.; Addison, Ill.; Arlington, Texas; and Covington, Ga.) are strategically located across North America to allow customers quicker access to the company’s inventory at reduced costs. 

Everflow most recently purchased a newly developed state-of-the-art distribution facility in Covington as its first Georgia location to better serve its customers. “We are excited about this expansion due to its proximity to the greater Atlanta area, and the entire Southeast,” says Boyd White, senior vice president of Everflow Supplies. 

White says the company can provide product transit for 85 percent of the United States in one to two days. “We have some of the industry’s quickest shipping, enabling our customers to keep leaner stock on hand,” he adds. “We pick and pack orders 20 hours a day, making sure they get their orders immediately. With a 99-percent fill rate and multiple warehouse shifts enabling fast delivery, we can honor personal service, flexibility and reliability.”

Everflow Supplies relies on its pillars of quality products, top-notch customer service, quick, reliable shipping and getting all three at each one of its distribution centers. 

“We have 95 categories and 18,000 different items,” White says. “We carry everything from ball valves to toilet seats. It is a pretty broad range of products, for sure, and our customers can get it all on one order, in any of the regions we operate. Suppliers and end-users around the country recognize the quality of our multiple brands of specialized product lines.” 

Touch of Detail

Whatever one does, it should be done thoroughly with attention to detail. And details are essential in maintaining good customer relations, Boyd says. 

“Customers like working with us because we are that ‘touch of detail’ for them,” he says. “Everflow’s customers have a unique setting within their own marketplace. You have to get in there and meet them where they’re at. And that is where we drill down, where we listen to what they’re wanting and what their needs are, to make sure that we can be the right business partner for them. We become their business advocate. Our growth model is centered on becoming our customers’ champion.”

Boyd says it’s the smaller answers and the bigger picture Everflow customers always seek.

“Our ability to assimilate and help them answer the smaller questions while capturing the bigger picture in their own market is that touch of detail our customers have come to expect.”

Boyd White, senior vice president, and Hugh Hornsby, vice president of sales, speak on Everflow’s growth, leadership, customer service and the company’s unique industry differentiators. 

Contributing Factors to Company Growth

White: “The hiring of our vice president of sales, Hugh Hornsby, has contributed significantly to the growth of Everflow Supplies. His history of growing businesses and navigating that growth across the United States with laser focus is precisely what we needed. Not to mention his dedication to the people that work for him and the organization. 

“He understands and works tirelessly with each of his regional managers to assist them in the level of success they desire. By hiring and training and investing in each of our regional managers, he created a network of reliability and working partnership between them. That does not come easy, and his dedication to people can be seen in everything he does.”

Hornsby: “The largest contributor to our growth is our people and the team culture we developed in a time of consolidation and private equity buyouts. All our people can pick up the phone and call founder David Templer, Boyd White or myself at any time. By recruiting and bringing a unique group of people into our system to be a part of growing something special has been a huge factor in our continued expansion. 

“I am dedicated to making sure that the most important thing I do is help our teammates find out where it is they want to go and help them get there. All I ask is that they do the same for others.”

Company Leadership

White: “Organizationally, we have some very ambitious goals in mind. We knew exactly what kind of person we needed to make our plan work over the course of the next multi-year growth strategy. We put feelers in the marketplace and found a perfect match for what we wanted to do. Hugh’s many years in the industry gave us the insight we needed to move our strategy forward.”

Hornsby: “Coming over to Everflow Supplies, I had heard too many times that our industry does not attract new people. As a part of the leadership team, I was determined to change that by hiring people from all different areas, people who carried an energy level of excitement, honesty, and integrity — people who want to learn and build something.”

Customer Service

White: “Our customer base ranges far and wide from single-unit mom-and-pop facilities to multiple-branch national chains. What we provide is the block and tackling of customer relations. So, this is more of a partnership, as we want to understand how we can help each of them be successful. 

“Many of our customers have a certain calling in the communities they serve and the assortment of products they provide, so we want to understand that and work with them so they can grow at the rate they want to. With the three pillars we stand by — quality, customer service and shipping — we can get them what they need when they need it at a price that makes sense.”

Company’s Unique Industry Differentiators

Hornsby: “Our people make this company unique, and that starts with our management team — David Templer, who started the company from the back of his van more than 20 years ago; Boyd White, who came out of the hardware segment; and myself, who has spent his life in the wholesale plumbing industry. 

“When I met with David and Boyd, and they shared their vision with me, it became clear to me that we could take all three skill sets and merge them to create something great. Using good old-fashioned discipline and respect, we have built a true company culture of trust in a rather nontraditional way. 

“What differentiates us from our competitors is what our team focuses on. We are focused on where we are going, and don’t spend time on where everyone else is heading. It is truly about our team’s quality and the 13 regional managers we have put in place! They truly care!”