The story of Traeger Brothers & Associates began with the family’s migration from Chicago to Miami in 1924. Hyman Traeger, a tailor by trade, established the first family business in Miami the same year. With four sons and a daughter, the Traeger family would branch out into a towing service and salvage yard, a nightclub, and a focus on trade. 

Over time, Hyman’s son Joe Traeger diversified the company’s ventures, exploring various industries before officially incorporating Traeger Brothers & Associates in 1950. The company motto was simple, yet effective: “If it’s made, lives or grows, you can buy it from Traeger Brothers.”

Initially, the company operated under the name of Cuban American Export, as an exporter and purchasing service, servicing the Caribbean with a focus in Cuba. However, political changes in the mid-20th century prompted the family to rebrand the business in the 1950s to Traeger Brothers & Associates. It began focusing on international sales, expanding into other parts of the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The company found its niche in the industrial supply market, catering to refineries, oil terminals, water utilities, breweries/distilleries, and more. “We were always international,” President and CEO Howard Traeger explains. “Back then, we never did any domestic business.”

Little did the Traeger family know that nearly a century later, their small business venture would evolve into a thriving industrial supply company with international reach. Traeger Brothers & Associates remains family-owned and -operated and is now in its third generation of family leadership. 

Headquartered in Miami, with branches in Central Florida and the Caribbean (Curacao), Traeger Brothers & Associates is an international and domestic industrial supply house with a specialty in valve actuation, custom engineered products, specialty corrosion control coatings, and many value added services including its specialty in international logistic services. 

With a team of 60 employees, the company  operates three warehouses filled with products from its long-standing partnerships with top PVF manufacturers and suppliers, which allows it to offer a wide range of products. Its strategic locations provide access to land, air and seaports along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts as well as throughout the Caribbean — allowing efficient shipments of products to its international customers. 

Its legacy of a family atmosphere, empowered team members and a drive to provide its customers with the best service stands out. “We’ve been a family business since day one,” says Howard Traeger. “It started with my grandfather, and it’s always included family members. We’ve done many different things over the years, but we’ve always focused on one thing — taking care of our customers.”

Changing Directions

Upon graduating high school, Howard Traeger struck out on his own and went to work as a mechanic, working on race cars as well as helping his father, Sam Traeger — an avid artist who was also running the family business — paint advertising signs, murals and other artwork for which he was so famous. Howard Traeger was a natural at anything mechanical, including welding, and never thought about entering into the family business until, one day, his mother brokered the deal. 

“We had other family members working in the supply business, and my mother said if I wanted to be a part of the company and one day lead, now was the time,” he recalls. 

Howard Traeger understood that if he was to run the company one day, he would need a plan: “I knew I had to have a career path. I can’t do everything, and I have to focus. So they gave me four accounts and made me a salesperson. I started working the customers I had, and started traveling the Caribbean, Central and South America.” 

The adventure was beginning.

When Howard Traeger started at the company in 1980, his Uncle Joe decided they needed to make a two-week work trip to South America. They would travel to Argentina and Chile and then back to Miami. “We got to the airport to start our trip. My Uncle Joe forgot that Argentina requires a visa, so he decided we would fly from Miami to Ecuador and make our way from there,” he recalls. Howard outlines an adventure for the books:  from bus rides through South America to flying to Lima, Peru, then onto Santiago, Chile and to the Straits of Magellan, meeting customers along the way.

When the duo was in Punta Arenas, Chile, they needed their visas validated, “My uncle could talk people into anything – so we went to the Ambassador’s home on a Sunday and had our visas validated,” he recalls. “He taught me how to navigate country to country and find customers,” smiles Howard Traeger. One can see how Traeger Brothers and Associates evolved into its current company – focusing on its customers and not allowing a roadblock to hinder progress.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Howard Traeger focused on the industrial segment of the business: “I liked the industrial segment the best because the products had the same specifications year after year. It was stable, and it made sense for us to focus on that market.” 

Howard Traeger took over the helm of the company in 1990. The company transitioned from being a general exporter to a specialized industrial supply distributor. His drive was to establish a domestic presence, a strategic move driven by the need to protect the company’s market share from competitors. This shift required a focus change and investments in inventory and infrastructure. “We started stocking products, allowing us to be more competitive and offer better prices to our customers,” he explains. “That was a big milestone for us.”

Howard Traeger credits this shift to Frank Buzzanca, the company’s sales manager. “Frank built up our domestic sales,” he says. “We started focusing on our core strengths and adding quality people to our team.”

Buzzanca details how the shift came about: “Historically, in the Caribbean, we had to be everything to everybody. They depended on us at the terminal, the refinery and the rum distillery, not only for pipe, valves and fittings, but for anything. I sold leaf blowers to a pharmaceutical company in the Bahamas. International clients trust us to get materials outside of PVF because they trust us to source products, offer them at a competitive price and have the items delivered to them overseas with no issues. You need to be a jack of all trades.” Buzzanca knew that domestically, the company could find traction with its can-do attitude. 

Florida power companies were cutting back on their labor pools. “They did not have all the people to do what was needed, and would reach out to Traeger Brothers because of our thought process — we’ll handle everything,” Buzzanca explains. “We can source things. We, of course, have our pipe, valves and fittings, and are not scared to jump into things that are slightly outside of the scope.” 

A Company Built on Relationships and Trust

What sets Traeger Brothers apart from other companies in the industrial supply market is its unwavering commitment to customer service and the strong relationships it has built over the years. “We believe service is the most important thing,” Howard Traeger explains. “Our customers trust us because we’ll go the extra mile to make sure they have what they need when they need it.” Trust is built on partnerships. “The most important thing is to keep your word,” he says. 

This commitment is one of the company’s core values. “We try to be everything to everybody,” Buzzanca describes how:  “If a customer calls us in the middle of the night with an emergency, we will be there. “Years of working across borders have really shaped how we do things differently here. We’re not the type to shy away from unusual requests for materials, products, or services just because they’re a bit out of the ordinary for us. Our team is used to navigating the diverse needs of international clients who don’t observe the same holidays as the U.S., which keeps us busy with urgent requests, even on days when others might be off.” 

It’s the knack of handling the unexpected isn’t just beneficial overseas; it’s transformed how the company operate stateside too. Buzzanca explains, “We’ve become pros at tackling emergencies and urgent needs without hesitation. This has empowered us to confidently offer our U.S. based customers options they might not find elsewhere. Our aim is to use what we’ve learned globally to enhance the service we provide right here at home.” 

Howard Traeger echoes the core value, explaining that the company’s customers come to them with problems that need solving: “We offer many value-added services, such as a complete supply where we maintain the warehouse (product and people), and the material is consigned to the customer in a foreign country, and we hand it off to them as they need it. Many times, they want to give us the problem and forget about it. They want the UPS experience: they place the order, and the next thing they know, it shows up at their door.

This can only be accomplished with a company culture built on trust, relationships and an ownership mentality: making real-time decisions to help customers. “Everyone here takes ownership of the work they do,” Howard Traeger says. “We’re all committed to ensuring that Traeger Brothers continues to be successful for another 100 years.”

The Team

“We’re a company of people, and without all the people working together, we wouldn’t be as successful as we’ve been for so long,” smiles Howard Traeger. 

The company employs around 60 team members (including several family members; more on that in a moment), many of whom have decades of experience in the PVF sector. Drawing on its knowledge bank and its can-do attitude, one can understand how Traeger Brothers continues to be the go-to for its customers. That assurance is backed up by team members such as Buzzanca, who has been with the company for 18 years, the company’s engineer on staff, Ram Ramkumar,  has 45 years of experience, an HR director who has been with the company for 44 years, and many others who have more than 20 years of service. 

One advantage the company has is its team members extensive knowledge base in PVF, logistics and problem solving, which team members use to guide others on their knowledge path. “Our senior salespeople work with our younger and newer salespeople by making joint customer call and by collaborating with them on the more complex sales quotations,” says Howard Traeger. 

The people first mantra makes the company stand out. Howard Traeger explains the can-do attitude: “If there’s a problem, we’ll call you — that’s our attitude. Once you give our team members the problem, once you give the responsibility to us, we’ll take ownership.” 

This dedication helped Traeger Brothers build a reputation as a reliable partner in the industry, which is focused on its team members as much as its customers. The distributor created a book of “Traegerisms” outlining the values and principles guiding its operations. It’s one way the company’s culture and core values are developed and fostered. “It’s our way of instilling the can-do attitude in our team,” Howard Traeger says. “We talk about a Traegerism at every meeting to remind ourselves of what we’re all about.” One example is “Be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the job, and more. Whether it’s starting early, staying late, or doing something that’s not in your job description, it’s the extra mile that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. Put the maximum effort into everything you do.”

“My professional relationship with Traeger Brothers began more than 35 years ago,” notes Joey Dieck, director of commercial sales and PVF groups at Allied Group. “I was a relatively young man in the industry, trying to find opportunities to sell my products in Miami. I somehow happened upon this small warehouse in Miami, walked in the door and met Howard, Dave Tilden and Jeff Tolle. That was the beginning of a great business relationship and an even greater friendship. Thank you, Howard, for pulling us along and trusting Allied to be a part of your company’s growth for all these years. The Allied Group will continue supporting Traeger Brothers as you move into your next century. Congratulations!” 

The Next Generation: Preparing for the Future

As the company celebrates its 100th anniversary, Howard Traeger ensures that it continues to thrive for future generations. “My main goal now is to successfully transition the company to the next generation,” he explains. “We’ve got family members involved — my daughter Samantha (Sam) Traeger is the director of operations, my nephew Eric Polin is the IT director, and my cousins Brian Roisman is the international inside sales manager, and Rebecca Roisman works in marketing.”

With a strong team in place, the company can expand. A key moment in the company’s history has included opening a location in Mulberry, Fla., which helped Traeger Brothers expand its reach within the state. The distributor recently acquired Southern Industrial Sales, a small family business specializing in the sugar industry in Central America and the Caribbean. “It was our first acquisition,” Howard Traeger says. “We got four great employees out of the deal, and a new book of business that we’re excited to grow.”

Helping the company along its path are the many organizations it leans into. Traeger Brothers is an active member of Affiliated Distributors, Southern Wholesalers Association, American Supply Association, and many other organizations that are important to its customers. 

And while leaning into organizations to help it grow and thrive, the distributor also believes that giving back to communities is just as important, and it does so by giving back directly. On many occasions, when hurricanes or earthquakes hit the Caribbean or Central America, it has sent in pallets of water, chainsaws and tarps — anything it can do to provide immediate help and relief. In addition, the company is known to sponsor little league teams in the Caribbean and other direct givebacks and fun activities to help a community thrive. 

Looking Back and Moving Forward

As the company prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary this month with a 1920s-themed dinner celebration — perfect for the festive Caribbean flare the company exudes — Howard Traeger reflects on the journey that has brought the company to where it is today. “It’s been a long road, and we’ve had our ups and downs,” he notes. “However, we’re still here, and we’re still growing. Now, we’re going to get everyone together and have a good time — good food, good friends and a lot of memories.”

With a strong team in place and a continued focus on its core markets, Traeger Brothers is well-positioned to continue its legacy of excellence in the industrial supply market. “We’ve always been about doing whatever it takes to help our customers succeed,” Howard Traeger says. “And that’s not going to change.”

As Traeger Brothers & Associates enters its second century of business, one thing is clear — the company remains committed to the values of family, service and innovation that have been the cornerstones of its success for the past 100 years. And with the next generation already taking the reins, the future looks bright for continued growth and success. 

Here’s to the next 100 years.