THE WHOLESALER® — JANUARY 2011•


MARTIN’S CORNER (Continued from page 72.)


the peak of that type home market, but is all gone now. It gave us a big boost when we needed it. We remained a supply company that was dedi- cated to high volume residential as our “sweet spot” until the year 2000 rolled around. Martin: Thanks Gary. really great to hear


you talk about your company. You have great passion for it, my friend. Congrats on that. Now, how about a current snapshot of the company today, your key people, number of employees, etc? Glanzman: You know John, some people like to build new facility locations, etc., and that is


•75


Ohio distributor partners with best reps and vendors to stay ‘in the middle’ of the action


of employees and created an outside board of ad- visors. In 1994 we began a culture-building process called “Architects of Change.” We have stuck with that management concept ever since. Some day on another visit I’ll share the outline of our “Architects of Change” concept with you. We have built the foundation of our business on this concept along with what my father gave me years ago in good solid sound business advise. If you don’t have strategic planning in good times and bad, good things are not (most likely) going to happen! Martin: any special events etc., that you do


routinely or special projects that you guys have been involved that are a particular source of pride for you and the company? Glanzman: Many, my friend. First of all, I’ll


handling pipe is key to contractor service, espe- cially on the commercial PVF side of the business, so Eastway has a pipe storage building complete with crane.


fine. Having said that, we still invest and re-in- vest in the same eight-acre site that my father started with. We have an 80,000-square-foot warehouse of mixed space use. We have man- aged to heat over two-thirds of the space. It is very useable for our needs. We also have a great pipe storage building complete with crane. Han- dling pipe is key to contractor service, especially on the commercial PVF side of the business. We have 40 full-time employees. We have our own fleet of trucks and currently service about a 75- mile radius of Columbus as a rule. Our business is now about 35% residential, 50% commercial/ PVF, and 15% other. A key point here: in 1997 our business was al-


most 90% residential and only about 10% com- mercial. Not good! That year, I hired John Edwards from a major competitor to help us sys- tematically forge our way into the PVF/commer- cial side of the business. Call it good timing, good luck, or whatever you want, but getting John at that time in our business life proved to be really good. The progress we made was out- standing. Today John is our COO, my daughter Vanessa is in charge of our HR department, and my son Mike leads our continued residential ef- forts. While Mike constantly complains about “having to be the guy in charge of residential during a housing collapse,” he has been with us for almost 20 years! I think we will keep him! We also have our own in-house CPA. In a single statement about our management staff: “I feel we are positioned to take advantage of any market uptick that is coming!” Martin:Gary, is strategic planning important for companies like Eastway? Glanzman: Thanks a lot for asking that, John. In 1990 I put together a strategic planning team


tell you a story about my dad and a special event. In 1996 we were going to dedicate our first new building since 1982. My wife Donna put together a surprise roast for my dad with some 300 cus- tomers present! It was the best party I have ever seen. We had it in the warehouse and I’ll tell ya, my dad cried! The customers were so happy with the recognition for him! We are proud of our work and participation in


the Nationwide Children’s Hospital job, the Bat- telle Memorial Institute, The Ohio State Univer- sity, Roxanne Labs, and Riverside Hospital. Ohio State is breaking ground right now on a billion- dollar hospital that we hope to participate in. The Blue Jackets Hockey Arena is surrounded by mega millions of dollars of work by Nationwide Insurance. A new 600-room Hilton is going in at the downtown convention center and one of our best contractors is going to do that. Last but not least, John, they are building a new $400-million casino just for you on the old site of the General Motors Delphi plant! [author’s note: The first time I met Gary was playing slot machines years ago in Joliet, Ill. at a meeting.....Yes a meeting!]


service which includes strong inventory support, great inside sales support, and simply stated, just finding ways to say ‘YES’ to the customer.”


“In these days we really stress and promote excellent customer


Martin: Great story about your dad! Wonder-


ful project history also in your local market. I wish you much luck on the big work coming up also. Please don’t forget your favorite vendors when time comes okay? I’m especially interested in that former General Motors Delphi plant site, know what I mean! Now Gary, have you and John had to change


the focus of Eastway lately or do some things differently during this ongoing economic slump? Other than the work described above, what does the economic picture in your area look like currently? Glanzman: Thanks for those interesting com-


ments, and now to the very good question at hand. It seems that our commercial customers are looking to us to help them with specification and (Turn to Eastway... page 76.)


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