In 1982, Ken and Diane Hendricks purchased three branches and founded ABC Supply Co. Inc. Their goal was to provide roofing contractors with the products and services they needed and treat them with the respect they deserved. The concept was simple, but the business plan was ambitious: They wanted to set up a nationwide distribution network that would fundamentally change the supply chain in the roofing industry.
Today the company has more than 450 branches in 45 states, nearly 7,000 associates, and approximately $4.8 billion a year in sales. Headquartered in Beloit, Wis., ABC Supply is still privately held and family-owned. On the company’s 30th anniversary, Diane Hendricks, ABC Supply’s co-founder and chairman of the board, and David Luck, its chief executive officer and president, looked back at the history of the company as well as at the road ahead.