Every business has an origin story, yet few begin with an ultimatum. In 1940, Julian Lehman was working at his family’s company and engaged to a young woman named Betty when he was promised a $100 raise by a specific date. The date came. The raise did not. Julian, ever the conservative one, was inclined to let it go. Betty was not.
“If you don’t quit, there will be no marriage,” she told him.
He quit. He found another job, then went off to serve in World War II, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and earned the Bronze Star. When he returned home, his good friend Max Gerber, owner of Gerber Plumbing Fixtures, offered him a management job. Betty was in the room. She waved her hand. The story goes that Betty said, “Mr. Gerber, we are never going to work for anybody again, and we’re going to go into wholesale plumbing distribution.”
So, they did — with the money Julian won playing craps on the troop boat home and the few dollars Betty had saved. In 1946, the couple opened Lehman Pipe and Plumbing Supply in Miami, selling mainly to hardware stores.
Decades later, at the grand opening celebration of the company’s Miami headquarters in 2018, their son, Dennis Lehman, pointed to his mother at the front of a crowd of more than 500 customers, suppliers and employees. Everyone knew her as Foxy. “The reality of all this is simple,” he said. “If Foxy had not had so much chutzpah, Lehman Pipe would not be here today.”
That chutzpah — the nerve to bet on yourself, and then on the people beside you — is the thread that runs through 80 years of Lehman Pipe and Supply. It’s in how a founder entrusted the business to his son, who guided it for many years and then entrusted its future to the next generation, related not by blood but by spirit. And it’s in how more than 200 team members chose to celebrate the milestone: through an employee contest to design an anniversary logo that captures the spirit of the company.
A progression of people
How does a hardware supplier become a PVF distributor with international reach? One person at a time.
“It’s been a progression of people, trust and relationships,” says President and CEO Josh Aberman.
Each arrival opened a new door. Dennis Lehman joined his parents’ company in 1974. “Dennis’ father started supplying the hardware stores. Dennis came in with a desire to service the municipalities and the gas industries, and then the mechanical contractors,” Aberman says. By 1980, Dennis had guided the company from hardware supplier to wholesale PVF distributor, and it surged forward. He became president in 1992.
Ron Stauffer, who joined Lehman Pipe 33 years ago and continues to lead the international department as vice president of international sales, played a key role in expanding the company beyond the continental United States. Under his leadership, Lehman Pipe grew its international presence throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean, building relationships and creating new opportunities across those markets.
Aberman’s own arrival came at a challenging time. “I joined in 2009, which was the crash of the market,” he recalls. “I had the privilege and a blessing of starting with an amazing foundation, standing on shoulders of giants that came before me.”
He worked side by side with Dennis Lehman, growing the company, caring for its team members and carrying forward a culture that could be felt well beyond its walls. Aberman was named president in 2023, becoming the first person outside the Lehman family to lead the company. Dennis Lehman has remained a strong supporter of the transition and has consistently expressed his confidence in Aberman’s leadership.
Only to be better
Along the way, the company’s physical footprint continued to grow. But as Aberman is quick to point out, growth for the sake of size was never the goal. “The intention was never to be big. It was only to be better,” he says. “That’s truly something that Dennis passed on.”
In 2017, the company made a bold move. As the neighborhood around its Miami headquarters grew into a burgeoning arts district, Dennis Lehman sold the land, but not the company. He paid it forward to the business his parents started and the team that helped build it, moving Lehman Pipe and Supply into a new facility of more than 100,000 square feet near Miami International Airport. The decision was intentional: keep the company intact, choose a location accessible to team members and continue its steady, controlled growth.
“When we built the Miami facility, we thought we built it to cover anything that we would need,” Aberman says. “I will tell you today, you can’t move in the facility because of the amount of inventory in there.” The company takes great pride in having inventory ready for its current and new customers, with more than 15,000 stocked products.
Dennis Lehman’s decision to keep the company going, and to give it a new home, became its compass. “We’re here today because somebody chose to pay it forward,” Aberman says. “Everything that we do today, everything that we strive to accomplish, is based on that philosophy.”
To support its continued growth, Lehman Pipe expanded its footprint with the opening of its Pompano Beach branch in 2020 and its Fort Myers branch in 2023. And that expansion was just the beginning.
Today, Lehman Pipe and Supply serves all of Florida, Central America, South America and the Caribbean from five locations: Miami, Pompano Beach, Fort Myers, Plant City and Orlando, home to a 125,000-square-foot distribution center and fabrication department that opened in 2025. A sixth location, in Jacksonville, opens in December.
“On behalf of Nibco, congratulations to Lehman Pipe and Supply on achieving this impressive 80-year milestone,” says Kevin Wagler, vice president of wholesale sales at Nibco. “This achievement speaks volumes about a company that has built its success on outstanding customer service, strong relationships and a commitment to growth.”
Wagler adds, “We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Lehman and its reputation as a trusted partner in the plumbing and mechanical industry. We wish the entire Lehman team many more years of continued success.”
Partners, not bosses
The next leap began with a question after the Fort Myers store opened. “Dennis looked at me and asked, ‘What are we doing next?’” Aberman recalls. “My biggest fear was, if I make the wrong decision, we fail, and everybody here is out of a job.”
After an arduous search, the company partnered with Rotunda Capital Partners in 2024, and Aberman chooses that word, partner, deliberately. “They are my partners. I do not work for them,” he says. “They support us.” The partnership lets Aberman drive decisions and direction, with the company’s culture and team as the priority. “We are a pay-it-forward business,” Aberman says. “Not all private equities are the same, not all wholesale companies are the same, and I think there are amazing things that can happen with the right partnerships.”
The partnership also pushed Aberman to grow as a leader, and the team has felt the difference. “I will tell you with tremendous pride, we have not lost anybody through acquisition,” Aberman says. “I can tell you that our employees have better benefits and a better vacation package, and our 401(k) contributions have increased. Those are not cost-cutting measures.”
“The dollar is important, but it’s not always about the dollar,” he adds. “We work for the employees, and when we do that, the employees as well as the shareholders benefit.”
Growth continued in 2025 with the acquisition of Cole Industrial in Plant City, Florida, and the launch in Orlando of a new fire sprinkler business and fabrication department built with brand-new equipment. Not every step came easily, but as Aberman puts it, “You only lose when you quit.”
The next chapters are already being written, starting with the Jacksonville distribution center opening in December. “We are not stopping in Florida,” Aberman says.
Growth also comes from working with trusted channel partners.
“Lehman Pipe’s 80th anniversary is a remarkable milestone and a testament to the strength of its people, its culture and the relationships it has built throughout the industry,” says Melissa Howell, territory distribution manager, South/Southeast, for Viega.
For Viega, the partnership runs deep. “We’re proud to be a trusted partner to Lehman Pipe and appreciate the strong relationship we’ve built over the years,” Howell says. “Their commitment to their customers, employees and industry partners has helped make them a respected leader, and we look forward to supporting their continued success for many years to come.”
Leaders work for their people
Ask Aberman whom he works for, and the answer is immediate. “I work for our team members,” he says. “My goal is to give them the same opportunities that Dennis gave me. At Lehman Pipe, we believe that a good leader is a servant leader. We do not believe in leading by titles.”
“Everyone likes to say the buzzwords. Everyone likes to have the ‘integrity’ on the wall,” he says. “In a lot of larger organizations, there is a massive disconnect between leadership’s vision of the company and what really happens at the ground level. Our leadership is never far removed from the ground level.”
It shows up in small ways. “On Monday, I was at the counter helping a customer, writing up a ticket,” Aberman says. “I refuse to walk through a warehouse or a building and not acknowledge people. We have a hierarchy, but we don’t have a caste system.”
It shows up in big ways, too. Chief Operations Officer Larry Brown has spent much of his time inside one of the warehouses, cleaning up processes himself. “It’s not normal,” Aberman says. “It’s expected here. That’s the difference. We do not sit in the back; we act.”
There are house rules. “I hate the word no, and I’ll say, don’t ever tell me no. That doesn’t mean the answer is not no. Help me understand why something doesn’t work,” Aberman explains.
Decisions don’t bottleneck at the top, either. “We empower our people to make decisions. Not all decisions need to be made at the top,” he says. “Why create obstacles?” This level of trust built the Orlando fabrication department. “I didn’t do that. We had a team that did that,” Aberman says.
Ultimately, he believes culture is defined by what happens on the front line. “If individuals do not experience it from the moment they walk through the door, then it is not truly part of the organization.”
When the Orlando branch went through a stretch without a manager, Administrative Assistant Kelly Johnson stepped up without being asked, welcoming visitors with snacks and notes and keeping the team engaged.
Aberman points to relationships across every level of the organization as an important part of Lehman Pipe’s culture. He recalls that whenever Johnson reached out for help, he made it a priority to respond, something he says is representative of how the company strives to support its people, regardless of title or position.
“She made it a personal priority to make sure people felt supported, engaged and cared for, helping build a culture that was stronger than what existed in some of our legacy locations. What made it even more meaningful was that she did it during a difficult period, when the team needed that support the most,” he says.
Johnson came to Lehman from the medical field. “I had never spoken to my CEO. I don’t even think he really knew who I was, but the fact that I could call Josh for anything, and loving this company, that’s what drives me,” she says.
Corporate Trainer Melissa Jackson, who came from a large company in the industry, felt the difference from her first conversation with Aberman. “When he was first interviewing me, he said to me that we lead with kindness and integrity, and it’s true,” she says. “I’ve worked for large companies that the CEO had his own entourage of people that you had to go through — the gatekeepers, and it’s not like that here.”
Standing beside one another
One of Johnson’s proudest contributions now hangs on a wall. In April 2026, at a company town hall, Lehman Pipe unveiled its Honor Wall, a permanent display recognizing team members and their family members who have served or are serving in the military. Johnson developed the project and brought it to life.
It is a fitting tribute for a company founded by a Battle of the Bulge veteran.
“The Honor Wall was created to recognize and honor the brave men and women within our Lehman family, their families and all those who have served or are currently serving our country,” Johnson says. “More than just a display, it represents sacrifice, pride and the bond we share as a company, built on respect, gratitude and a commitment to standing beside one another like family. It was a proud moment for our Lehman family.”
Building the bench
Every year, the company sets four or five “wildly important goals.” One that never changes: building the bench.
Aberman’s goal is to build a strong enough bench that, whenever possible, Lehman Pipe’s future leadership and growth positions can be filled from within. Rather than looking outside the organization first, the company is focused on developing its people, creating clear opportunities for advancement and preparing employees to step into larger roles as the business continues to grow.
Regional Branch Director Simon Dumont is proof of the path. He “started with us 16 years ago and helped build our first counter with me when we had three-part paper and no computers at the counter,” Aberman says. “And today, he is in charge of all of our branches.”
Dumont, in turn, developed a branch manager beneath him, and every branch manager is now charged with building a bench of his or her own. “In that process, you’re creating the next leaders of the organization,” Aberman explains. “Our goal is building our replacements.”
Promotions are approached intentionally as well. Aberman believes that excelling in a current role does not automatically translate into being ready to lead others, so the company uses aptitude assessments and trial periods to better evaluate fit, identify potential and give employees the support they need to succeed in expanded roles.
Feedback doesn’t wait for once a year. “If you’re really doing an annual review, it should be designed to include a monthly or quarterly touchpoint,” Aberman says. “They should always know what success looks like.”
And no one carries it alone. “The burden is shared with the 200 people that we have within this company, which is a beautiful thing,” he says.
“At Lehman Pipe, you’ll often hear that we’re built different, but I’d challenge that and say we’re built better,” says Tori Guy, fabrication workflow manager.
For Guy, “better” starts with how the company treats its people. “We care about our customers, we care about our people, and we’re encouraged to grow,” she says. “At some companies, you can become ‘too valuable’ in your current position to move forward. That will never be the case at Lehman.”
It’s the bench-building philosophy Aberman described, seen from the other side of the org chart. “We’re constantly building our bench so we can grow both as a company and in the directions that interest us,” Guy says. “It’s incredibly encouraging to know you can write your own story at Lehman.”
We still feel like a family
In November, leadership and the Legacy Builders (a group dedicated to honoring the company’s history and future growth) will travel branch to branch for the company’s annual Thanksgiving lunches. This year, each stop includes a gift bag for every employee, filled with swag bearing the anniversary logo.
Where there is room, the tables come together. “Some of the places, if they have the capacity, they do one big table for Thanksgiving,” Jackson says. “Last year was my first year to experience that, and it was amazing to see that people really care about each other.”
For Jackson, that is what makes the milestone special. “It’s amazing to see a company go from mom and pop to where it is today,” she says. “Even though we continue to grow, we still feel like a family company.”
She saw it again at the Orlando grand opening, when an employee won a golf cart in a charity raffle. “The love that was surrounding him, like all of his peers were so excited and hugging him and cheering and just genuinely happy,” she recalls. “We’ve got people that walk in in the morning, such as in Miami, and they will hug every single person as they go through and say good morning.”
Johnson is one of them. “I love being here. I get emotional easy, so I just love being here and supporting everyone,” she says. “I’m a hugger too. So, I go see the warehouse and bring candy, and I think that’s a good start in our day. It’s just the family, it’s the love.”
The pride is in the details. New hires receive branded care packages when they join. “That’s not driven by me. That’s driven by our team,” Aberman says.
Growing forward
Julian Lehman died before the Miami facility was built. Aberman still remembers the day Dennis Lehman brought his mother to see it.
“He brought her upstairs and she could not speak. All she would say is, ‘If Dad could see this, if Dad could see this,’” Aberman recalls. “It was such an overwhelming feeling. This is the American dream.”
What would Julian and Betty make of the company today?
“I think they would be speechless,” Aberman says. “They would have an overwhelming sense of joy.” He already sees it in Dennis when the team brings him to company events. “He’s like a little kid at Christmas morning,” he says.
For Aberman, the milestone is personal. “It’s difficult to put into words,” he says. “This industry and this company have given me opportunities I never imagined, introduced me to people who have become some of my closest friends, and given me the ability to help support other families and create opportunities for the people around me. That is something I will always be grateful for.”
“It’s a recognition of what a family business can accomplish if they trust good people,” he continues. In the end, the legacy Julian and Betty built isn’t measured in square footage.
“It was never about what they were able to amass,” Aberman says. “It was just the impact.”
Eighty years after Foxy waved her hand and told Gerber, “No, thank you,” the company she and Julian built is still betting on people and still paying it forward.
