We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

logo
  • Engineers & Specifiers
  • Contractors & Installers
  • Wholesalers & Distributors
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Subscription
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • PRODUCTS
    • Bath & Kitchen
    • Fire Protection
    • HVAC
    • Hydronics/Radiant
    • Plumbing
    • PVF
    • Tools
  • PROJECTS
    • Commercial
    • Green Building
    • MRO/Retrofit
    • Remodeling
    • Residential
  • HOW TO
    • Design
    • Fire Protection
    • Legal Matters
    • Management
  • BUSINESS
    • Buying Groups
    • Technology
    • Associations
  • CODES & STANDARDS
    • ANSI
    • ASHRAE
    • ASSE
    • Regulations
    • Green Building
    • IAPMO
    • ICC
    • NFPA
  • RESOURCES
    • Media Kit
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Classifieds
    • Digital Editions
    • Behind the Wall
    • Webinars
    • ASPE Live 2022
  • PODCASTS
  • DIGITAL EDITIONS
Home » Oatey: 100 Years of Service

Oatey: 100 Years of Service

Profile of a family-owned company, 100 years strong.

October 7, 2016
No Comments

The year is 1916. The international climate is in turmoil yet there is still growth in the United States as new businesses continue to emerge through a challenging economy. In Cleveland, L. R. Oatey establishes Oatey Company with just one product — a vent stack flashing.


“It’s one thing to be 100 years old; the challenge is to build on top of what the group before has accomplished, and I think we have done an extremely good job of that,” remarks CEO John McMillan. Oatey has consistently delivered value in the form of quality, service and strong brands. Oatey has deep, sound relationships with all of the wholesalers in our industry, and it has built a level of trust with them that has enabled the company to be more successful.


Oatey thrives on  performance. It invests in people who can constantly improve the value proposition and maintain a strong positioning in the market; its strong market share in itssuccess over 100 years is largely attributable to that. 


“You always hear that people make the difference, but it couldn’t be more true than it is here at Oatey,” remarks Executive Chairman Gary Oatey. Being a privately-held company, Oatey likes to keep a low profile in terms of disclosing information. But in celebration of this most momentous occasion, it is lifting the proverbial curtain back a little bit to share the excitement. 


Over the years, companies reach a point where they either move on with the times and prosper or remain stagnant and decay. Oatey has reinvented itself to not only stay ahead of the times but also to become an influencer of change. It has, like many companies, reorganized and re-strategized to fit the needs of customers and employees. As McMillan further explains, “…we have tweaked and tuned along the way as well. I think those were turning points [to success] because after certain changes were put in place, we really were able to grow rapidly and sustainably.” 


Oatey has listened carefully to its customers, employees and community at large. As Gary Oatey also explains, the company has tried to align its objectives with those of its customers, and this is attributable to the entire wholesale community. In Oatey's case, it listened to what the customers’ needs were, installation problems they were having in the field and made sure these needs and problems were aligned to solutions.


“The life blood of the business is to grow both organically with new products as well as by acquisition, and we have been successful on both fronts,” McMillan says.


Breaking new ground


Oatey’s new customer support center and main office is set to open on October 11. The larger building combines associates from three locations into one for improved collaboration, innovation and efficiency to better serve customers, who are international. Oatey’s performance requirement continues to define this success. 


“We couldn’t find anything that really  achieved our objectives, so we decided to build,” McMillan says. “We interviewed a number of designers and chose one and went on from there.” 


The key component to these transitions was to give Oatey associates a place where they could be productive and to deliver more value to customers. 


Family legacy


Another essential component to ensuring not only a successful office move but a successful company move is the strong family legacy at Oatey. McMillan explains that when he first started at the company, he was impressed that although this is a private and family-owned business, it was always run like a much larger organization. It’s had solid professional advice. 


“We’ve always had a free-thinking, outside board of directors,” he says. “I think that encourages associates to make contributions that the organization needs to succeed.” 


That type of atmosphere certainly lends itself to maintaining a strong family legacy for the company. Oatey Company believes the sky’s the limit on what it can accomplish. 


Before joining Oatey Company, Oatey worked for Proctor & Gamble and McMillan worked for Otis Worldwide — both large public companies. This proved to be a great training ground for them to formulate some of the boundaries that they felt were important and to begin to grow the business a little differently than their predecessors. 


“All the old role-playing and the tedious training are lessons that I still find myself falling back on today,” McMillan recounts.  


They also feel they’ve made a good start at the right type of influence on the fourth generation. Should fourth generation members be interested in leadership positions at the company, the opportunity may be available as the company continues to grow. 


“They’re learning the business now,” Oatey says. 


Spending most of their time with customers, making recommendations and looking at the ways Oatey Company can change to keep pace with what’s happening in the market place both from a new product point of view as well as from an operating point of view. 


“We’re really addressing the needs of customers or trying to add value by solving problems … I’m very excited about how we can continue to grow,” Oatey says. 


As it breaks into a coveted club of 100 years of service in the industry, the future has never looked brighter for Oatey Company.

Business Contractors & Installers Engineers & Specifiers Plumbing Wholesalers & Distributors
  • Related Articles

    Oatey Acquires Assets of QuickDrain USA

    Victaulic Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation

    Walter F. Morris Co. Celebrates 100 Years of Industry Partnerships

  • Related Products

    Directory Listing - Premium

  • Related Directories

    Oatey

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular

  • Chicago Plumber’s Union Dyes Chicago River Green for St. Patrick’s Day 2023

  • Everything You Wanted to Know About Orangeburg Pipe (But Were Afraid To Ask)

  • Vote Now! Plumbing Design of the Year: A Readers’ Choice Award

  • Milwaukee Tool M18 FUEL 5 CFM Vacuum Pump

Featured Video

General wire march vid

Gen-Eye X-POD Plus Testimonial - Michael Williams, Just Drains LLC

Industry Events

  • 21Mar

    NFMT 2023

    Baltimore, MD
  • 26Mar

    MCAA 2023 Annual Convention

    Phoenix, AZ
  • 29Mar

    2023 SFPE European Conference & Expo

    Berlin ,
More Events

Subscribe to our newsletters & stay updated

Subscribe & Learn More

  • Tw03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Pe03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Phc03 2023 cover
    Learn More
  • Es 2022
    Learn More
Subscribe

More from PHCP Pros

  • Editorial Team
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise

Follow Us

© 2023 All Rights Reserved

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development | ePublishing