As we’ll see from our interview with William Montgomery, director of national accounts for Hydrolevel Co., not many companies can claim to have started out quite like Hydrolevel did.

A wide variety of appliances rounds out the company's one-stop-shop approach for home needs.

The certification recognizes design and engineering support, component laboratory testing, manufacturing and assembly of residential and commercial water heaters, and space heating products and accessories.

How have changes in your products led to a reinvention of your distribution process?

I would like to know — in this great country of ours, which continues to be ours to keep, improve or destroy — why can’t we all try to work and understand our neighbors and get along for the good of the country and world we all get to live in? 

Nobody has to tell you how difficult it has become to find the “right people” to employ. Barring a recession, it doesn’t look like the situation will get any better soon.

Like your house, your business projects an image to potential buyers. When they come to see your business for the first time, your “curb appeal” can attract a buyer to your business — or cause him to walk away from it.

Each year at the AIM/R annual conference, manufacturers and reps discuss best practices and industry trends in a session called the Rep and Manufacturer Roundtable (RAM).

I often use parallels when I’m describing the physical appearance of a showroom and the culture of the company. It’s typically easy to see the differences between a high-performing showroom culture and one that is not by walking in the front door.

Globe Union is one of the largest suppliers of plumbing products in the world. Headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan, it oversees an impressive 5 million square feet of manufacturing, assembly and distribution facilities located on three continents and in nine countries.