What's behind the entry into installation services by a prominent distributor?
Last month, this column focused on a consultant's presentation at a PMI meeting detailing the troubling demographics of the plumbing trade and how it's leading to a potential shortage of plumbing contractors. Another recent development bears on these same issues.
Last May, a division of Stock Building Supply acquired a family of electrical and plumbing contractors in the Las Vegas market. Stock is the largest supplier of building materials to professional home builders and contractors in the United States, with 2005 sales of $4.1 billion. Its British parent company, Wolseley, is also the parent of Ferguson Enterprises, the largest U.S. PHC distributor.