The 2024 Equiparts Sales Meeting is the first one we’ve had in five years, making it extra special for our team and many of our esteemed vendors. Since our last Sales Meeting in 2019, our team has doubled in size from 30+ employees to nearly 70. With so many new faces, the event was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. This is especially true for employees who work in different locations, such as our outside sales team that works remotely, and our Virginia location team that works out of the Manassas office.
We hosted the event in mid-October at the Riverside Landings Event Center, which is very close to our headquarters in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. We kicked it off with delicious food, drinks, and mingling at our celebratory dinner. Yolanda Frank, Director of Purchasing and Inside Sales, and Tony Ferraro, Outside Sales Manager, welcomed everyone to the event with some opening words. We then celebrated the retirement of Bob Strom, Outside Sales Rep of 22 years at Equiparts. Tony thanked him for his many years of service, and presented him with a special plaque to show our gratitude. We were very lucky to have Bob on our team for so long, and we wish him a very happy retirement filled with many years of golf and relaxation.
Following our Sunday night dinner, Monday and Tuesday were filled with presentations and tabletop meetings with manufacturer reps from across the industry. Our sales team learned more about the product lines we carry, including new product innovations, industry changes, and new requirements. Continuing education is one of the many ways we strive to better serve our customers, and these meetings are an important part of that commitment. Our knowledge becomes our customers’ knowledge.
Below is a recap of all the manufacturers, agencies, and reps we hosted for this year’s Sales Meeting in the order in which they were scheduled. Read on to find out what they talked about in their presentations.
2024 Sales Meeting Premier Presentations
General Wire, Mifab, and Legend Valves
Randy Seebacher and Bryan Barrett of Pinnacle Sales talked about many products from General Wire, Mifab, and Legend Valves. They demoed many General Wire tools, including a pipe inspection camera, auger, and electric water jetter. They highlighted useful features, and provided lots of tips for plumbers.
For Mifab, they discussed the company’s emphasis on customization. They reviewed the Shift and Lift Fixture Carrier Offset Kit, and how useful it can be to meet code requirements for fixture location. They also covered top set floor drains, trap primers, trench drains, grease traps, a water heater shutoff thermal expansion control valve, and rubber roof supports made out of recycled rubber.
Legend Valve’s presentation started with their new 7/75 Guarantee. Then they showed us the ClearLOC push-to-connect fittings, which install securely on PE-RT, PEX, copper, and CPVC pipe. Lastly, they discussed how Legend Valve designs radiant heat systems for customers free of charge.
Zurn Elkay
Louis Stamerra of BWA South, and Michael Heithoff, Dan Danowsk, and Steve Cvikeli of Zurn Elkay gave two presentations. To start, Dan Danowski, Finish Plumbing Product Manager at Zurn, gave a review of their flushometer lines, including sensor side mounts, sensory top mounts, and new Hydro-X hydropowered units. He explained how the Hydro-X gear-driven units need no hard-wiring or battery replacements, as the EZ gear technology provides renewable, sustainable hydropower. They also have less parts, and so they don’t need to be serviced as often as solenoid based flushometers.
Dan also shared the Zurn PlumbPRO, a free app that enables you to remotely control fixtures via bluetooth. The app gives you 24/7 access to the status of your flush valves and faucets, allowing you to check battery levels, activation data, water usage volume, and set other features. This allows you to respond to problems much quicker, resulting in improved restroom uptime.
Michael Heithoff, Associate Product Manager at Elkay Manufacturing, shared a presentation on Elkay’s Bottle fillers. He explained the various sensor and mechanical units, vandal-resistant units, residential units, and Elkay’s new Pro Filtration line of next generation bottle fillers that will be available in early 2025. These new units are compatible with the new line of Elkay Pro Filtration filters, providing an extra-long filter life of 10,000-gallons, which results in less frequent filter changes. They will also have new filter status indicators that use blue lights instead of red, yellow, and green.
Zurn Elkay sponsored our sales team dinner at The Lot at Edgewater. Yolanda Frank said that “The evening was a great time of both fellowship and great food. Our sales reps were able to spend one-on-one time with the Zurn Elkay BWA South folks to discuss real customer situations, Zurn Elkay solutions, and next steps….discussions that can’t happen during classroom style presentations.”
Sloan, Oasis, Watts
Casey Devlin from J.B. O’ Connor gave a presentation about Sloan, Oasis, and Watts Water Technologies. First, he discussed the brand-new DropSpot bottle filler line from Sloan, sharing their features such as the swing open frame or drop down door for filter replacement access.
Casey then discussed Oasis filters and Oasis outdoor bottle fillers. After that, he went into detail about Watts Water Technologies and Watts backflow prevention. He explained what backflow prevention is, why it’s needed, and how it works. He also touched briefly on Watts Total Repair Kits and mixing valves. He also talked about how Watts is very focused on connectivity. Select backflow units are now equipped with sensors that detect potential flood conditions. Facility managers can receive real-time alerts via phone, text, or email, which can allow for quicker response times and reduced property damage.
2024 Sales Meeting Tabletop Presentations:
Barry Walter Sr Co
Barry Walter Jr. and Bill Ballantyne of Barry Walter Sr Co talked about how their American-made replacement parts, especially stems and cartridges for all major manufacturers, are superior both in terms of quality and price than comparable imports. Barry pointed out that they are the only company who manufactures replacement thermostatic cartridges. They also discussed their patented ONA Puller, showcasing how easy it is to remove both intact and broken Moen cartridges. They also highlighted the tailpiece remover tool they make, which can be used on a wide variety of flushometer tailpieces by multiple manufacturers.
Everflow
Ronnie Rice of Everflow and Eric Fehr of Fehr and CUDA Sales reviewed the new Everflow consolidation E-Catalog, then Ronnie talked about the benefits of choosing PEX-A flexible piping systems for potable water systems instead of PE-RT, including that it is more pliable, kink repairable, and easy to use. He demonstrated how quickly you can connect the joints to the sleeves, and use an expanding tool to connect the sleeves. We also reviewed carbon steel press fittings, trap primer, and gauges.
SATCO
Brian Wise of SATCO showed us the wide variety of items that SATCO has to offer in the category of lighting, including fixtures, lamps, and lighting components. Brian explained the importance of identifying that the lamps you choose are compatible with your existing fixtures. Some LED lamps work with existing ballasts, others bypass the ballast completely. Many of their light bulbs come with new convenient features such as adjustable color temperatures, battery back-ups, built-in surge protectors, and wi-fi connectivity. He also discussed the benefits of utilizing SATCO for your lighting needs, including drop-shipping within 24-hours of receiving your order, and their free cost-saving reports they can generate for customers who are making the change from fluorescent to LED.
Sunbury Controls
Jesse Smyers of Sunbury Controls showed us Sunbury and Trerice products including valves, repair and rebuild kits for valves, gauges, natural gas meter valves, back connected gauge, thermometers, and new items including a sprinkler gauge kit. He also reviewed when a liquid gauge should be utilized, and solenoid valve information.
Delta Faucet and Insinkerator
Cody Foree and RJ Blum of Triangle Sales shared products from Delta Faucet and Insinkerator. They discussed the Delta Pro Parts Kit, then went into detail explaining how the Insinkerator garbage disposals differ between the Pro, Contractor, and Badger models. They had cut out units that show tthe internal mechanisms of the disposals so we could better understand how they work and what the different grinding stages mean. They also explained how the Lift and Latch feature on all models makes installation much easier for plumbers, how the warranty works, and more.
T&S Brass and Flex Hose
Kevin Morrissey of Midwest Spec talked about T&S Brass and Flex-Hose products. We reviewed all of the many T&S faucet offerings like ChekPoint sensor faucets, new design series WaveCrest and LakeCrest faucets, service sink faucets, bedpan washers, pre-rinse faucets, hydro-generator powered faucets, and more. Kevin also shared T&S mixing valves, hose reels, gas hose connections, and sensor soap dispensers. From Flex-Hose, Kevin reviewed when customers should install the Pumpsaver, Tri-Flex Loop, and Tri-Loop multi-plane movement compensators to boiler rooms to absorb movement from vibrations and thermal changes in piping systems.
Bradley
Joe Starr of Preferred Sales brought us on board the Elvari Van, which is Bradley’s brand-new display vehicle. The van was filled with a wide variety of fixtures from the Elvari collection, Bradley’s complete suite of new, modern washroom accessories, all of which have a unique electrocoat finish which makes the units fingerprint, stain, and corrosion resistant. The line includes grab bars, paper towel dispensers, waste receptacles, toilet paper roll holders, hooks, and more. He also showed us a variety of sinks including the very beautiful Evero cast-formed natural quartz sinks. In addition, Joe introduced us to the Verge sensor faucets and soap dispensers, highlighting how the soap dispensers are filled above deck using high-capacity tanks so they don’t need to be refilled as often.
Milwaukee Tools
Marshall Myers of Preferred Sales had a smorgasbord of Milwaukee power tools, manual tools, and flashlights at his table. We talked about how convenient it is to have the Milwaukee service center right in Cleveland Ohio, as it gives our local customers a quick turnaround time for larger tool repairs. We also discussed the press tools, battery-powered vacuum pump, sewer camera and locator tools, and some of their handy flood light options. There were so many tools on hand, each group learned something different, based on the items that interested them.
The event ended with an Equiparts internal team meeting which included an open forum with our managers to address any topics of concern to our employees that were not covered during the meetings. After that Q&A, everyone traveled from Riverside Landings back to our Oakmont headquarters for lunch. We gave informal tours of our facility to our Manassas team members and to outside sales reps who hadn’t visited us before.
We are eternally grateful to our team members, manufacturers, and manufacturer representatives who made this event such a worthwhile gathering. We learned a ton about the fantastic product lines we carry, strengthened our relationships, and just enjoyed spending time and catching up with each other.
Thank you all!
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