Winning the fight for lucrative contracts

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 12/1/2000

For Jay Martin, succeeding as an independent hose and accessories distributor is all about snagging long-term contracts with original equipment manufacturers. In fact, even if winning a long-term contract means opening a new division of his company right next to a customer's site, then that's exactly what this president of Trident Supply Co. of Ocala, Fla., will do.

And he's doing just that in February 2001 with the launch of Trident Supply of Orlando. The Orlando division will primarily serve a new, long-term contract that's expected to boost the company's sales by $10 million over the next five years. Specializing in hydraulic hose and fittings-with Aeroquip as its largest supplier-Trident Supply serves a customer base of primarily small to large OEMs in the southeast and north central Florida.

According to Martin, the lucrative contracts aren't always far away-some are right in Trident Supply's backyard. For example, the distributorship has a partnership with E-One (a division of Federal Signal, formerly known as Emergency One), a manufacturer of emergency vehicles like fire trucks and airport rescue vehicles.

"Trident Supply is a focused supplier that understands our business very well," says Brian Cardinal, E-One's vice president of engineering. "We have long-term agreements with them because they are such a good supplier that not only handles our inventory management, but also shares in development of new products, engineering projects and other resources."

Those value-added services, Cardinal says, help his company reduce costs while also improving productivity. "From my own perspective," he says, "time to market for new products is much quicker when we have other companies helping us get there."

Martin says it's Trident Supply's expertise and knowledge in OEM sales, along with those value-added services, that help hook the lucrative contracts. "We supply our customers with a lot of value-added services," he says. "That helps us firm up our business for the long haul and create supply relationships at the same time."

Martin has been owner of the company since 1997, when he bought it from founder Charlie Culver, who was already working for suppliers like Aeroquip and Dayco before starting the distributorship in 1986. Martin, who also came from the sales side of the business, came on as a partner in 1992. Since then, the company has grown to 34 employees and sales of $4.7 million for 1999. The company is currently a member of the National Assn. of Hose and Accessories Distributors and holds a seat on the board of the Road Builder's Assn.

In May 1999, Trident Supply created another division, Trident Hydraulics, which specializes in cylinder repair and includes a retail area. Thanks to that diversification, and to the fact that the hydraulics division is now going full steam, Martin says he expects $6.4 million in sales for 2000.

Looking ahead, Martin has his sights set on conquering the Orlando market in mid-2001. The company is also venturing into the drive shaft business, and recently purchased a state-of-the-art digital drive shaft balancer for Trident Hydraulics. On the distribution side, Martin says more expansion is in store as his company continues to increase its business with the dump trailer and boat davit OEMs. "Those are two areas where we're expanding," he says. "That's one more market where our future lies."