Albany Steel & Brass is in the enviable position of being a small, independent industrial distributor that is growing by making the right decisions at the right time. In an era of consolidation and attrition of independents, it's a breath of fresh air. Thriving by adapting is nothing new for this company that has roots in the early 20th-century hardware business.

Curiosity, self-sufficiency and a love of metalworking led the recently immigrated Lebovitz brothers, Jake and Jonas, to buy a local hardware store near Chicago's famed stockyards, says David Lebovitz, company president and grandson of Jake. One day, the store's owner told Jake he thought it was a good idea to be bought out. So Jake bought it with a "loan" from his wife, who had been warned by family to be careful about what her husband did for a livelihood.

The typical hardware store of the era sold tools and fasteners, and made keys, but Lebovitz Brothers Hardware had an added dimension: a sheet metal workshop in the basement. Jake was a metalworker at the cattle plants before buying the store, and brought that skill into the business.

"Later, they even bootlegged corn whiskey, but that's a different story," says David Lebovitz. "In any case, they had a clause in their partnership that says their wives were to be kept as far from the business as possible. I think they did not get along at all."

David's father, Alexander, got into the business after getting a law degree and he thrived by choosing the right product lines, selling the right customers at the right time, and keeping lasting relationships solid. In time, he bought the current location, a company called Albany Steel & Brass that made lamp fixtures and hardware. The name, a misnomer for the specialty fastener and ductwork business that anchors the company today, was kept.

"In those years, customers said, 'We don't buy steel and brass,' and we said, 'Good, because we don't sell them.'" Lebovitz says. "We, in fact, sell sheet metal fasteners and specialize in commercial ventilation/air conditioning screws, hangers and assemblies."

Over the years, Albany Steel was faced with decisions like every other business. Alexander saw specialty fasteners as a growing product segment, one that could become his main stocked set of lines.

"A top-quality product in those years was Parker-Kalon, a company that invented the sheet metal screw," Lebovitz says. "However, they had no distribution openings in Chicago. One of their distributors was having trouble, and my father bought it. It was Albany Steel & Brass."

The sale was good for Parker-Kalon (now part of Emhart Industries, a Black & Decker company) because the supplier not only got a financially sound distributor but kept current distribution happy by not actually adding a location.

"My father also realized that all of the companies buying fasteners needed tools to install them and services to take care of tools," he says. "In a sense, we were doing system supply selling long before it was fashionable."

When David joined the business, he dug deeper into customers' needs and found Albany Steel should supply drill bits and power drills, and many other items, always eyeing the fastener-user industries. Soon, a niche market in HVAC opened. Today, the company stocks duct sealants, insulation fasteners, ladders and safety items used by contractors on VAC equipment throughout greater Chicago, southern Wisconsin and northern Indiana.

Lebovitz' engineering degree and experience lean him toward seeking more engineered, niche product applications. Experience also tells him to buy domestic products of proven quality because they will sell themselves more often than not. Distributors look best when good products perform above the norm, he says.

Many of the typical industrial supply customers that peppered greater Chicago are gone, Lebovitz says. In the same way the screw machine shops and one-man tool and die operations are dying out, so are the small, independent cutting tool houses. There is little demand for their products, and what business there is, is going to lowest-price commodity suppliers. Fortunately, he adds, customers for his products have not migrated to that kind of supplier.

"So many of the end-user products that were stamped or molded have migrated to the Pacific Rim. Any tool and die sales are very difficult in this area," he says.

More decisions. Should Albany Steel become involved in price wars and start buying products from every corner of the globe?

"We made decisions that kept us out of a commodity pricing frenzy. Every product we have is the highest quality market leader," Lebovitz says. "Frankly, the only way to lead a market is to hang your hat on market leaders."

Eventually, Lebovitz decided to begin vendor managed inventory, mainly due to demand from a few large customers. All sides – suppliers, customer buyers, plant personnel, and Albany Steel's salespeople – found the benefits far greater than the risks.

"Our business now is about 50 percent OEM and 50 percent contractor," Lebovitz says. "We wholesale some proprietary fasteners not easily found today. Again, it was a decision to solidify our position in the eyes of customers who see us as an institution in the Grand Avenue area."

One OEM customer, ITW Paslode of Green Oaks, Ill., brought Albany Steel on as a supplier in 1996 when the factory opened. According to Ted Hook, manager of supplier relations, ITW Paslode has been treated fairly in all dealings with Lebovitz and his sales crew. Paslode's 58,000-square-foot factory sits across the street from a newer, 100,000-square-foot warehouse facility, Hook says.

"We buy machine screws, cap screws labels and some special foam pads they stock for us," says Hook. "They're all OEM, mostly 'C' class parts. We also purchase springs and wire forms."

Although the company has a complete 900-page catalog, it is not a catalog house. Customers don't need a part number to order, and the inside salespeople know their products, Lebovitz says. Throughout the years, employees have been encouraged to express their concerns and ideas.

"We employ families, not people, and no one here has a monopoly on brains," he says. "We're all ready for the break in the economic slowdown."

As he waits for business to get better, a record number of construction cranes dot the skyline in downtown Chicago.

"We are just waiting for the point at which HVAC and electrical go into those new buildings. Construction isn't there yet, but we think the cranes are a good sign," he says.

Some of the projects Albany Steel was involved in: a support system for the façade of the 83-story Standard Oil Building; safety-related hardware for Commonwealth Edison power plants; tools and fasteners at McCormick Place, United Center, O'Hare Airport, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

And, Albany Steel had the honor of supplying the anchor bolts and epoxy that secures the statue of Chicago's beloved baseball announcer Harry Caray on its pedestal at Wrigley Field.

As he leads the company into the future, Lebovitz likes his options and opportunities.

"I think the classic supply house – drill rod, taps, dies and flat ground stock – will have to call the museum or the junk man," he says. "Yes, there's still a little of that business, but it migrated to a different kind of supplier. They are getting hit from two sides, the giant distributor and the home-type retailer."

The third-generation business continues, through diligence and experience, to grow at the right times. It's easy to get ahead of yourself and make some bad moves, Lebovitz acknowledges.

Where to from here? Well, Lebovitz' son, Andy, is 21 and pursuing an engineering degree.

"There is a lot of hope that Albany Steel & Brass will continue to prosper under the direction of the fourth generation," Lebovitz says.