In 1950, the venerable industrial supply industry hadn't changed the way it served the manufacturing sector of America since the end of the 19th century.

After coming out of the service in WWII, I returned to my job in a small Detroit supply company with a great many new ideas about how to distribute tools and supplies. With very little capital, I formed my own company, Production Tool Supply, in August 1950, and was joined by several dedicated ex-GIs, who became the nucleus of my team.

Since we had no experience in calling on the customer, we had to encourage the customer to come to us.

Our first plan called for a glass showroom/warehouse, which we had built in Detroit's suburbs, on a busy main thoroughfare, near the hundreds of small- and medium-size machine shops springing up after the war. In our showroom, the small shop owner could examine everything from a hundred different precision measuring tools and a Bridgeport Milling Machine to a ¼-20 left-hand tap. If needed, a well-trained counter salesperson was on hand to assist. PTS' showroom lights went on at 7 a.m. and off at midnight, so the passing highway traffic could see inside.

The formula worked. In a short time, we built several more showrooms, fully stocked with the products the small shops needed.

In 1965, our most important innovation began — the mail order industrial supply priced catalog. Prior to that, catalogs were available from the local supply company, or one central source put them all together with different covers. Their contents changed very little from year to year.

PTS provided an annual book throughout North America, filled not only with all the standard items every shop used, but thousands more new designs and premier quality products from the USA and all over the world. (In 2003, we shipped 440,000 copies of our 1,600-page catalog.)

By 1980, we were servicing an ever-increasing number of other industrial suppliers. Our large-quantity buying power and willingness to maintain inventory beyond the norm allowed us to provide overnight delivery to other dealers. We also could offer a substantial resale discount. Now, dealers can use the Internet to check stock and place orders. If requested, we send their order directly to their customer with their label and packing slip — with absolute security.

Through the more than 50 years of our continued growth and innovation, our family of about 600 men and women have developed relationships far beyond employee/employer status. Many of our young adults have married, and we are privileged to see their children when they visit us. Several are now adults working for PTS — our second generation. We not only work together — we are a proud family.