When Richard Gorsey started Eastern Bearings, Inc. in 1963 in a Waltham, Mass., storefront, he had to face some misperceptions people had of him and his fledgling company.

An independent distributor, he only had a few product lines back then, and much of the inventory appeared to be contained in the trunk of his car.

Gorsey would make deliveries throughout Massachusetts and the other New England states. He would occasionally hear about competitors who were known to whisper in the ear of potential Eastern Bearings customers, “How can you buy from him? He doesn't have anything, only the inventory in the trunk of his car.”

He knew back then that he'd have to work hard to clear up that misperception. Gorsey actually had purchased and stored a variety of items in his storefront space, small though it was at the time. Still, he knew that the “selling out of his trunk” perception was one he had to overcome.

“From the very beginning that really wasn't the story” Gorsey says today, laughing a little about it. “Actually, I've always believed in carrying more inventory than even some chains carry.”

Gorsey, as it turned out, had more going for him than people thought—both in terms of the tangibles (inventory) and intangibles (customer service). That motivation to deliver extra service—over and above prompt delivery and good price—to compete with the larger companies and distributors still drives Eastern today.

Since 2000, Eastern's business has seen “double-digit growth every year,” says Geoff Filker, an Eastern principal, along with Gorsey.

Filker, Gorsey's son-in-law, came on board in 1987. A graduate of the University of Florida and Georgia Tech graduate school, Filker was writing software programs for the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development before receiving the offer to join Eastern. He liked the software-related work, but thought the potential for advancement at HUD was limited, he recalls, and was glad to take on the challenge of the Gorsey family business. “It's been quite an experience,” he says.

Eastern sells to, and works with, many more industries than it used to. What started with an emphasis on bearings has grown to include other fields, as Gorsey saw the need to branch out into power transmission products, for example.

“We got more into power transmission products when it became difficult to get bearings lines,” Gorsey recalls. Eastern began to sell more chains, sprockets and belts, and eventually that “began to grow into more sophisticated products,” he says.

Another area where Eastern has played a greater role, he adds, is in electrical and its related products.

“Electrical is probably the big driving force today. That's where it's going more and more. We also have a lot of specialized services,” Gorsey says. “We install centralized lube systems. We repair and rebuild reducers. We'll kit together motors and reducers. We do vibration analysis. And that's helping us to get more business.”

While some distributors can focus on a specialty, Gorsey adds that most of his colleagues in distribution have to be able to do more than their predecessors ever thought of doing.

“Years ago, the [bearings] manufacturers used to service all the OEM accounts. But today, the majority of the products are being serviced by the distributors. The manufacturers can't afford to service and get into all the areas. They really need the distributors to service all these areas,” Gorsey says.

While Filker hasn't spent as many years in the industry as Gorsey, he, too, has seen things evolve and change radically.

“Years ago, you could be a distributor and just sell product,” Filker explains. “The lines were the most important thing. You could make a living by stocking, selling and delivering products. But that's not the case anymore.”

Eastern Bearings is still independent and still in Waltham, albeit at a different location in larger headquarters (including a warehouse). Rather than Gorsey's car trunk, its considerable inventory is located in 11 branches throughout the six-state New England region.

Mark Levesque is the senior manager/purchasing for Goss International, a large manufacturer of printing press equipment based in Durham, N.H.

“Over the years they've become one of our larger distributors. [We're] buying a lot of different items that can range from gear boxes to belts to motors,” he says.

Eastern has two locations in New Hampshire (Newington and Manchester) as well as a central inventory division, also in Manchester. Their proximity is a great convenience for Levesque and Goss.

“They're in our building quite often when we need things in a hurry. They are very customer-service oriented,” Levesque says.

Along with New Hampshire, many of Eastern's locations are in towns with quaint New England names: Williston (Vt.) … Westbrook (Maine) … South Windsor (Conn.) … oh, yes—and Shanghai, China.

Among the changes in recent years has been Eastern's opening of an office and distribution warehouse (Shanghai Motion Control Technology, Co. Ltd.) in an area as far from New England (literally and figuratively) as you can get.

In 2003, one of Eastern's customers, Gerber Garment Technology, went over to China. Gerber Garment is a Connecticut-based manufacturer of cutting tools that are used primarily in the garment industry. Gerber wanted to begin manufacturing in China, specifically for the Chinese market.

“They wanted to make machines to sell in China, where there is a huge garment industry,” Filker explains. “The strategy wasn't to bring those machines back here. It was strictly focused on the Chinese market.”

Gerber asked Eastern to go over to China with them, Filker says, “and be their distributor over there, bringing them product and our value-added services, just like we do here.”

Once in China, Eastern Bearings' Drew Tucci, director of sales, managed to hire a bi-lingual staff at a pace at which Filker still shakes his head in wonder. “He did an amazing job,” he marvels. Tucci is a member of the board of directors of the Power Transmission Distributors Assn.

Eastern has its own warehouse about 10 miles outside of Shanghai and offices in a downtown high rise, he explains.

“Some think about having a place there to procure goods and bring them back to this country,” Gorsey says. “We went there to service people [already] over there. Many of our larger accounts are now over there, too.”

Gorsey had actually been to China before Eastern invested there, visiting as part of a Far East vacation. Speaking from his office this past summer, he said he was looking forward to making his first official business trip there this month.

“I'm feeling kind of guilty,” he laughs, “because I've sent so many people from here so many times. But I haven't gone myself.”

Since arriving in China, Eastern has picked up other customers there, Filker says.

“Over the past three years, we've picked up other customers, Chinese customers, and some of our American OEMs have started manufacturing over there. So, since we're close with them here, they have started buying from us in China, too,” Filker says. “So right now, it's a successful operation.”

Levesque has benefited from Eastern's Chinese developments, too.

Levesque went to Shanghai with Eastern this past March. The distributor helped him with some introductions to companies in China, he explains, adding that Goss International already had a facility in Shanghai.

“Eastern offered to take us over there and take us to different companies,” Levesque says. “We were interested in procuring anything from machine goods to commercial parts [in China] for cost-reduction purposes. It was a very good trip.”

While still bullish on the China market and their experiences to date, Filker adds a cautious perspective.

“Salaries are going up there now,” he says. “And real estate prices are sure going up. It's cheaper than Boston, but it's not cheap anymore. And while the labor pool still costs less, it, too, has gone up every year.”

Eastern emphasizes to its employees, at all levels and locations, how crucial customer service and value-added offerings are.

“Value-added means 'what else can you do for me to make me want to buy from you rather than the other guy?'” Filker says. “You have to show them why. Everyone's doing different things because you can't make a living just by selling product anymore.”

Listening to them, Gorsey and Filker's confidence in their employees' approach to customer-service is obvious.

“The reason we're successful is our people. It's a cliché, but it's so true,” Filker says. “We have such talented people.”

He specifically points to Tucci, director of sales, calling him, “the best. He's strategic, tactical … just cutting-edge. I'm glad he likes working here!” he laughs.

In addition, Eastern's director of purchasing and inventory, Bill Hodgson, “understands manufacturers. He understands inventory. He knows how to get [things] to come out right.”

Among the value-added services that Eastern has had to include on its roster are engineering specialists in areas such as lubrication, motion control, vibration technology and preventive diagnostics.

“Those are complementary services. These are our value adds that help pull through the rest of our business. When we do these things for a customer, we are then more important to them. So they'll buy everything else that they can from us. It helps strengthen the relationship,” Filker says.

Both principals are proud that Eastern Bearings remains an independent distributor. But they also realize they need to be constantly growing, or looking to grow, in order to retain that independence. Over the years, especially recently, many independent distributors have been sold to larger companies or have had to close altogether.

“Many went out of business, like the smaller ones, for example,” Filker says. “And some were acquired by larger companies. That's certainly changed the landscape.”

Manufacturers have gone through this as well, Gorsey says—affecting the potential number of suppliers Eastern can deal with.

“The smaller manufacturers have also been sold to larger ones,” Gorsey says. “There's actually been a consolidation throughout the world. Now they're international and operate in many continents.”

The consolidation has had an impact all over. Fewer suppliers can mean higher prices for product. The pressure to make a profit builds all around, Gorsey says.

“The hundred million dollar bearings manufacturer can't survive,” Gorsey observes. “They have to be part of a multi-billion dollar company. That's what's been happening.”

A manufacturer with whom Eastern has worked closely is Emerson Power Transmission of Ithaca, N.Y.

Jon Bradford is the vice president of sales for EPT, with his focus primarily on sales in the eastern region of the United States. He has worked with Eastern for close to 14 years, he says.

“With Eastern Bearings, we plan, we execute, we measure, we evaluate, we adjust and we plan again, ” Bradford says. “It is their commitment to that process that makes it successful.”

Both Eastern and EPT have grown during that relationship, Bradford adds.

“But that growth doesn't happen by chance. It happens because of planning and execution. We have a partnership with Eastern that follows that,” he says.

While the industry learning curve never seems to slow down, some things that the sell-out-of-the trunk Richard Gorsey used to do still work today.

“We still need to call on people, to call on accounts,” Gorsey says. “We still have to have salesmen out there calling on the accounts and helping them solve problems. That hasn't really changed.”

He adds, “Some may want price, some may want service or availability. Everybody's different. And customers today have become very conscious of carrying [too much] inventory. And the manufacturers want you to deliver 'just in time.' You have to be very efficient.”

“You have to have the right inventory at the right branches at the right time,” Filker concurs. “You have to be in touch with the customers and make sure you stop buying [products] when their needs change and they no longer use it, or have perhaps upgraded to a different product.”

Goss International has gone through those scenarios—discontinuing a product and/or upgrading to something different.

Goss uses a number of distributors, Levesque says, estimating they have more than 1,200 of them, “and Eastern is one of our top suppliers. We have a very good relationship with them, but they earn it—we're very tough on our suppliers. When we want something, and want it a certain way, they'll do everything in their power to do things exactly the way we want it… That's what sets them apart.”