BM_FallStrategies2020-FINAL

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Expanding the Reach How Wylaco Supply Co. Built Its Product Assortment

By using the products and services available from Blish-Mize to build its online store, expand its product reach and strengthen its operations, this Colorado business with two locations has increased its Blish-Mize purchases from $100,000 to $1 million over the last five years. Half a Century of Family Wylaco Building Supply Co. first opened for business out of the back of a trailer in Denver in 1972, selling hardhats and hammers. Its three founders came up with the moniker Wylaco by combining their respective birthplaces—Wyoming, Louisiana and Colorado. The company is still family-owned and operated. Company owner and co-founder Terry Carpenter has stepped back from day-to-day operations, but still works part time in sales. His daughter, Katie Black, is the CFO, and his son-in-law, Frank Curry, manages the Denver location and is the company’s web specialist. Wylaco’s reach now extends throughout Colorado—a second location was added in Gypsum in 1994 when Kiewet, one of the largest construction and engineering contractors in North America, Katie Black (right) serves as Wylaco Supply Co.’s CFO and controller. Frank Curry (left) acts as her right-hand man, managing the Denver branch and serving as Wylaco’s web specialist. F or Wylaco Supply Co., partnering with a regional distributor that can give the operation personalized attention has made all the difference. approached the company for supplies for the Glenwood Canyon Project. “Any large-scale project you see in Colorado, we’ve probably dabbled in or supplied a lot of it,” Curry says. A Tale of Two Branches The Denver Wylaco branch serves contractors and industrial contractors. The property takes up almost an entire city block and has its own trench shoring yard and multiple warehouses. According to Curry, they carry “every hand tool and power tool known to man.” The Gypsum branch features a rebar bending facility on 2 ½ acres and a main building on 2 acres. It serves contractors, and it also features a showroom and carries feed and tack. Customers can shop for boots, saddles, birdseed and cat and dog food.

34 Fall 2020 • Hardlines Strategies