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Milestones: Kamco Supply Corp. of New England
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Business New Haven
11/24/2003
By: Lisa MiCali
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Kamco Supply Corp. of New England
780 North Colony Road
P.O. Box 530
Wallingford, CT 06492
Tel: 203-284-1968
Fax: 203-265-1957
Web: www.kamconewengland.com
Ownership: Paul Taylor, Jay B. Sheehy, Lee Slomkowski
Milestone: 25 years
Timeline: With more than two decades in the sheetrock and acoustic ceiling business tucked under his belt, Jack Sheehy saw an opportunity he couldn't pass up: transform the distribution side of the business. In 1979 he established Kamco Supply in West Haven and was soon known in the industry as a major supplier of acoustical ceiling tile and accessories as well as all types of commercial and residential insulation.
Shortly after Kamco's founding, Paul Taylor came on board. Tired of the corporate scene (Paul worked the southern Connecticut territory for Owens Corning Fiberglas in the 1970s), he kept bumping into Kamco and hit it off with Jack Sheehy immediately. Soon he jumped shipped and became Sheehy's partner. In 1981, the company moved to Orange to accommodate its rapid growth.
In 1995, Jack reached retirement age. His son Jay - an entrepreneur in his own right running Stanley Svea Building Products out of New Britain - decided it was time to join his dad's business by merging his venture into Kamco, thus expanding the product mix into drywall, commercial doors, frames and hardware.
"The merger also gave a boost to the company's presence by adding locations and allowing Kamco to provide greater levels of service to their commercial clients," explains Jay Sheehy. "When [Jack] retired in 1996, Kamco now had locations in Orange, East Hartford, Danbury, Warwick, R.I. and Latham, N.Y."
The business expanded again in 1998, when the residential Colony Lumber Co. in Wallingford was absorbed and added partner No. 3, Lee Slomkowski. Paul knew Lee, and first called on his father when Paul worked at Owens Corning. "Over the years we kept in touch," explains Paul, "until we realized access to lumber products became very important to the business and we got together with Lee."
Achievements and Accomplishments: The secret of their success is simply good old fashioned business practices. "We have very good relations with our vendors and suppliers, and have built strong alliances with our customers. We provide value-added services to our diverse customer base - that is the key to our success," says Jay Sheehy. "I also have excellent partners, a great team who has worked hard to grow the business, and we're proud of our heritage."
With 6 locations and some 225 employees, Kamco's workers are a critical part of the mix. "We've always tried to make this a good place to work. The key to all of this," says Paul Taylor, "are great people who are knowledgeable. That's number one. Secondly, we've got the lines our customers require, and thirdly, we've got the locations that make it easy for them to do business."
Looking Back on a Changing Industry: Today, Kamco Supply does more business in one week than it did in its entire first year in business. The company's vision is to grow the company with value-added selling and to bring high quality goods and services to its customer base.
Through planned, steady growth over the years, the company services residential home builders, commercial drywall and acoustical professionals, as well as institutional and municipal accounts in a one-stop shopping environment.
Kamco's ability to service these three distinct customer bases is a result of the blending of three different companies to accommodate growth and expansion - another cornerstone of business longevity.
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