The Beginning

Patty Walling and Claire Williamson took a big risk when they purchased Plasco and The Golden Thumb Glove Company and consolidated the struggling 50-year-old companies to form Benchmark Industrial Supply in November, 2003. But it was a small price to pay to save the jobs of 16 employees at the safety products distributor based in Springfield, Ohio.

“We bring an understanding that we value and develop employee relationships the same as we value and develop our customer relationships,” explains Claire, the Vice President of Benchmark. “It was a tough decision and a tough sell. We had to convince people that we could turn around a business that had been declining for years. It was our strong desire to keep the business and jobs open in our community.”

The consolidation wasn’t solely based on altruism. Claire served as a purchasing manager for Plasco for 27 years, and Patty was the comptroller/general manager for 25 years. So the duo certainly knew the business and had a plan to make Benchmark succeed. And as seasoned industry professionals, both were able to provide ‘hands-on’ ownership for the certified WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise).

“We felt it would be to our advantage to be certified as a Women-Owned Business, as the old company was an experienced supplier to numerous government entities,” says Patty. “We hoped our certification would help Benchmark earn more opportunities with big business and the government. We also felt we needed to diversify into other markets to add value to our existing customers and also be more attractive to new, prospective customers.”

Bright Ideas for Profitable Solutions

Patty and Claire have improved and, in some ways, reinvented Benchmark. They’ve benefited from the experienced employee base and the existing customer relationships cultivated for more than 50 years by the original company, which was founded in 1946. But they’ve diversified their customer focus as well as their product availability.

Broad Customer Focus

• Benchmark responded to a slowing automotive industry in Ohio by focusing on other areas such as metal fabrication, food manufacturing, plastic injection molding, and a wide range of other manufacturing applications.

Expanded Product Focus

• Benchmark has added to a historically strong presence in the safety products industry by rapidly growing in other areas like packaging, production support, and maintenance and janitorial supplies.

Benchmark is large enough to be competitive, but small enough to be extremely flexible. The company has the ability to conform to each customer’s unique requirements.

“We pride ourselves in the fact that we bring ‘bright ideas for profitable solutions’ to our customers,” states Patty. “We are committed to providing our customers with a quality product from a knowledgeable source, on time, every time. We dedicate ourselves to continuous improvement toward that goal.”

The Future of Benchmark

It’s clear that Patty and Claire made the right choice a few years ago when they invested in a company with an uncertain future. In its first three years of existence, Benchmark has doubled its sales, and the duo was able to reinvest in the company’s infrastructure.

“We’re never resting, that’s for sure,” explains Sales Manager Ron Tenkman. “Our motto is ‘we will never stop earning your business.’ With that in mind we will continue to strive to be the ‘benchmark’ by which all other suppliers are compared. We want to be the leader in our industry by providing ‘bright ideas for profitable solutions.’ We will do that by taking the time to understand our customers’ needs on an individual basis.”