Don Wolf
with
Michael C. Hawfield
Hardware Wholesalers, Inc.
6502 Nelson Road
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Locally-owned hardware stores and lumber yards joined forces through HWI to leverage their buying and merchandising power. As a result, they achieved dramatic growth. The HWI story is, indeed, one of the great merchandising stories of all time. In recognition of all the members, associates, and suppliers who worked together over the past half-century to build a great company in a great industry, HWI gratefully dedicates this book.
Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. is a great American success story. The company began with little more than an idea in 1945 and in only five decades rose to become the leader in the wholesale distribution field today. The company offers independent hardware and building material retailers the lowest cost of operation and the highest rebates in the industry. HWI has grown from an idea in 1945 to one of the largest member-owned cooperatives in the United States and the world. Its success is due to a unique tradition that has grown for half a century.
This book offers a bridge between the past and the future. The determination and dedication of those who built this great company in the past are important models that the company values today and believes form the basis for continued growth and leadership in the future. The story of HWI makes clear that associates in the present-day organization owe a great deal to the charter members who had the vision to purchase $1,000 stock in the company to start operations and to the original associates who were dedicated to serving others as they would like to be served.
As HWI celebrates its traditions, members and associates can be proud of the company's past and its present stature. The strength of HWI's past clearly will provide a strong foundation for the future as HWI members look forward to dramatic growth in the years ahead.