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Web-Don, Inc. proudly celebrates
over 30 years in the laminate and solid surfaces industry and counting,
amongst its greatest achievements have been gaining recognition as the 1997
Wilsonart Distributors of the Year, reaching a 10% yearly sales growth for the
past 20 plus years, and turning a small business into a mega-success.
Web-Don, Inc. originally took off in
Charlotte, NC, in 1972, as a Wilsonart distributor, though Web-Don, Inc. was
originally one part of a two part business. Neighbors Webster Collett and Don Smith first owned
and operated C and S Distributors, which was a Florida Tile distributor.
Buck McQuay joined the men in '72 with a $20,000 loan he had taken out from his
local bank. At the time, McQuay was only 32, and taking on such a business
venture was a definite risk. But it proved successful.
Collett and Smith, who were most interested
in Florida Tile, operated C and S Distributors, while McQuay operated Web-Don,
Inc., the side of the company handling all the Wilsonart business. By
1973, C and S had closed its doors as growth in Wilsonart came in leaps and
bounds. Smith also bought out Collett, and from that point forward, McQuay
and Smith, who are still active in the company today, ran Web-Don, Inc.
Within a few years, Web-Don, Inc., had
added other manufacturers and even more locations in Winston and Raleigh.
The company’s history still was not without its rough spots, though. In
the 70s, employees of Web-Don, Inc. had their work weeks cut back to four days,
because the funds to pay for the additional work day were not in the budget.
Salaries were also cut by 20% for a few months, but the company was adamant
about doing everything possible to avoid layoffs.
That has paid off, too. Out of its 100
employees, 25% of the current Web-Don, Inc., work force has been with the company
ten years or more. And the low turnover is only one of Web-Don, Inc.'s
boasting points; they also stress promotion from within and a comfortable
working environment for all their employees.
With such outstanding leadership from
within, it is easy to see why expansion has further been on the rise. There are
now Web-Don, Inc., locations in Columbia, SC, and Johnson City, TN, and a brand
new 50,000 sq. ft. building was opened at Web-Don, Inc., headquarters in
Charlotte earlier this year to accommodate growing business with the company’s
3,000 plus customers.
Web-Don, Inc., attributes its growth to
outdoing competitors in one major area--carrying the full product line from
vendors and an aggressive inventory line.
The company has high hopes, desiring
expansion throughout the south and into the southeast where deliveries can be
made quickly and productively with the least amount of wait time necessary.
Most of all, though, Web-Don, Inc. strives to maintain the family values and the
small business style loyalty and camaraderie that helped it survive the
tumultuous seventies, the grow in the crazy 80s, to grow even bigger in the 90s,
and to achieve a true pinnacle of success and staying power in the new
century.
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