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81-Year-Old Winthrop
Supply Passes Down
to Fourth Generation

Fritz Steck (center) held all of Withrop Supply’s stock until about five years ago when he started passing down the family business to his children. The fourth generation of the Steck family now has control of business, with Will Steck (l) serving as president and Molly Steck (r) as vice president and treasurer/secretary.

Plumbing, heating and mechanical contractors throughout central Indiana have relied on Winthrop Supply for top-quality residential and commercial plumbing supplies since the company’s founding.

William Steck Sr. survived the depression with his contracting business and acquired real estate in a healthy state. He started to set aside money to start his own supply house—how better to compete than to supply yourself. By 1939, he saved enough money to start Winthrop Supply. The name came simply from being located on Winthrop Avenue.

Fritz Steck joined the company in 1970 and worked alongside of his father, William Steck Jr., and his aunt Dorothy Hummel. “My father made Dorothy the general manager and she ran the company almost 50 years,” Fritz said. “She was my mentor.”

When Dorothy retired in 1996, Fritz acquired all of the company stock, which he held until about five years ago when he started passing down the family business to his children—Will, Molly and Jannie—last July. The fourth generation of the Steck family now has control of business, with Will serving as president, Molly as vice president and treasurer/secretary and Jannie serving on the board of directors.

“They are young and energetic,” Fritz said, adding that his children are quickly and astutely taking the business to the next level. “I am very confident that they are well equipped to move forward.”

“It’s definitely exciting,” Molly said. “It has been in the works for a couple of years. Will and I are pretty comfortable with running things here. Dad did a great job and Will and I are going to continue that.”

Many of the contractors that Winthrop Supply services have been customers for years as the company prides itself on treating cus-tomers like they are part of the family and providing responsive, accommodating service. “What makes our company successful by far and away is our customer service,” Will said. “We still rely on traditional sales. We’re not excited about e-commerce and it’s nothing we are going to push in the near future.”

Customers count on Winthrop Supply for a vast, comprehensive line of top-quality, competitively priced plumbing, heating and related equipment and supplies. The business stocks thousands of items in-house. “Our main customer is the plumber who works on the service side of things—when things break and people need them fixed right away,” Will said. “Our store has everything on the shelf the first time.”

Customers return because Winthrop Supply’s fill rates are pretty much unmatchable. “We are accomplishing 99% on a very con-sistent basis,” Will said. “Our competitors don’t have everything, and contractors don’t want to shop in different places to get the parts they need. We have everything you need every time.”

The company’s 17 employees including salesmen and counter staff have extensive product knowledge. “We offer contractors wide-ranging consultation, training and advice for virtually any residential or commercial plumbing or heating project,” Will said. “We assist with everything, too, from plumbing or heating product selection to technical support to certification.”

Winthrop Supply employees are not only among the most knowledgeable in the region but also among the friendliest. “We have a good group of employees that has been together a long time with no turnover,” Fritz said. “Everybody knows everyone pretty well. They know the responsibilities of the job…and we enjoy a very active economy in our sector.”

The company’s short-term goal is to continue to ensure staff is happy with their jobs and customers are happy with the service. “We are focused on keeping smiles on the faces of our vendors, customers and staff and are not ready to dive into growth or expansion,” Will said.

For Winthrop Supply, IMARK Plumbing membership has many benefits. “The rebate dollars are a huge driver for us,” Will said, adding that the company also benefits from the meetings and member service providers’ offerings. “It really makes our life easy from a marketing perspective,” Will said. “IMARK is giving us a good platform to market ourselves.”

For more information, visit winthropsupply.com.