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1-800-875-4811
In 1865, H.B. Newton and George W. Hubbard opened
Newton & Hubbard Hardware Store in Flint, Michigan. The
business prospered and five years later, Hubbard bought out
his partner and renamed the store “Hubbard Hardware.”
Much of Hubbard’s success can be attributed to the personal
attention he gave his customers. He was known to arrive early,
before the store opened, to take care of paperwork and business
matters. He would then spend the rest of the day at the door,
personally greeting and interacting with his customers.
After Hubbard’s death in 1937, the Burrough family, (a
prominent local business family whom Hubbard’s daughter
had married into) became major stockholders in the company
and took the reins. The Burrough family retained the company
name and added an industrial supply division before selling it
to Charles “Chuck” Shelley, a local businessman, in 1963.
Shelley wanted to capitalize on the growing industrial market
and decided to close Hubbard’s retail and wholesale divisions
to focus on the industrial supply division. This move pushed
the company in a new direction, and the name was changed
to Hubbard Industrial Supply. Shelley also convinced his
son-in-law, Robert Fuller, to join the company. When Shelley
retired in 1977, Fuller took over as president and continued
the momentum Shelley started by looking for growth
opportunities. Soon after, he opened a regional distribution
center in Saginaw, the first of many expansions. Branch offices
in Lansing and Livonia were opened and later closed as the
business changed once again.
In 1993, Hubbard Industrial Supply acquired Shand Electronics,
an electronic supplier in Flint. Shand Electronics operated as
a separate business entity until 1999 when the company was
merged with Hubbard Industrial Supply. The name was then
changed to Hubbard Supply Co.
In 2004, Hubbard Supply Co. acquired Kendall Industrial Supply
of Battle Creek, Michigan. This move expanded Hubbard Supply
Co.’s geographical reach to the west side of Michigan, adding
branches in Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and Traverse City.
In April 2007, ownership changed hands once again. Jeff
Bigelow and Tim Brooks, current CEO and COO respectively,
purchased the company from Fuller, keeping it a family-
owned, private business.
Hubbard Supply Co. is a member of two national industrial
cooperatives, Affiliated Distributors and the Edge Group. These
cooperatives combine the purchasing power of distributors
across the country and provide access to more than 3,500
manufacturers, allowing better pricing and product availability
to be passed on to customers.
What started as a small hardware store is now one of the leading
industrial and electronic suppliers in Michigan. Today, Hubbard
Supply Co. has three branch offices, two distribution centers,
and 19 partner distribution centers throughout the U.S.
A Rich History!
