Email
PrintThe latest buzz in local businesses
January 2010
New year brings new name to 36-year-old appliance company
Metro Builders Supply has changed its name to Metro Appliances & More, Corporate President Guy Minnix says.
In 1974, Metro opened its first showroom in Tulsa, focusing on direct-to-builder appliance sales. The new name will help the company better identify itself as a leading supplier of appliances and will also help establish the core brand among its customers, Minnix says.
“Metro Builders Supply is nationally recognized as a leader in the appliance industry,” he says. “In fact, in both 2007 and 2008, we were named the National Builder Distributor of the Year by the Whirlpool Corp. Although we’ll continue to focus on builders, remodelers and multi-family sales, the name change will allow us to market ourselves more effectively.”
Much of Metro’s success is directly attributed to its sales team’s vast product knowledge and extensive training efforts.
“Appliance vendors appreciate our company model to the extent they invite our salespeople to visit their manufacturing facilities to watch the assembly line process and attend extensive training,” Minnix says. “There are no other stores in our markets that provide the extensive selection of appliances coupled with the strength of our sales teams.
“You won’t find that knowledge at a national chain store or many other independent dealers.”
The employee-owned company has since grown into one of the Midwest’s largest appliance dealers and features stores across four states. In addition to Tulsa, markets include Oklahoma City, Owasso and Edmond; Little Rock and Springdale in Arkansas; Wichita, Kan.; and Springfield and Joplin in Missouri. A 10th store in Jonesboro, Ark., will open soon.
In addition to 40 brands of appliances carried in every store, select Metro locations also offer Jetta bathtubs, Legacy Quartz countertops and extensive lighting departments.
IFMA honors Tulsan with Distinguished Member Award
The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) awarded Tulsan Ted D. Webb the Distinguished Member of the Year Award at the organization’s recent Award of Excellence Banquet during IFMA’s World Workplace 2009 Conference and Expo in Orlando, Fla.
Webb, director of facilities for Mazzio’s Corp., received the international award for his “tremendous involvement and positive impact throughout the association,” says Thomas l. Mitchell Jr., chairman of IFMA’s board of directors.
Webb was a leader in the formation of the IFMA Tulsa chapter in 1987 and has since held virtually every leadership position, including president, treasurer and chair of the education committee for the past 15 years.
The honoree was one of the IFMA’s first certified facility managers and is currently involved in the creation of a facility management degree program at his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, where he oversees the student scholarship program.
In 1994, Webb helped initiate the start of the IFMA student chapter at OSU, and later guided the development of the IFMA scholarship program. In 2007, the Ted D. Webb Facility Management & Design Scholarship was established and awarded to a deserving OSU student.
“The Distinguished Member of the Year Award reflects all of Ted Webb’s accomplishments and his leadership and loyalty to the IFMA organization for the past 22 years,” says Tony Lenox, president of the Tulsa IFMA Chapter. “It is an incredible honor to be officially distinguished among IFMA’s 19,500 members around the world.”
