Company Partners with Major Long Island, New York, and New Jersey Wholesale Distributor TOTO, the largest plumbing manufacturer in the world with $5.1 billion dollars in annual sales, announced today that the company is increasing its market reach in the Northeast region of the United States by entering into a distribution agreement Read more
Kitchen & Bath
Company Partners with Major Long Island, New York, and New Jersey Wholesale Distributor
TOTO, the largest plumbing manufacturer in the world with $5.1 billion dollars in annual sales, announced today that the company is increasing its market reach in the Northeast region of the United States by entering into a distribution agreement with
Blackman Plumbing Supply. Starting today, TOTO’s full line of residential and commercial fttings and fxtures will be available at all of Blackman’s 19 branch locations throughout Long Island, New York, and New Jersey and will be on display in all Blackman showrooms.
“Blackman Plumbing is proud to deepen our partnership with TOTO, an industry leader known for anticipating and creating the next generation of fxtures,” said Robert Mannheimer, President and CEO of Blackman Plumbing Supply. “Our new relationship with TOTO will allow Blackman Plumbing to continue to offer our discerning customers world-class products at the cutting edge of contemporary design.”
With this distribution agreement, TOTO and Blackman embark on a new relationship that offers TOTO increased distribution channels through which to provide customers in the Northeast region of the U.S. with its full line of residential and commercial products for the whole bathroom, which have set the standard for world-class performance and innovation as they help improve people’s quality of life.
“The Northeast region of the U.S. is a high priority for TOTO,” said David Krakoff, President of the Americas Sales Division for TOTO USA. “Our ability to partner with an organization of Blackman’s caliber to enhance our coverage of Long Island, New York, and New Jersey is a particularly signifcant event.” Krakoff noted that Blackman embraces TOTO’s core values—technology and innovation in products that respect the environment while meeting people’s needs for comfort, beauty, performance, and design for people of all ages. “Our two companies share these values, so we envision a tremendous level of success and growth together in the future,” Krakoff concluded.
Universally recognized for their enduring quality, reliability and timeless elegance, TOTO products’ added scope of availability through all Blackman’s locations will be an important addition to TOTO’s national offering.
“Like TOTO, Blackman holds the customer experience in the highest regard,” said Jason Fitzsimmons, Vice President of the United States Sales Division for TOTO USA. “They always go above and beyond what is expected to provide excellent service throughout the sales cycle— before, during, and after purchase.” Fitzsimmons continued, “Working with Blackman provides
TOTO with expanded access to retail, wholesale, and commercial customers in the important Northeast region and offers us more opportunities to effciently deliver products where and when our customers need them.”
As part of its ongoing effort to expand and enhance the role of design across its key business processes, American Standard Brands recently welcomed three additions to the company’s design team. Emilie Williams, Greg Reinecker and Gabriela Ravassa are working at the Company’s design studio at headquarters in Piscataway, NJ, reporting to new Vice President Read more
As part of its ongoing effort to expand and enhance the role of design across its key business processes, American Standard Brands recently welcomed three additions to the company’s design team. Emilie Williams, Greg Reinecker and Gabriela Ravassa are working at the Company’s design studio at headquarters in Piscataway, NJ, reporting to new Vice President – Design Jean-Jacques L’Hénaff.
Emilie Williams, as associate design director for faucets, leads all design projects for that category. Williams formerly served as senior designer at Ignite USA, where she designed and developed housewares products for the Contigo and AVEX brands. Previously, Williams spent eight years as lead industrial designer at Delta Faucet and senior designer at the Masco Corporation, where she worked on the Brizo brand. She holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from North Carolina State University.
Greg Reinecker, as lead designer, oversees industrial design projects from concept through implementation across various product categories. Reinecker has worked with two leading design consultancies — Teams Design in Chicago and Axis Design in Austin, Texas — and brings over 10 years of experience in multiple industries, including power tools and housewares.
Gabriela Ravassa, working as industrial designer, pursues projects across all categories, but is currently focused on trade faucet lines for American Standard and DXV, the company’s new flagship luxury bathroom and kitchen brand. A graduate of Parson School of Design, Ravassa worked with eyewear brand Don Vetro, as well as OMHU, a Scandinavian brand specialized in elegant mobility aid products for the elderly.
The new trio brings the current U.S. design team to six members ― including L’Hénaff; Alyson Lyons, lead designer; and Christophe Bucher, chief industrial designer – chinaware products ― plus three associates located in manufacturing facilities overseas. L’Henaff joined the Company in October 2013 in the position of vice president – design. “Jean-Jacques is leading us in a forward-thinking direction, creating world-class product design for products that perform fabulously while looking beautiful and meeting the high-style demands of today’s customer,” said American Standard President and CEO Jay Gould.
Prior to joining the company, L’Hénaff has been a design executive for Kohler Asia, Audiovox, and Terk Technologies, and held various design management positions for consulting firms such as Henry Dreyfuss Associates and The Arnell Group in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Product and Transportation Design from Ecole Superieure de Design Industriel in Paris.
In reinvigorating the design function at American Standard, L’Hénaff and his team have taken a more “user-centric approach to the design process,” he said. “It is all about the user’s experience. We focus not only on the product’s look, feel and function, but also on the overall experience we want the user to have when interacting with them.”
The keys to this approach are two-fold. The first is a commitment to validating new design concepts by submitting them to first-hand consumer testing early in the development process. “The idea is to test our prototypes early, learn early and repeat that cycle again and again until we obtain the right experience,” he said.
The second key is closer ongoing communications among team members, including their colleagues in China. “One designer may focus on faucets, another on bathing and another on chinaware, but we cannot work in silos without regard for each other’s challenges and perspectives,” said L’Hénaff. “Each American Standard or DXV product is a brand ambassador, so all of us are involved in building the brand, and each is on board with what’s happening with our product line as a whole. We have been given this unique opportunity to build on fifteen decades of design tradition and re-interpret it for 2015 and beyond. We are intent on making the most of it.”
Sloan has expanded its Crown® piston flushometer line with the addition of sensor and manually operated urinal models flushing at 0.125 gpf or 0.25 gpf. These new ultra high-efficiency piston flushometers further expand Sloan’s wide range of high-performing plumbing systems for today’s commercial restroom. The exposed and concealed 0.125 gpf and 0.25 gpf Crown flushometers Read more
Sloan has expanded its Crown® piston flushometer line with the addition of sensor and manually operated urinal models flushing at 0.125 gpf or 0.25 gpf. These new ultra high-efficiency piston flushometers further expand Sloan’s wide range of high-performing plumbing systems for today’s commercial restroom.
The exposed and concealed 0.125 gpf and 0.25 gpf Crown flushometers are available as complete valves or they can retrofit onto existing 0.5 gpf flushometers to save even more water and money in a matter of minutes. Along with the introduction of these new models, Sloan has made Crown product line enhancements to ease installation and increase the performance of these systems, including a new Venturi piston design for water closets to improve flow efficiency.
Other Crown flushometer products include water closet models, operating at 1.6 gpf or 1.28 gpf, and 0.5 gpf and 1.0 gpf urinal models. Crown flushometers are available separately or packaged with Sloan vitreous china water closet or urinal fixtures.
Sloan patented the piston flushometer in 1929. The new Crown models join Sloan’s complete line of piston and diaphragm technology flushometers, which together meet the needs of all commercial applications and environments. Download this white paper discussing which conditions and usages impact the decision to choose a piston or a diaphragm flushometer: http://sloanvalve.com/Water_Efficiency/SLV3583-Diaphragm_Piston_White-Paper.pdf.
Gas station restrooms have a notorious reputation in general, but a series of renovated stations in Southern California—all of which incorporate Sloan flushometers—is changing people’s minds. In fact, these restrooms are designed to offer comfortable, leisurely waits for customers of the stations’ car wash and oil change services. Erika Winters, principal of Erika Winters Design in Read more
Gas station restrooms have a notorious reputation in general, but a series of renovated stations in Southern California—all of which incorporate Sloan flushometers—is changing people’s minds. In fact, these restrooms are designed to offer comfortable, leisurely waits for customers of the stations’ car wash and oil change services.
Erika Winters, principal of Erika Winters Design in Los Angeles, has led the redesign of five gas stations for her client and has more locations on the drawing boards. Bella Marketplace is the branded theme of the gas stations owned by Winters’ client with each location taking a slightly different take on the Italian villa look.
Customers of the Las Posas 76 gas station and car wash in Camarillo, Calif., for instance, are treated to restrooms with granite countertops, vessel sinks, Sloan sensor-operated toilets, marble tile and a chandelier. For stations in higher crime areas, Winters alters the product and material choices to keep the restrooms nice, yet vandal resistant.
“We’re happy with Sloan. They’re functional, and they always look good,” says Winters, who chooses either Sloan manual or electronic flushometers, depending on the station.
Bluefrog Plumbing + Drain™ Stands Out in Saturated Segment, Signs 18 Deals in First Quarter While plumbing isn’t exactly known as a sexy business, that doesn’t mean franchises trying to compete in the segment have to flush all their creative thinking down the toilet. With a creative name and memorable, playful bright-blue frog as a Read more
Bluefrog Plumbing + Drain™ Stands Out in Saturated Segment, Signs 18 Deals in First Quarter
While plumbing isn’t exactly known as a sexy business, that doesn’t mean franchises trying to compete in the segment have to flush all their creative thinking down the toilet. With a creative name and memorable, playful bright-blue frog as a brand icon, bluefrog Plumbing + Drain™ is poised to leap ahead of old-school competitors, closing deals with 18 new franchisees just four months after launching its franchise opportunity.
The emerging plumbing and drain-cleaning service, repair and replacement franchise has more to offer than just a catchy name. It’s backed by a major national franchise system with more than three decades of experience and a CEO who spent years with a key competitor in the space.
Mark Dawson, CEO and President of Home Brands Group™, parent company of Re-Bath® and 5 Day Kitchens™ and now, bluefrog Plumbing + Drain, has a reputation for moving brands forward and building the right systems to help them sustain long-term growth. Dawson, a former franchisee of Glass Doctor and Mr. Rooter as well as former President of the Dwyer Group’s Glass Doctor, is set on a mission to build the next premier plumbing and drain cleaning franchise with bluefrog.
“I’m always on the look-out for my next challenge and this is one I’m truly excited to grow,” stated Dawson. “The plumbing and drain industry is saturated, but lacks the professionalism and courtesy that consumers seek. When we sought to create bluefrog Plumbing + Drain, we wanted to build a business that was not only customer-service oriented, but also had a fun personality and culture to back it up.”
bluefrog Plumbing + Drain launched in January to fill a void in the marketplace by creating a systematized plumbing and drain cleaning business that focuses on providing consumers with five key attributes that matter to them most, including: timeliness, safety, professionalism, consideration and a transparent value. All told, the plumbing and drain franchise plans to add upwards of 60 units, to its already operating territories in Omaha, Neb. and Pittsburgh, by the end of the year.
The new franchise opportunity adds an additional revenue stream that’s relevant to existing bath and kitchen re-modeling businesses. For instance, the 18 bluefrog Plumbing + Drain franchise partners are composed of Re-Bath franchisees looking to expand their service offerings, as well as independent plumbers who are looking to apply the proven system with a viable exit strategy.
“We’ve created a business that stands out from the competition. Not just with the name, but also our identity and core values,” added Dawson. “We didn’t want to be grouped in to the large amount of Rooters of the world, so we created a memorable brand to embody our ‘hop to it’ mentality, because the frog knows water best. Ultimately, this resonates more with consumers, which is what you need as a business owner in a highly saturated market.”
bluefrog Plumbing + Drain is looking to add trustworthy, independent plumbers who have an entrepreneurial drive to its franchise system. The ideal prospect is an established independent plumber who is bottom-line driven, customer-service oriented, and has a passion for community involvement. At a low conversion cost of $55,000-$300,000, the bluefrog Plumbing + Drain franchise model gives independent plumbers the blueprint to successfully convert and operate their business. The company also offers financing for prospective franchisee partners, as well as training and ongoing support in areas such as marketing, efficiency and management of the business.