Earnest Machine Moving Warehouses to Indianapolis; Office Stays in Cleveland
FEATURE
Earnest Machine closed its warehouse in greater Cleveland but its office remains open.
Earnest Machine Products Co. a Cleveland-based master distributor of fasteners since 1948, has closed warehouses in Cleveland and Davenport, Iowa and is centralizing in Indianapolis.
The 90,000 sq ft building on the Northwest side of Indianapolis facility will open in August.
The corporate office will remain in Cleveland, Earnest CEO Kirk Zehnder told FIN.
The process of deciding to move began in 2008 when Earnest consulted distributor customers on “what customers need from us,” Zehnder told FIN. On the company’s side, “we were looking for efficiency.”
Earnest hired Carrie Messer as director of distribution to “rethink our practices.” Messer brought distribution experience from another industry.
Zehnder said the 62-year-old company chose Indianapolis due to the city’s central Midwest location.
“Indianapolis is a logistics hub for the Midwest that provides reliable and economical delivery options,” he said.
Earnest expanded inventory at its Atlanta branch and has closed its Iowa facility. The Cleveland headquarters warehouse is emptied, the building sold and the offices will move in 2011.
In a letter on the earnestmachine.com website, Zehnder compared the move to his youthful days playing Legos. After building one machine he took it apart to rebuilding something better. “Legos taught me to think big, be flexible and embrace new ideas.”
Zehnder has made numerous changes since taking over as the third generation leader. Earnest, once well known for creative booths at industry trade shows, quit exhibiting to spend marketing money in other ways.
Founded in 1948 by Paul Earnest Zehnder in his garage, the company published a history book – Earnest … 50 Years & Counting – in 1998. For excerpts click on the Fastener History section of GlobalFastenerNews.com and scroll down to “1999 FIN – Earnest Machine Products Marks 50th Anniversary With Book of Company History”
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