Centennial Celebration

Industrial parts distributor achieves 100 years of success

By Rose Davidson

A century is a long time, no matter how you measure it – and Grandview Heights-based W. W. Williams hopes it is just the start of its long-term success.

W. W. Williams, founded in 1912, is a leading distributor of industrial products to customers around the country. The company provides parts, services and repairs to companies such as Carrier, Isuzu and Mercedes-Benz, and also provides logistical solutions, including warehousing and powertrain component remanufacturing.

Current Chairman and CEO Bill Williams is the great-grandson of founder William Wallace Williams, Sr.

Though highly successful now, the company had a humble beginning, Williams says.

“We started out with a single office down on Spring and High (streets) Downtown selling construction equipment,” says Williams.

In 1920, the company expanded to its current location at 835 Goodale Blvd., which serves as the corporate headquarters. Williams says Grandview has been a comfortable and convenient location for the company to call home, noting its central location, easy accessibility and “great infrastructure in terms of support services.”

While the company was small at first, events over the past century have allowed W. W. Williams to increase the span of services it provides.

In the 1960s, highway projects and coal mining propelled the company into significant growth. Then, in the 1970s and ’80s, the company shifted its focus to diesel engines and automatic transmissions, Williams says.

“With that, it’s led us into various other areas,” says Williams. “We sort of used our core diesel engine business as an opportunity to find new fields that are related, both product-wise and geographically.”

W. W. Williams has now grown to have more than 30 locations across the U.S. and northern Mexico and has more than 1,000 employees, including five family members who work full-time. Williams says family has remained a constant in the business.

“At the top has always been family leadership,” says Williams. “We’ve been very fortunate.”

The company commemorated its centennial anniversary in December. Williams says the company was opened in 1912 – a bit ahead of schedule – at the request of his greatgrandmother. She was very superstitious, Williams says, and did not want the company to be founded in a year that included the number “13.”

Because the company couldn’t find record of the exact date on which it opened for business, the employees settled on Dec. 12, 2012 as the day to celebrate – 12-12-12. At the headquarters’ open house, employees, shareholders and customers were invited to honor the company’s success. W. W. Williams also held a celebratory luncheon at which one customer won a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

As for the future, Williams is already working out the details for the next 100 years. He says the company has taken on new product lines and is actively looking for other companies to acquire. He also has hopes of breaking into a new sector of the industry.

“We are working to get involved with the natural gas industry, both from the exploration side, (and) we’re also reaching out to convert diesel engines and automobiles to run on natural gas,” says Williams.

Rose Davidson is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@ cityscenemediagroup.com.