ESSCO & Star Celebrate Integration

ESSCO and Star are excited to announce that on March 8, 2010, the two companies officially integrated to become one national distributor. This integration joins two of the premiere and most successful distributors in the independent vacuum industry. ESSCO has grown to more than 70 employees with four locations and has become the largest distributor of parts and vacuums in the industry.

The integration will have many benefits for the combined ESSCO and Star customers including four fully stocked warehouses in Twinsburg, OH, Jacksonville, FL, Hauppauge, NY, and Fontana, CA. These warehouses will provide a truly national shipping network that will allow shorter shipping times and lower freight charges for many ESSCO and Star customers. Both ESSCO and Star customers will now have access to more brands of products including territory based Panasonic Platinum and Proteam. Orders placed before 3 p.m. in each warehouse location will ship the same day for all customers. All phone numbers for both Star and ESSCO will remain the same as they are currently. Remittance checks need to be made out to ESSCO and sent to ESSCO headquarters at 1933 Highland Road Twinsburg, OH 44087

The combined ESSCO and Star Customer Service and sales team will include all of your favorite representatives from both organizations. This combined experienced and knowledgeable sales team is ready to serve you, their valued dealers. Star dealers will still be able to reach their former Star representative going forward by using the same toll-free number that is used currently. All dealers will benefit from our increased hours of operation for customer service which will be expanded to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday EST.

Current ESSCO customers will not only benefit from the convenience of potentially faster delivery times and longer operating hours but from additional products and the expertise that Star is well known for. The top selling Powerstar line of central vacuums will now be available to all ESSCO customers. An expanded line of parts and accessories for central vacuums will also become part of ESSCO's inventory. The total amount of items carried by the combined company is close to 10,500.

Star dealers will be provided with many new opportunities and benefits as well. In addition to potentially faster delivery times and longer operating hours Star customers will have access to www.essco.net which ESSCO says is the best dealer only Web site in the industry.The site now contains more than 4,000 schematics in an easily searched format. All independent dealers are welcome to use the Web site and can gain access simply by calling ESSCO to request a user name and a password. Orders can be placed at any time 24 hours a day, seven days a week using the Web site. The ESSCO Web site and order entry system will provide a full cross reference for Star part numbers simply by typing in the Star part number followed by an asterisk *. Labels for the top 200 parts that includes both the ESSCO and Star part number with a description of the item and the OEM part number are free for the asking and in stock to allow dealers to update their parts bins. The industry standard ESSCO catalog which has been updated yearly for 15 consecutive years is available to all independent vacuum dealers. Star customers will also now have access to many new brands of products including the Cirrus and Prograde line of vacuums. Cirrus and Prograde are top quality vacuums and are only available to independent dealers.

The company is also excited to announce the Integration Celebration giveaway for 2010. Two all inclusive, deluxe vacations to the Dreams Rivera Cancun hotel in Mexico and three Panasonic flat screen televisions will be given away to independent vacuum dealers just for purchasing from ESSCO and Star in 2010. The contest is open to all dealers and details and rules for the contest can be found by logging on to www.essco.net or by calling toll free 1-800-321-2664. Prizes will be awarded in January, 2011.

"We welcome all independent dealers to join us in celebrating our integration," said Tom Bianco, ESSCO CEO. "We are very proud of the combined organization that we have put together. Both companies brought strengths to the table and we are a better organization because of the diversity of our people and our products. Our shipping footprint will allow us to deliver products faster with a lower freight bill which is a real benefit for customers on the West and East coasts. We will continue to stay sharply focused on the success of our combined customers. We are also committed to providing the best products, competitive pricing, marketing ideas and shipping faster than anyone in the industry. Your growth is our growth and we look forward to serving you far into the future.”

Feel free to call 1-800-321-2664 to talk to a ESSCO team member if you have any questions or concerns.

Reprinted from Floor Care Professional, April 2010