KIE Supply Appoints VP, Opens New Location
Amelia Kittson, a third-generation owner at KIE Supply Corp., has been promoted to vice president upon her graduation with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in supply chain management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She spent the past two years working from Madison, Wisconsin, where she received a rare fellowship from The Grainger Foundation, including a full-ride scholarship to earn her MBA from the Grainger Center for supply chain management at the Wisconsin School of Business. Kittson has spent the past 10 years working for KIE Supply, and will continue to work closely with her father, Gus Kittson, president, on their succession planning.
KIE Supply Corp. also recently announced the opening of its newest location in Caldwell, Idaho. KIE Supply first opened in Kennewick, Washington in 1955, and has since added five more locations throughout the Inland Pacific Northwest. KIE will be selling irrigation, plumbing and electrical products out of their Caldwell location, with a grand opening scheduled for July 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST at 1614 Industrial Way, Caldwell, Idaho, and all are invited to attend.
For more information, visit kiesupply.com.
Parris One of MDM’s 2021 Women in Distribution
Katie Parris’ path to president and CEO of The Part Works Inc., a Seattle-based plumbing distributor, is a familiar one for second-generation business owners. But what she’s done with the company in the last six years 
has stood apart, and it’s why Parris is one of MDM’s 2021 Women in Distribution award winners. She added e-commerce, ERP, CRM and the tools needed for the company to adapt to the current business landscape. When the pandemic hit last year, those tools enabled customers to do more on the company’s website while allowing sales reps to do more in the cloud.
That focus on digitizing the business inspired her brother, Tim Johnson, to nominate Parris for this award. “When our parents started The Part Works over 40 years ago in our garage, it was an almost exclusively outside-sales driven, pen and paper, mom and pop (literally) plumbing repair parts distributor,” he wrote. “Over the past 10 years, as Katie has taken over; The Part Works made it the top priority to keep the high-touch, customer service oriented, knowledge base driven customer experience, while at the same time modernizing our reach through technology. This has included a constant commitment to a web presence that acts in service to our people, not as a replacement for them.”
For more information, visit thepartworks.com.
Knapp Supply Hires New AR Manager
The Knapp Supply Co. Inc. in Muncie, Indiana recently welcomed Steve Merritt as account receivables manager. He brings with him more than 40 years of banking and financial experience. Merritt replaces Steve Chatot, who retired after 20 years of service.
For more information, visit knappsupply.com.
Williams Distributing Merges with Shoemaker Inc.
Williams Distributing, a leading distributor of quality HVAC, hearth, garage door and kitchen and bath products, recently announced the merger of Shoemaker Inc. into the business.
Both companies are family-owned and operated. “Maintaining those family values and feel was important to everyone,” says Mike Koster, CEO of Williams Distributing.
Shoemaker will continue to operate under the Shoemaker brand as a division of Williams Distributing. Both management teams will stay intact.
For more information, visit wmsdist.com.