Behind the counter
Rep. Installer.
Now supplier.
I came into this industry from the top of the training stack — not the bottom.
I started as an independent factory rep, teaching contractors how to actually use the products — the chemistry, the substrate prep, the mix ratios, the failure modes. I was the guy crews called when a job went sideways.
That work pulled me into contracting. If I was going to teach it, I was going to install it, too. I ran jobs across the Midwest — residential, commercial, industrial — while still repping the lines I believed in.
Now I’ve completed the loop. I stocked this store with every product and supply I used to use in the trade myself. I sell the equipment and accessories I’ve tested on real jobs — the ones that work and, just as important, the ones I know don’t.
My shelves stay deep because the Polymer Nation plant is only 90 minutes up the road in Waukegan, Illinois — and I drive up every week for material. That’s why most orders are same-day pickup: walk in, load out. And when a contractor comes in chasing a hard-to-match color, a bulk quantity, or something outside the standard catalog, I stage it on my next Waukegan run so it’s ready when their crew rolls in.
My job is to help my contractors make money and keep them out of trouble. That’s where my expertise comes in. It’s all backed up by the best products in the business — Polymer Nation, Premera, US Abrasives, Xingyi, and the other manufacturers I represent.
