Complete Family of Protection
For half a century, Town & Country Industries has been guided by core values that still resonate today.

HP: Tell us about your company:

Thomas Johnston: Town & Country Industries was founded as a small mom-and-pop hardware store in 1957. We proudly celebrate our 50th anniversary this year. During the past 50 years the company has undergone many changes, but one thing that will never change is our founder’s core values of providing quality products and personalized customer service. These principles guide every decision that our company makes and resonate throughout our culture every day.

During the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s Town & Country added a manufacturing division, sold the retail end of the company and began supplying wholesale aluminum extrusions to the specialty contractor and opened our second major distribution center in Ft. Myers, FL. In 1992 we opened our industrial division, T&C Metals, to supply raw materials to metal fabricators of all types. During the following decade this expansion trend continued as we opened new facilities all throughout the state.

2005 was a milestone year for T&C as we were purchased by ABC Supply Co. Inc., Beloit, WI. ABC is the world’s largest supplier of roofing products with more than 300 locations throughout the United States. The marriage of our two companies has been very exciting and we believe has benefited our customers tremendously. Being a privately owned company with similar small town roots, ABC holds the same core principles of personalized attention and quality customer service as Town & Country.

After the record number of hurricanes in 2004, Town & Country was faced with unprecedented demand for our hurricane protection products and was challenged to keep up with the demand for storm panels. To ensure that we would be able to supply our customers with uninterrupted material, Town & Country purchased Madden Mfg., Pompano Beach, FL, which at the time was the largest producer of hurricane panels in the world. This acquisition added several new products to our storm panel line and solidified Town & Country as the leading supplier of hurricane protection products in the industry.

Just recently Town & Country acquired Jones Grof, Jacksonville, FL. With this addition we now have facilities totaling in excess of 650,000 square feet, which serves customers from Key West all the way to Wilmington NC, and as far west as Slidell, LA.

HP: What hurricane products did you handle?

Johnston: Town & Country Industries has been providing hurricane protection products since corrugated aluminum storm panels were made by hand on a break, job by job. In the ’60s we introduced one of the first roll formers in the industry and began manufacturing .032-, .040-, .050- and .063-inch aluminum panels. Prior to hurricane Andrew, Town & Country provided two accordion lines, both the original solid post system and a newer hollow blade system.

Today, we are proud to offer the most complete line of hurricane protection products in the industry. We have nine storm panel variations including .040-, .050-, .060-inch aluminum, as well 28ga (.018), 24ga. (.0239), 22ga (.0285) and 20ga (.030) galvanized steel panels that have rolled safety edges for safer installation, many of these products are offered in both mill finish and white. We try to reference our steel panels by their actual thicknesses, this way our customers really know that they are getting exactly what they ordered. To accompany these panels, we have over 20 mounting extrusions to handle virtually every attachment condition.

Undoubtedly the hurricane protection product we are best known for is our 6.8™ accordion shutter. The 6.8™ accordion was our second post-Andrew accordion. The first generation of the 6.8™ was designed from the start to correct the problems that plagued all accordion shutters and shutter manufacturers. We held numerous product development meetings with our customers to find out what they wanted and needed in an accordion system before even beginning the design process. The feedback that we received was invaluable. Our customers wanted a stronger, more cost efficient, easier to manufacture, faster and simpler to install, more aesthetically pleasing system with fewer components. They wanted a system that was superior to everything else on the market, so that their sales people could differentiate it to a homeowner. To top off the list, we needed an accordion capable of performing on hi-rise structures.

We began by working backwards, starting with the most common standard opening sizes, and designing the shutter to fit those openings with maximum efficiency. What we ended up with is the 6.8™ and HR (Hi-Rise) accordion systems. The 6.8™ and HR™ share all the same mounting extrusions and hardware so they are very cost effective for a manufacturer from an inventory standpoint.

At the 2006 World of Hurricane Protection trade show we introduced the second generation 6.8™ and HR™ accordions. The main focus for this new generation was ease of use and additional options. We hold interactive focus groups every year with our manufacturers in which they actively participate in the direction and design of the 6.8™ system. Our customers drive our business; only they know what changes and updates need to me made.

HP: Is your business computerized?

Johnston: Computers are essential tools for a modern business and we have incorporated them into many parts of our company, but you’ll always get a live person to talk to whenever you call any of our branches!

In 2002 we introduced a custom built inventory tracking system in order to locate and move product quickly and efficiently throughout our warehouses. We use wireless scanners and barcodes to track every bundle that enters our warehouse.
On the Web, you can visit us at www.tc-alum.com, where we have an online catalog.

In 2006 we started another industry first, a manufacturers e-mail database. The goal was to create a way to keep our manufacturing customer base instantly informed of code changes, product improvements, engineering changes, price increases, price decreases and changes or additions to our ongoing Quality Assurance program.

HP: What are some key factors involved in your growth and success?

Johnston: The greatest influence of late has been our acquisition by ABC Supply. Our former owner and current president, Tim O’Connor promised us that the reason he decided to sell to ABC was because they possessed the same core values and commitment to their employees that he has valued for the past 30 years. ABC Supply’s goal is to be the “best place to work in America.” It is not hard to imagine that when you have happy, enthusiastic employees you will end up with satisfied, loyal customers.

In 2000 we had approximately 77 shutter manufacturers in our group. At one point in 2006 we had over 300 applications in house of companies that wanted to manufacture our products, but we never could have supplied them all. This is when it pays to have customers that are more like business partners. Some of our competitors opened up hundreds of new manufacturers, however we opted to push our customers to expand and build their wholesale business by sending the great majority of the applicants to them instead of setting up 300 new manufacturers. Today we have approximately 80 manufacturers. It is very important to partner up with a supplier that respects and understands the importance of having material available to keep your business running. We certainly were not perfect over the last two years, but I bet no one did a better job of supplying material under the extreme circumstances.

One other area that we excel in is technical assistance. This year we hired Len Scibilia to help me with all the engineering questions, code questions and permitting questions that our customers have. Between the two of us I don’t think any customer has ever waited more that 24 hours for technical assistance. I know that no other supplier can match that!

HP: Are there other topics or products we should know about?

Johnston: We recently developed a name for our family of hurricane protection products. We held a company-wide contest to come up with family names for our shutter lineups, Eyewall Armor™ was chosen for Town & Country products and WindPro™ for Madden products. We want our customers, and homeowners to associate the names Eyewall Armor™ and WindPro™ with the best hurricane protection products available.

Town and Country also offers a complete line of impact windows from top names like PGT, Simonton and ViWinetech. We also offer a full line of non-impact windows, vinyl siding, soffit, screen, screen doors, screen enclosure extrusions, Elite panels, hardware and a full line of industrial metals. Looking for a partner? Give us a call.