• Kip: Untold
• Vendor Spotlight: Elkay
• EPIC Spotlight: NIRON
• Don't Forget the Gaskets
• Media Mentions
• We Supply America update
• Tanzania update
• Eastern Cares: RightNowMedia@Work
• Quick Pics
• Scholarship Recipients
• New Hires

As a business leader, it is important to choose your fellow business leaders carefully.

They must be people you can trust; they must also be willing to give you tough feedback with your best interests at heart. As it says in Proverbs, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” ¹ These are the people who have your back in the trenches. You may even spend more time with your fellow leaders at work than you do with your spouse in certain seasons of life. At work, I am surrounded by high-level senior leaders, along with up-and-coming young executives. They are trusted, tried, and true to Eastern, Kim and me, and to my family as well. They are like family to me. They understand how I think, and many of their beliefs and practices are aligned with my own.

In his book The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis describes friendship as existing exclusively

between like-minded individuals. Any group of people may get along companionably, but

true friendship “arises out of mere companionship when two or more of the companions

discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or

burden).” ²

^{_________________}

^{1 - Prov. 27:6}

^{2 - C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1960), 75.}

The Elkay ezH2O® floor-standing bottle filling station delivers a clean, quick water bottle fill and enhances sustainability by minimizing dependency on disposable plastic bottles.

The unit can be installed in any indoor location where there is a water supply and drain.

The unit's sanitary no-touch sensor activation features an automatic 20-second shut-off timer.

Learn More.

Features:

• Touchless, sensor-activated bottle filler, designed for easy use; retrofits existing EFA and LAFE 115V style coolers.
• Traditional floor mount design allows for floor-standing or wall-backed installations.
• Green Ticker™ informs the user of the number of 20 oz. plastic water bottles saved from waste.
• The 3,000-gallon filter is certified to NSF 42 and 53 for lead, Class 1 particulate, chlorine, taste and odor reduction.
• Visual filter monitor with LED filter status indicator for when filter change is necessary.
• A hermetically sealed refrigeration system provides chilled water to satisfy thirst.
• Impressive 48" standing height and 39" spout-to-floor distance for ease of use.
• Convenient single power cord design.

About Elkay

Elkay began as a vision of Leopold Katz and his son Louis on the North side of Chicago in 1920.

Their goal was to manufacture the highest quality sinks and provide exceptional service. The result: a thriving company built one satisfied customer at a time.

Today, we’re proud to be America’s number one kitchen sink company. We’ve expanded into a range of kitchen and bathroom plumbing, commercial sinks, and water delivery for homes, offices, schools, and more.



Through the years, Elkay has continued to launch new products, designs, and innovations, and serves as a thought leader in an amazing array of different industries.

Thanks to Bubba Henson for sharing these photos of our valued customer, C.J. Compton Plumbing, Heating & Air's job well done installing a new air chiller at Wofford University in Spartanburg, SC.

The chiller was piped back with Nupi Americas Inc.'s NIRON PP-RCT pipe and fittings from Eastern's EPIC Division and installed using NIRON-specific bolt packs from Eastern's Fasteners and Gaskets Division.

Learn more about EPIC's NIRON offerings and capabilities in the video below:

It’s hard to fathom that something as simple as a proper gasket could have prevented a national tragedy. But it’s true.

A faulty O-ring on a rocket engine led to the explosion that claimed seven lives, while millions of Americans watched it happen on live television.

While the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster happened 36 years ago, the awful memory continues to live on in school history books and in popular media, including the recent Netflix series “Challenger: The Final Flight.” The disaster also serves as an important reminder for those of us in the P.V.F. distribution industry of just how crucial it is to have a proper seal inside a critical system.

One minute and 13 seconds after the Challenger took off on January 28, 1986, a compromised circular-shaped gasket on the right rocket booster failed, resulting in the explosion that rocked America.

“Gaskets are often small, and inexpensive,” said Blair Lell with Eastern Power Tech’s Fasteners and Gaskets division (F&G). “Gaskets may not be at the top of mind when putting together a quote or a purchase order, but they are important to remember in truly caring for the customer.”

Gaskets can prevent leaks, prolong the life of the piping system, and help ensure the safety of those working in proximity to the piping system, Lell explained.

The F&G inside sales team can help you determine what gaskets are needed for every job. F&G can provide custom-cut gaskets in a variety of materials, as well as spiral-wound and other specialty gaskets for every type of system.

“Remember to ask your customers if their jobs require gaskets, and then give our F&G team a call to help you care for those customers by providing additional protection, safety, and more.”

Reach out to a member of the Fasteners and Gaskets sales team today at 864-968-4265.

Click here to watch video highlights from a recent gasket-themed lunch & learn event with an Eastern customer in Berkeley County, SC. 

(Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/ NASA)

Media coverage of the upcoming 9th annual Eastern Cares Charity Classic:

• The Wholesaler

• Supply House Times

Supply House Times article featuring Kip Miller:

• "State of the Industrial PVF Industry"

The new season of We Supply America will premiere on September  8.

The show will continue to release new episodes each Thursday for the next seven weeks.

One of the episodes will feature Eastern Industrial Supplies but the release date for Eastern's episode has not yet been announced.

Click here to watch the trailer for the upcoming season.

"Striving to be the best is a team effort," said Nathan Hampton, Branch Operations Manager in Anderson, SC, where the team took a moment to celebrate having the highest Netradine Green Zone scores in the company for the month of August. Netradyne is a new tool Eastern is using to track and reward safe driving within our delivery fleet.

Colby Ervin (left) and "Warehouse Mom" Cindy Medeiros of Eastern Power Tech's Fasteners and Gaskets celebrate Hunter Lancaster's (right) last day before heading off to USC Lancaster.

Congratulations to the students who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year.

Eliza Turnage

University of SC

Daughter of Rod Turnage

Halie McDaniel

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Daughter of Josh McDaniel

Hunter Lancaster

University of SC Lancaster

Son of Corey Lancaster

Joshua Hampton

University of Georgia

Son of Nathan Hampton

Justin Ikenberry

University of SC

Son of Kristy Ikenberry

Kennedy Lyon

University of SC

Daughter of Kennedy Lyon

Kirsten Thompkins

Columbus State

Daughter of Michael Thompkins

Kristy Melton

University of SC

Daughter of Kathy Totherow

Maddie Carrington

Clemson

Daughter of Rich & Brandy Carrington

Marshall Whitmer

Georgetown

Son of Matthew Whitmer

Matthew Goins

University of SC

Son of Donny Goins

Spencer, Ryan, and Nathan Chea

Clemson, Furman, and Clemson

Sons of Chet Chea

Dylan Fabor

Driver/ Distribution Associate - Augusta