Swiff-Train was, is and will continue to be a family-owned business carrying on the values it was built on some 77 years ago, stressed Jonathan Train, newly named president and CEO.
The company was ranked 18th on FCW’s Top 25 Distributors list with sales estimated at $85 million in 2014. The recapitalization with Stonebridge Partners earlier this year will give the company a high level of expertise in areas such as finance and administration.
“As we grow internationally, they can be a big help with that,” said Train. “We know flooring and sourcing but there is other expertise and knowledge we can get.”
Jonathan Train and his cousin Jason Train, newly named vice president of sourcing and marketing, have had an impact on the business over the years but now take on a “significant ownership position,” Train said. “Prior to this, it was the generation above us.” While the three brothers – Kenny, L.A. and Jeffrey — have divested ownership, they are still active in the business, he noted.
Family involvement, according to Train, has always given the company “a lot of legs to stand on.” But he said, “We knew if we could get outside investment, we knew we would have help to grow the business.”
Jason Train has extensive experience with the company’s international strategic partners. “He will continue to search for innovative products while guiding our marketing efforts,” said Train, adding that in his own new position, “the primary focus is to continue to build a strong internal team as many of our current leaders are nearing retirement. We plan to grow the company on multiple fronts with better product and sales focus. We also plan to implement more technology and the related training needed to improve our productivity.”
Room to grow
Currently, the company is structured into three divisions — the distribution business in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas; EarthWerks, which supplies luxury vinyl tile (LVT) domestically; and EarthWerks’ international reach. These, said Train, are great launch points for growth.
EarthWerks LVT division, for example, has been a success over the years and is a format that Train sees potentially working for other product categories. “We hope to develop other brands to bring to market similar to the path we used for EarthWerks. The synergy we have between our distribution background and product sourcing makes us a great supplier. We feel we can do this with some other flooring categories. There are many other areas to grow the business.”
Train added, though, that LVT should continue to grow as well both nationally and internationally. “We hope to grow our LVT by gaining market share as well as natural growth that the industry will have.”
As much as things are evolving at Swiff-Train, much remains the same. “Things change over time and we have had a long term plan in place for doing that. What we are doing now is not that different than a year ago. I was a CEO in training for a long time,” Train noted.
Carrying on the legacy
Jonathan Train joined the family business 20 years ago this summer. His background is in accounting and he worked in that field prior to joining Swiff-Train. Since joining the company, he’s held numerous roles from accounting manager, branch manager, regional sales manager, product manager, vice president of development and for the last 16 years as a member of the executive committee.
“In our family, no one gets a free ride,” he said. “Everyone must give 110 percent. We individually may have our flaws, but we all have a passion for the business and put the company’s goals first. We might not always agree with each other and our dedicated employees, but we have faith that we are all reaching for a common goal. My experience has been very broad within the company and I have a strong knowledge of most departments. Secondly, I have had the unique opportunity of working with my father, uncles, other key leaders of our company and my grandfather which all have had a huge influence on my management style and abilities.”