By Jill Nagy
F.W. Webb, a distributor of plumbing and heating
supplies, is gradually expanding its footprint
in Ballston Spa.
The company began last February with an
outlet catering to contractors. In August, they
opened a retail outlet with working displays, also
targeted mainly at contractors but open to everyone.
Construction just began on a warehouse.
The company already has a “clean storage
facility” for materials destined for the Global-
Foundries construction project in Malta. The
facility is filtered so that dust cannot settle on
the equipment stored inside.
Company officials said when everything is
completed–by the end of the year, weather
permitting–Webb will have more than 40,000
square feet of sales and storage space at 1 Mc-
Crea Hill Road, near Route 50, just south of the
Town of Ballston Spa.
The new warehouse will be 26,000 square feet.
Greenleaf Construction of Leominster, Mass.,
is doing the construction.
Currently, the company has 10 employees at
its Ballston Spa facility and expects to hire four
or five more in the next few months.
“It’s a really exciting time to be up here,” said
Mike Bofino, manager of the new facility. “The
community is great and has been very welcoming.”
He said home and commercial construction is
booming and, with it, demand for the plumbing,
heating, and air conditioning equipment F.W.
Webb sells.
“Saratoga County is kind of jumping right
now,” he said. He sees a growing market of
contractors and small businesses. Homeowners
and do-it-yourselfers are also welcome. “They
are not really our target but we want to help the
community and its growth.”
The new retail outlet is “doing great, with a lot
of traffic,” according to Bofino. It was designed
as “a showpiece for Webb.” Displays include
working 30 showerheads, 25 working faucets,
plus working bathtubs and steamrooms.
Bofino said Webb tries to concentrate on providing
service, including free delivery and plenty
of advice. Their personnel will help design a bathroom
or kitchen, for example. But the big push
is helping contractors move forward, he said.
Webb provides training to help contractors
design conversions of oil systems to gas, install
and maintain high efficiency water heaters and
other appliances, and utilize products that meet
new standards for lead-free plumbing.
“We do sell solar and geothermal equipment,
but it’s not really our focus,” he said. The company’s
“bread and butter” is making traditional
equipment more efficient.
Bofino previously worked as operations manager
of Webb’s Albany facility before taking on the
Ballston Spa facility six months ago. He has been
with the Webb company for eight years, most of
the time, in Albany.
So far, he has found relationships with the
town, amicable. He said that the town officials
have been good in relation to construction and
readily give advice and direction on such matters
as landscaping.
The Ballston Spa center is the sixth New York
state location for F.W. Webb. They have 35 locations
in the Northeast.
The telephone number for the Ballston Spa
facility is 490-7500.