With the outside work basically one, interior work is just beginning but can be done during the cold winter days. Concrete floors, exposed insulation, openings where doors and windows will be installed and plywood covering some doors leave one to imagine the finished product. When customers enter the building, they will walk into a storeroom about twice the size of the one on South Seminary Street. Holt said the showroom will be brightly lighted and “it’s always going to have working displays. You’ll have faucets that have running water and working whirlpools. We’re excited to bring this to Galesburg.”

 

While the company is very particular about the products it carries, Holt said shoppers will be able to find quality merchandise to fit most any budget. “I think we can reach across a lot of different budgets, and I believe this project is particularly exciting because it’s my hometown,” Holt said. “It’s nice to be home and reinvest in Galesburg.”

 

Holt bought his first new car in the building when it housed Bob Lindsay’s car dealership. He bought a 1985 Honda Accord when he returned to Galesburg after graduating from Creighton University. One advantage in the Galesburg project is that the company already has renovated other locations. “We’re trying to learn from some of the other projects we’ve done,” he said. “This will be our best effort.”  Holt said knowing how the building looked as a car dealership is helping the company return it somewhat to its earlier look. “It’s really been more of a restoration project,” he said. Andy Holt’s brother, John Holt, is the general contractor. “He really knows what we’re aiming for on this project,” Andy Holt said.

 

The building is larger than it appears from the outside. It actually is two 10,000-square-foot buildings joined together. Another Holt connection — Andy Holt’s father, also named John Holt, said the original building was erected in the 1950-52 era. “I can tell you how old it is because I was an apprentice plumber and I put the plumbing in,” he said. The other building was reportedly built in the 1980s. Andy Holt said the company wanted to move downtown to gain visibility. He said projects such as Innkeeper’s and some shops on South Seminary Street got him excited about redoing the building. The company’s wholesale business is very important. There will be a contractor’s showroom to give contractors quick access into and out of the building. He said the contractors’ side of the building also will nearly double in size.
 

“The idea is with the contractor trade, we can serve them quickly and efficiently,” Holt said. He said there will be a refreshment area in that part of the operation. One item not available at South Seminary Street has warehouse employees buzzing. “Boy, are our guys excited about having a loading dock,” Holt said. “We’ve really increased our capacity to grow out business.”  The portion of the building built in the ’80s is very open and will allow Holt to stock products for its other stores. “There’s certain products we will distribute out of here,” Holt said, “to resupply our other stores.”

He said with stores in cities such as Bloomington, Champaign and Burlington, Galesburg’s central location makes it perfect for the distribution portion of the business. John Holt said despite the poor national economy, there are no second thoughts. “Galesburg’s always been good to me,” he said. “I’ve been in business more than 46 years now (starting with other businesses. The nice thing about Galesburg, it’s a very even-keel town, even during the tough times.”  “It’s an extremely stable environment to do business in,” Andy Holt agreed. “Hopefully, we can cause somebody else to improve their business or move in from the outside.”

“The Learning Center will provide value-added training and development services to our customers to help them differentiate their businesses within their respective markets.  We feel the plumbing and heating products are becoming more advanced and we want to make sure our customers are well-equipped to install and service the new systems and products.” said Andy Holt, President of Holt Supply.
 

Holt Supply will also be providing featured business development courses for their customers to enhance their business processes.  Courses taught by industry experts in Accounting, Marketing, Legal, Banking and other additional business related subjects will be provided for Holt Supply customers throughout the year.

Holt Supply is a respected leader in providing innovative, professional grade plumbing and heating supplies. 

Holt Supply has been supplying quality plumbing and heating products to thousands of Midwest customers for over 35 years. Holt Supply features seven locations in Illinois, Iowa, and South Dakota.   Their knowledgeable team of inside and outside sales professionals, along with a dedicated team of customer service professionals all work together to make sure that each customer’s experience is positive.

 

For more information about Holt Supply, please contact Mike Robson at 309-820-0566 mike.robson@holtsupply.com.  or visit our website www.holtsupply.com.