The Company has been located at 215 East Ball Road since its inception, growing from an original 5,000 square feet of space to over 30,000 square feet today. The employee roster has shown similar growth - from the original two to some 42 in 1996. The Company has been wholly owned by the Bell family and is now managed by the son of the founder, Franklin Bell III.

Products

Bell distributes a broad line of supplies and equipment for businesses to use in the repair, maintenance and service of equipment or systems involving the flow of water, oil, air and gas. The Company has the broadest line of any distributor in the area giving it an advantage with users going more and more to "Single Source", quality suppliers.

In addition to the broad line, the Company also prides itself on it's quality suppliers as illustrated by the following (partial) list:

Fittings:	Parker-Hannifin, Nibco, Lee, Chemtrol & Ward
Controls:	Honeywell, Dole, Mercoid & General Controls
Hose:	Gates, Parker, Thermoid & U.S. Flex
Faucets:	American Standard, Chicago Faucet, Crane & Delta
Valves:	Asco, Apollo, Parker / Schrader-Bellows, Bell & Gossett, Hayward & Powers
Couplers:	Amflo, Dixon, Foster, Hansen & Parker
Switches:	Automatic Switch & McDonnell-Miller

Bell tries to use only domestic sources of steel and piping which is important to many of it's customers.

Sales & Marketing

The Company has approximately 2,500 customers of which about 1,100 are active in any month. The customers represent a cross section of the industrial base in its markets of Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Management estimates that Orange County clients represent almost 80 percent of sales. There are three outside salesmen and seven telephone salespeople in the Company's offices. Advertising is placed in the Yellow Pages and various buying directories. Calendars displaying Bell's name and lines are provided to customers and prospects.

The Company's competitive advantages are its broad line of stocked, quality products, its commitment to service and prompt delivery, and the knowledge of its outside and inside sales staff.

Facility

The Company's warehouse and offices comprise approximately 31,000 square feet of space on about 2.5 acres in a convenient Anaheim location. The facility is in excellent condition and has sufficient capacity to handle current and anticipated volume. The original building is used for offices, sales and light storage. The main warehouse is a two story building adjacent to the office which contains 20,000 square feet. It was completed in 1983. Outside storage is utilized primarily for the piping, steel and tubing.

(rewritten from O.C. register)
Frank M. Bell, a native Californian, is an entrepreneur whose foresight in the potential growth and development of Orange County motivated him in 1956 to lease one acre of land at 215 East Ball Road in Anaheim. He viewed this location as an ideal site to establish his new industrial wholesale business. Thus, in May 1956 he incorporated Bell Pipe & Supply Co. for the purpose of providing the immediate piping requirements of new industrial and manufacturing facilities with the area. Now 41 years later his business foresight is still being carried on by his son Franklin M. Bell III.

supplyFORCE

As an Owner-Member of the supplyFORCE National Accounts, Integrated Supply and Procurement Services Program, Bell Pipe & Supply Co. and our valued customers have access to over 175 distributors with 2,900 stocking locations ranging in areas of expertise in Electrical, Industrial, Safety, and Pipe, Valves and Fittings with annual revenues exceeding $18 billion.  Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, supplyFORCE delivers process, inventory and product cost savings for large industrial businesses, with local expertise and fulfillment to meet the needs of the local plants.  For more detailed information regarding supplyFORCE, please visit their website at www.supplyforce.com or contact your local Bell Pipe & Supply Co. branch location.