06.17.2008 — The people at Worthington Distribution give new meaning to the words "hands on."

From its educational Worthington University to its customer service and technical support departments, it seems that everyone -- from top to bottom in the 22-person company -- is dedicated to the operation in the company's new facility, which opened in September 2007.

The depth of that personal involvement is apparent in the 17-year-old company's new 20,000-square-foot facility in Tafton, Pa., about 35 miles east of Scranton in the northeast corner of the Commonwealth.

The finishing touches are still being put on the facility, which hosts Worthington University in a dedicated training space, an expanded warehouse that houses 15,000 SKUs, and a soon-to-be-completed showroom and Will-Call area that integrators can use to bring in builders, architects, interior designers or even homeowners to demo equipment.

The story of the design and construction of the facility is a glimpse into the fabric of the company itself. Richard Scholl, president, and his son Richie Scholl, vice president, technical sales, both beam from ear to ear when discussing how they planned and constructed the building from scratch.

The new facility is quite an upgrade from the company's previous 6,000-square-foot location in nearby Paupack that was actually connected to a residence. The site was selected for several reasons.

First, it's very close to Interstate 84, a major thoroughfare that offers quick access for dealers and delivery vehicles. That's a big deal for a distribution company.

"The FedEx trucks now get here first thing in the morning. It makes a big difference," says Richie. "Sometimes as many as five to six tractor trailers are here per day."

Facility Has Family Pride, Sweat

The Scholl's pride in the facility and their sweat equity in the construction process are very apparent when you tour the facility.

Richard speaks about drywall taping, while Richie proudly describes his design of the hardwired and wireless phone and data system that includes 40,000 feet of Cat 5 cable and 300 drops ... all run by Worthington staff.

Both father and son laid the tubing for the radiant-heat flooring in the building. They even recall having to use a leaf blower to blow fluffy snow off the structure one day so they could complete the work on a wintry day.

Meanwhile, just up the hill from the facility sits a private home owned by a family member. Underground cable connects the headquarters to the residence so that data files can be stored off site daily.

Worthington brought in an efficiency expert to help them design the warehouse, which is set up with the most commonly purchased products congregated together in "A," "B" and "C" aisles. The previous warehouse was organized by manufacturer.

"With this system, we can pack 80 percent of our orders from just those three primary aisles. It's much faster. We must be militant about the bin locations because we handle so many SKUs," says Richie.

A second mezzanine level is already being planned for the warehouse. Another tidbit: Richard purchased the shelving for the warehouse years ago on eBay and stored them in a nearby barn while the new headquarters was being designed and constructed.