Leading Members to Preview ASA’s The People Advantage at NETWORK2026

Photo credit: Steve Woltmann

This August, 25 volunteer leaders representing 10 ASA member companies met in Chicago to shape The People Advantage, an initiative born at LEAD2026 focused on strengthening leadership, workplace culture and employee development across the PHCP-PVF industry. 

The PHCP-PVF industry has always been built on relationships, family legacies and generations of knowledge passed from one person to the next. Now ASA is taking a closer look at something many members have believed for years: the way distributors, manufacturers and independent reps treat, develop, and lead their people isn't simply part of a good culture. It can be a real competitive advantage, one that can be defined, measured, and strengthened.

That effort is called The People Advantage. During 2026, it has moved from an idea and strategic discussion into a working initiative, supported by a Steering Council of ASA member companies and a roadmap for creating an industry-wide standard.

Why now?

Our industry continues to face consolidation, rapid technology change and an increasingly competitive market for talent. Products, capital, and technology will continue to evolve, but none of those alone will create a lasting point of difference. As AI and other technologies reshape the competitive landscape, the quality of a company's people and leadership may become an even greater differentiator.

This isn't a new idea for ASA members. It's a way to put structure around something many companies already know.

At ASA's annual LEAD strategic leadership meeting, an issue strategic action team (ISAT) of next-generation leaders raised the question, and the response was consistent: people-first leadership is already part of this industry's DNA.

The opportunity isn't to create a new culture from scratch. It's to identify what our best companies are already doing, strengthen it, measure it, and find ways to scale it across the industry.

Volunteer leaders were also clear about what they don't want: ideology or another feel-good program. They want something practical that helps companies develop, measure, and recognize the industry's people advantage and gives ASA a story it can actively promote.

The Steering Council: Learning from companies that do it well

The tangible work began to take shape in August, when a Steering Council of owners and leaders from across the industry met in Chicago for a two-day working session. The group represented 10 leading distributors, manufacturers, and independent rep firms.

The goal was to listen to the stories behind these companies' people practices and begin turning what they have learned into a framework the rest of the industry can use.

The meeting opened with representatives from the participating companies sharing what makes their organizations different when it comes to people. The discussion focused on the beliefs behind their programs and policies rather than the programs themselves.  Although the companies ranged from fifth- and seventh-generation family businesses to modern multi-state distributors, the themes were remarkably similar.

Peter Mayer of Bongard Corporation described his agency's "special sauce" as customization, giving employees, manufacturers and distributor partners the flexibility they need, based on a family philosophy that "everything is fair, but it's not equal."

Michael Maloney of Coburn Supply pointed to a founding principle: "the purpose of our company is to provide security and opportunity for our people." He shared the example of Hurricane Katrina when Coburn continued paying employees even when stores couldn't operate. That decision created a level of loyalty that couldn't easily be matched when the market recovered.

Michael Maloney of Texas-based Coburn Supply Co. Shares his perspective. Photo credit: Steve Woltmann.

Eastern Industrial’s Meagan Owen described the company’s "Eastern Way," a living set of 26 behavioral fundamentals reviewed weekly throughout the company and built around a philosophy of "people over profits."

Ruth Martin of F.W.  Webb, now celebrating its 160th anniversary, talked about accessible leadership, little hierarchy, first names and a standing expectation to "take care of Frank's company," referring to founder Frank Webb.

First Supply’s Tammy Spialek highlighted career development, including 270 internal promotions over five years.

Brian Priest of Reeves-Wiedeman talked about "stewardship" and the number of "boomerang" employees who leave and later return.

Hajoca’s Ryan Fantham described the company’s four-year Management Development Program and its focus on recruiting for long-term potential by emphasizing character attributes over day-one performance. He said the company aims to select SWANs which stands for Smart, Works hard, Ambitious and Nice.

Darren Hilliard of Merit Brass and Ashley Martin, fifth-generation CEO of NIBCO, reinforced the importance of accessible leadership and long-term investment in people.  NIBCO's philosophy goes back generations to a credo that "the best product we make is a good man," meaning the person, not the part.

Bill Zoeller of Zoeller Pump closed with a philosophy of "improving people's lives" that includes financial wellness, mental health support and community involvement.

All of these companies have different histories and procedures, but underneath these stories were remarkably similar beliefs about what happens when companies truly invest in their people.

These 10 companies, Bongard, Coburn's, Eastern Industrial, F.W.  Webb, First Supply, Hajoca, Merit Brass, NIBCO, Reeves-Wiedeman and Zoeller, weren't starting from a blank sheet of paper. Their stories and best practices gave the Steering Council something very real to work with.

Merit Brass Co.'s Alan Lipp sharing insight and laughs during the Steering Council Meeting. Photo credit: Steve Woltmann.

And they reinforced a simple idea that helped guide the rest of the discussion: when you strengthen people, you strengthen the business.  When you help people reach more of their potential, the business has a better chance to reach its potential too.

From 182 ideas to a working framework

After reviewing best-practice submissions from the participating companies, 182 individual beliefs and practices were identified around how these companies treat their people.

Clearly, 182 items weren't going to work as an industry framework, so they were grouped into 10 working dimensions:

• Belief, Culture and Identity
• Leadership and Sponsorship
• Trust, Voice and Fairness
• Growth, Opportunity and Readiness
• Ownership, Agency and Accountability
• Culture, Practice and Operational Integrity/Adaptability
• Belonging, Pride and Recognition
• Knowledge, Succession and Stewardship
• Human Outcomes
• Business Outcomes

The goal isn't simply to describe what a good workplace offers, as many workplace-recognition programs already do. The People Advantage is trying to go a step further by asking: What does a great workplace help people become? What capabilities does it build in employees? And what does that ultimately mean for the business?

As the Steering Council worked through the dimensions, several common themes emerged.

Beliefs must come before programs. Leaders are the people who make culture real. Trust works best when it's paired with accountability. Employees need opportunities to grow and a clearer understanding of what their future with a company can look like. And people need the freedom to take ownership while still understanding what is expected of them.

The discussion also raised an important point about outcomes. Companies can provide resources, opportunities and support, but employees still have to choose to use them. A strong workplace should help employees become more engaged, see a future with the company and want to contribute beyond the minimum required.

The original 10 dimensions may ultimately become simpler as the work continues. Several participants suggested they could roll up into two major outcomes, human outcomes and business outcomes, with the other dimensions serving as the drivers.

That distinction could become one of the things that separates The People Advantage from traditional workplace-recognition programs. Instead of only asking, "What kind of workplace have we created?" ASA wants to ask, "What does this workplace enable people to become and accomplish, and what does that create for the business?"

What comes next

The Chicago meeting was an important step, but The People Advantage is still being built.

ASA plans to preview the initiative at NETWORK in November, with Steering Council members sharing their experiences during the annual member lunch. A CEO roundtable will also give industry leaders an opportunity to discuss the concept and help shape where it goes next.

From there, the ideas developed by the Steering Council will be turned into practical tools and a playbook ASA members can use. A Voice of the Employee survey is also planned so the industry can hear directly from its own workforce.

The longer-term goal is an industry-wide standard and recognition program featuring companies that exhibit a people-first culture, with the initial group recognized during NETWORK in November 2027.

Steering Council members were clear, however, that this shouldn't become another checklist certification or a badge a company earns once and forgets. The goal is something built around real best-practice sharing, peer benchmarking and continued improvement.

The People Advantage will also connect directly with ASA's existing Project Talent platform.

Project Talent is helping more people discover the PHCP-PVF industry and the career opportunities available within it. The People Advantage can help give those job seekers another reason to choose it.

Companies earning People Advantage recognition will have that designation displayed with their listing at supplyindustrycareers.com, connecting the industry's recruiting efforts with the people-first culture ASA wants to help members strengthen and promote.

Turning an idea into action

The People Advantage is still in its relative infancy, and some of the language and structure will continue to change as the Steering Council helps ASA refine the idea.

That's intentional.

Rather than developing a finished program at ASA headquarters and handing it to members, ASA is asking companies that already do this well to help build it.

The central idea, however, will not change. People and culture may be one of the few competitive advantages in this industry that can't be easily copied. Until now, that advantage has mostly lived inside individual companies. The People Advantage is an effort to give it a name, measure it, share it, and help more companies build it.

The next milestones are coming into focus including a refined Workplace Excellence Standard tested with Steering Council companies, a playbook and case studies members can use, a Voice of the Employee Survey and, eventually, an industry-wide recognition program.

The People Advantage will ultimately succeed based on what ASA members do with it.  The companies helping build the initiative are already demonstrating that a people-first culture can create stronger employees, stronger companies and a stronger industry.

The opportunity now is to learn from what they are doing, share it and help more companies put those ideas into practice. Because investing in people isn't just the right thing to do, it’s what separates great businesses from ordinary.

By Steve Edwards