Page 12 - CMA PROfiles Spring 2019

ASSOCIATE OF THE QUARTER: MCFEELY’S

TURNING AROUND
A HISTORIC BUSINESS

BY CARLA ATKINSON

When Tim Grote bought McFeely’s, a retailer of tools, fasteners, and supplies, he
was taking on a long, rich and sometimes troubled legacy.

That legacy began in 1978, when William McFeely III began a small lumberyard in
Lynchburg, Virginia, selling domestic and exotic hardwoods to local woodworkers.
The company eventually began offering millwork services, and by 1985, it also
carried top-quality hardware, including the virtually unknown Square Drive
Screw. Tragedy struck the company in 1985 when William McFeely was killed in an
industrial accident at the shop.

The next owner of McFeely's, Jim Ray, grew the company into a catalog business,
adding a website that became important to customers. Other owners followed,
including a huge corporate entity. In 2017, Grote purchased McFeely’s out of
financial distress.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
“We’re proud to be a small, private family business again,” says Grote, whose only
daughter Sarah, 24, is working as McFeely's marketing project coordinator. “In the
last year and a half, we've made great strides to improve operations and customer
confidence. We offer top quality products and service that we’re proud of.”

Grote, who grew up in southern Indiana, went to Hillsdale College in Michigan and
later got his MBA at Thomas More in the greater Cincinnati area when he was in his
40s. His past experience includes 15 years of selling barcoding and data collection
warehouse management systems.
“I saw McFeely’s as an opportunity,” he says. “They had good products and decent
marketing, but needed to provide better services. We are in a service industry that
is evolving, and we’re working hard to evolve with it. It’s a work in progress, but
we’ve already made a lot of improvements.”

10 PROFILES SPRING 2019