The 2000 Top 50 Distributors (Franchised)

A.E. Petsche Co. Inc. #32

2112 West Division

Arlington, Texas 76012

[phone]

www.aepetsche.com

North American calendar-year sales

1999: $55.5 million

1998: $54.5 million

1999 net income: n/a

1999 global sales: $62.5 million

Status: privately held

Fiscal year ends: Dec. 31

Fiscal 1999 sales: $62.5 million

Fiscal 1998 sales: $60.5 million

Verification: signed balance sheet

Management: Arnold E. Petsche, president; Glenn Davidson, vice president, sales and marketing; Kent Horst, chief financial officer; Roger Studer, vice president of operations

Number of employees: 100

Domestic sales branches: Arlington, Texas [phone]; Phoenix, Ariz. [phone]; Costa Mesa, Calif. [phone]; Enfield, Conn. [phone]; Orlando, Fla. [phone]; Norcross, Ga. [phone]; Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. [phone]; Richmond, Ind. [phone]; Wichita, Kan. [phone]; Bellevue, Wash. [phone]; Simpsonville, S.C. [phone]; Montreal, Quebec [phone]

Type of distributor: specialized (wire and cable management products)

Number of lines: 25 to 40

Major lines: Alcatel, Bentley Harris (Federal Mogul), Harbour, Raychem, Specialty Cable, Tensolite, Times, Thermax (CDT)

Lines added since January 1999: n/a

Value-added services: Wire-weave, striping, and marking

Rank last year: 32

When A.E. Petsche Co. Inc. set out last year to increase its value- added services staff, the company found an annoying validity in the old saying that good help is hard to find. Due to the specialized nature of the wire and cable products it handles and the value-added services it offers, the distributor had to find creative ways to increase head count.

"We had difficulty finding entry-level value-added people to support our wire-weave operation," said Glenn K. Davidson, vice president of sales and marketing. "We initiated a bounty system to encourage referral from current A.E. Petsche employees, and we've now increased personnel in our value-added area."

In addition to the challenges of finding and hiring employees, a stagnant aerospace market and the lingering effects of the Asian financial crisis contributed to slower growth in 1999 than in previous years, despite record sales, Davidson said.

The strong performance of two lines that were added in 1998- Raychem's Thermofit products and Bentley-Harris' sleeving products- was largely responsible for A.E. Petsche's overall sales growth last year.

Both lines showed sales gains of more than 50% in 1999, Davidson said. The Raychem Thermofit line now accounts...