As the market-leading distributor of genuine OEM foodservice equipment parts, Chicago-based Parts Town has been recognized for their impressive growth by Chicago Crain’s Business. Each year, Chicago Crain’s Business recognizes the fastest growing companies in the city based on criteria including revenue, growth and number of employees over the last five years and Parts Town made their 2018 Fast 50 list (which was their 6th time on the list).
Since 2013, Parts Town has grown 370% and delivered $392.9 million in revenue in 2017, finishing the year with a total of 1,279 employees. Currently, Partstown.com is the world’s most sought after site for commercial kitchen parts. Ever since the company launched its full-service e-commerce site in 2007 and followed that with the industry’s first mobile app back in 2010, they’ve continuously added technology and features customers need, helping Parts Town become the leader it is today. That’s due in part to Steve Snower, CEO of PT Holdings, parent company of Parts Town, who joined the company in 2004.
“When I began at Parts Town, there was no real e-commerce technology in the space and I’d come from a business where e-commerce was already fairly well developed. We saw a dramatic opportunity to bring technology to the foodservice parts industry.” For Snower and his team, it was something that had be built from scratch because at the time, there were only five employees handling things, which was another aspect that really enticed him to join the company. He believed there was much opportunity to further accelerate growth – both organically and via acquisitions. “That’s why this is such a special recognition for the team,” he adds. “We’re a very growth-oriented organization and getting those types of accolades, I think, is really nice for the team to be recognized.”
Under Snower’s watch, Parts Town has completed many acquisitions to expand geographic reach and capabilities, increased revenues over one-hundredfold and added 400+ employees, in addition to doubling the company’s customer base to serve more than 100,000 customers across the United States.
“Parts Town’s unique company culture is the cornerstone of our consistently high growth since our humble beginnings in 1987. Our team members are exemplary models of our company’s five core values: safety, integrity, passion, courage and innovation,” Snower added.
Parts Town has become the leading industry source for genuine OEM commercial kitchen parts solutions. A key to building that reputation has been Parts Town’s commitment to building an unmatched inventory of in-stock parts. Combining that with innovative technology and superior customer service has led to their selection to Crain’s 2018 Fast 50 list achievement. These customized solutions continue to benefit the food equipment service companies and the end-user chain restaurants, institutions and independent restaurant community.
Parts Town has fully embraced the very latest in technology. Their 360-degree imaging technology: PartSPIN, provides 360 degree images of parts. Valuable interactive diagrams, convenient Smart Manuals and their mobile app allow customers to easily and conveniently find and view equipment manuals and parts in the field where such information is needed the most. Thanks to this innovative technology and coupled with same-day shipping and extended hours of operation, Parts Town makes sure that the correct part is ordered and delivered with each customer order, every single time!
Parts Town has collaborated and partnered with the industry’s top manufacturers in refrigeration, commercial cooking, ice and beverage equipment and more in order to improve their supply chain and increase market share of genuine OEM parts so that every customer’s business runs at the highest level of performance. Parts Town has made finding and buying foodservice equipment parts easy and fast.
“We’re seeing more and more manufacturers looking to outsource their parts distribution to us so they can improve parts access and accelerate growth of OEM parts. By partnering with Parts Town, they meaningfully improve profit and cash flow while providing a better experience to their customers. And, importantly, they can focus more intensely on their core engineering and manufacturing business,” Snower details.
To provide such fast customer service when it comes to parts, Snower likes to keep the company’s inventory mixed, detailing that the partnership with manufacturers allows them to better understand what’s not only out there, but what’s coming in, too. “Our job is to make sure that we invest in the inventory that is going to be needed in the marketplace. We buy our parts direct from the manufacturer of the equipment because we’re 100 percent committed to genuine OEM parts.”
To learn more about Parts Town, visit their website.
