David Sandler, chief executive of MSC Industrial Direct Co. of...

David Sandler, chief executive of MSC Industrial Direct Co. of Melville with the company's supply catalog, affectionately referred to as The Big Book. (January 2010) Credit: John Dunn, 2010

David Sandler, who started an industrial supply business while supporting himself in college, joined a competitor, Melville-based MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., in 1989.

Rising to chief executive about five years ago, he gamely participates in the annual launch of the company's catalog, called "The Big Book," which lists 600,000 tools and supplies in a 4,484-page tome weighing 10.2 pounds.

The release of the newest edition, slated for August, will be marked by an event at 6:30 a.m. featuring "song and dance and costume," Sandler explains. "Last year, I was Captain Kirk" from "Star Trek.''

Sandler, 52, is married and has two daughters.

How has the company been affected by the recession?
"We were certainly not spared from the impact. Our customers got hit very, very hard. That's because so many are in manufacturing, which in turn meant our revenues were significantly impacted and in turn, that meant like everyone else, we had to tighten our belts. The way that we did that was consistent with our unique history and culture. We didn't lay off any associates anywhere across the country. Instead, we made sacrifices as a team."

Describing the company's next-day delivery system, he says, "If you think about, in this environment, what that means to a customer that's strapped for cash and that's trying to either reduce or eliminate their inventories altogether, we become very, very valuable. And in fact, they rely on us even more so in times like this."

 What are your plans to grow the business?
"In addition to metalworking supplies, we in the last 15 to 20 years have also been expanding our product offering into areas like safety supplies and janitorial, electrical supplies, powertrain transmission components - all products that companies need to help them build their products or to maintain their facility." The company has entered "hospitality and mining, energy, food processing and the government, just to name a few. We're also expanding geographically. For the last few years, we've been building out on the West Coast. We're also backfilling across the United States."

He adds, "The thing, what I'll call the special sauce, that really makes it all work is our culture and our team. Our culture is very customer-focused. We call where you are right now, our CSC: Customer Support Center. We don't call it a corporate headquarters. The reason that we do that - we want to remind all of our associates and visitors every single day that when we come here, that's for one reason and that's to support our boss, the customer."

 What do you look for in hiring?
"We look for really smart, really passionate people who want to be on a winning team, who are going to be committed to our culture, really committed to our mission statement, which is to be the best."

Company.  MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc.

Business. Direct marketers of industrial tools and equipment

Location. Melville

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