Flat Lands Supply, Inc

Electrical · Plumbing · Voice · Data
Residential · Commercial · Industrial · Agricultural
Established 1966

Van Wert's only locally owned distributor
We sell to the public!

  419.238.1233

1220 E Jackson St · Van Wert, OH 45891
Mon-Fri:   7:30am-5pm · Sat-Sun:   Closed
Fax:  419.238.1317

The Flat Lands Team

Jerry

Jerry Koenig
President

Flat Lands Employee since 1976

 Ext 105       Contact


Jerry's dad, Everett, started Flat Lands Supply in 1966 after working for other distributors, so Jerry has been around the electrical & plumbing supplies business his entire life. Jerry has a civil engineering degree from Northwest Technical College, but chose to work alongside Everett after graduation. He has owned the business since 1989. Jerry enjoys Ohio State football & basketball, home improvement projects, and being the Secretary and Sausage Trailer Chairman for the Venedocia Lions Club. After living on the same street in Venedocia his entire life; Jerry and his wife, Laura, made the move to Van Wert in 2013.

Ava

Ava
Office Manager, A/R, A/P

Flat Lands Employee since 1983

 Ext 101       Contact


Ava began her career at Flat Lands shortly after marrying her high school sweetheart, Gregg. After over 3 decades with us, Ava is the second-in-command and all-around "go-to" person at Flat Lands. She has two very accomplished children, Alysha and Jordan, along with a cute and loving rescue dog, Buddy, who is a Carkie. Being a family-oriented person, Ava loves spending every moment that she can with her children, grandpuppies, and her siblings. These BIG grandpuppies are Ajax, a loving red Chow Chow; and Groot & Harley Quinn, brother & sister blue Great Danes. Any leftover time is spent antiquing, garage saling, and going to the mountains with Gregg. Last but not least, Ava is a JEEP girl! Yep, her bright yellow Wrangler, clean or dirty!

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Terry

Terry
Inside Sales, Outside Sales

Flat Lands Employee since 2011

 Ext 116       Contact


Terry is a Paulding County native and has been married to wife Vada since 1985. They have two married daughters, Janelle and Jessica, along with a granddaughter and grandson. Terry has worked in various areas of sales and manufacturing for over 40 years. He brings his knowledge as a licensed electrical contractor to Flat Lands. Terry is also a farmer.





Vic

Vic
Inside Sales, Outside Sales

Flat Lands Employee since 2017

 Ext 111       Contact


Vic comes to Flat Lands with a varied background beginning with 8+ years of retail experience in the lumber & hardware fields followed by over 28 years in the medical field, including 18 1/2 years heading up the inventory control/purchasing department at one of the tri-state area's largest outpatient orthopedic surgery centers. He also acted as the facility maintenance manager and was involved with contracts and pricing negotiations in both departments. Vic was also charged with ensuring the facility's compliance with all local, state, and federal guidelines and regulations. He has also worked for several area grain farmers throughout his working career and finds that work to be very rewarding. In his spare time, Vic enjoys golfing, summer yardwork, and visiting friends at several NE Indiana lakes.

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Jeff

Jeff
Inside Sales

Flat Lands Employee since 2016

 Ext 104       Contact


Jeff brings over 30 years of product application engineering experience to Flat Lands. He and his wife, Deb, have been married since 1980. They have one son who is a guidance counselor at Bryan High School in Bryan, Ohio, where he coaches cross country and track. Jeff and Deb live in the Convoy area and have a spoiled cat named Gizmo. Jeff's hobbies include auto repair, home improvement projects, and singing.

Tom

Tom
Delivery, Receiving, Shipping

Flat Lands Employee since 2017

 Ext 109       Contact


Tom is from Putnam County and a graduate of Ottoville High School. He and wife Mary have been married since 1981. They owned and operated T & M Appliance for over 30 years. Tom is retired from General Motors. Tom has eight children, three from his present marriage and five from a previous marriage. Tom is a member of the Mandale Church and Gleaners. He enjoys working in his shop, fishing, playing cards, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

Jerry

Jerry
Delivery

Flat Lands Employee since 2014

Contact


Jerry is a Van Wert area native and Lincolnview graduate. He has a son, Nik, who is a doctor and a daughter, Nashea, who is a collegiate athletic trainer. Jerry spent many years working in the construction industry as an estimator and manager for Wortman Brothers, who specialized in steel buildings, and is now retired from that career. He enjoys traveling and working at Flat Lands part-time. Jerry is an avid runner and hiker and enjoys running with a group of friends and participating in area marathons.

Peanut Butter & Boomer

Peanut Butter & Boomer
Rodent Patrol

Flat Lands Employees since 2010


Peanut Butter (yellow) and Boomer (black/white) are brothers from different litters, with Boomer being the older brother. They enjoy living at Flat Lands. While they can trip the automatic door to get outside, they have yet to figure out how to get back in. Don't worry if a meowing yellow cat charges inside as the front door is opened, he lives here. Their hobbies are outdoor bug and rodent hunting, and sneaking out the door at 4:45pm so they can negotiate a snack to come back indoors for the evening. They also enjoy being inside where it's safe and sometimes climb to the highest shelves to curl up for a nap underneath the warm lights or snuggle together on the pillow in their bed.

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Flat Lands Supply, Van Wert, Jackson St · 1998-Present
Flat Lands Supply, Van Wert, Jackson St · 1998-Present
Flat Lands Supply, Van Wert, Market St · 1992-1998
Flat Lands Supply, Van Wert, Market St · 1992-1998
Flat Lands Supply, Venedocia, Williams St · 1981-1994
Flat Lands Supply, Venedocia, Williams St · 1981-1994
Flat Lands Supply, Venedocia, Main St · 1966-1981
Flat Lands Supply, Venedocia, Main St · 1966-1981

The Beginning

Flat Lands Supply was founded in 1966 by Everett J. Koenig in Venedocia, Ohio, a small Welsh community located in Jennings Township in Van Wert County in Northwest Ohio.

Everett was raised near New Bremen, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1937 with a degree in Vo-Ag Education. He began teaching school in Van Wert County. He married and started his family, establishing residency in Venedocia. After a number of years of teaching, Everett began working for National Brands Supply, an electrical & plumbing supplies distributor. Everett finally decided to start his own electrical & plumbing supplies business at the age of 50.

Meanwhile, Everett's wife, Dorothy, had been operating Koenig Home Hardware since the early 1960s in half of the large Koenig homestead on Main St. She sold nails, small hand tools, yard/garden supplies, paint, and other various items. The home hardware store was finally closed in the 1990s.

The Name

As Everett's business was just getting started, a vendor stopped in one day and remarked about the rich farmland and flatness of this part of Ohio. The vendor then asked the name of his business for the order form. Everett hadn't really thought about a name, so he responded with "Flat Lands Supply" ... an unusual name that continues to stand the test of time.

The Original Storefront

Flat Lands opened in the old Uhl Grocery Store building on Main St in Venedocia. Everett ran a one-man operation. He would be up early in the mornings to do bookwork, then head out on the road in an old station wagon to call on customers. When he returned home in the evenings, there was more bookwork to be done.

In the early days when Everett would be gone during the day, contractors would stop by the Koenig home, pick up a key to the store, go get their supplies, jot down what they were getting, and return the key.

In the early 1970's, Everett purchased an old grain elevator, seed house, and Quonset building located at the north end of the village to use for warehouse space as the business began to flourish. Everett added a few employees around this time also.

In 1976, Everett's son, Jerry joined the business full-time.

New Building

A new 5,000 square foot facility was constructed in 1981 on Williams St in Venedocia, near the other warehouse buildings.

In 1989, Jerry bought the business from Everett.

Van Wert Location

A second location opened on Market St in Van Wert in 1992. In 1994, after two years of operating both stores, the difficult decision was made to close the Venedocia store and operate solely out of Van Wert, where there was a noticeably larger amount of walk-in customer traffic than in the fairly remote Venedocia store. In the first years of operation, the general procedure had always been that the contractors would place an order and usually have it delivered to the job site. Therefore, it didn't really matter where the store was located.

Current Location

Flat Lands was once again on the move in March 1998. In just four business days, the entire store was moved from Market St to its current location at 1220 E Jackson St. Overlooking two historic landmarks, The Marsh Foundation Campus and Lincoln Highway; the 26,000 square foot facility features a spacious showroom, large counters, and wide self-serve aisles. The building also includes a large warehouse with three truck docks and one ground level overhead door.

The passing of Everett Koenig

After a life well-lived, Everett passed away in 2004 at the age of 88. But his legacy lives on in the form of Flat Lands Supply.