What’s the story? Apex Supply Company is a premier Texas plumbing supply distributor with 12 locations throughout north Texas. Headquartered in the Dallas Design District, Apex has now been a part of the Texas landscape for over 85 years.
The story of Apex is the story of the American Dream. In the early 1900’s, Ellie Lerer, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, started a junk yard on Ashland Alley near downtown Dallas. Today, that site is home to American Airlines Arena, but back then it was open land. Ellie’s English was very limited, but his entrepreneurial spirit was contagious, and he was motivated to make a life for his immigrant family. In this spirit, Ellie bought a mule and a simple pushcart and began to drive through the streets of Dallas picking up discarded metal and reselling it for scrap.
Ellie had a son, Joe, who worked in the business as well. Joe saw an opportunity that his father had overlooked. He realized that the cast iron tubs and sinks his father was selling for scrap had greater value for resale to plumbers. Joe began to separate the heavy tubs and sinks at the edge of the junkyard to resell them for a premium. His father told him that he could keep the profits from the items he sold. Soon, word spread that Joe would pay extra money for plumbing fixtures, and his business began to thrive. So many calls were coming in for used tubs that Ellie told his son to get his own telephone number.
In 1933, Joe decided to create his own business, Apex Supply Company. He liked the name both because he thought it sounded classy, and because it would be the first listing in the Yellow Pages under plumbing supplies. At this point Joe had his own telephone number and he took his first big step in business. He purchased a truckload of new cast iron tubs from a foundry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A business was born!
Tragedy struck the company in 1977 with the passing of Joe Lerer. His son Stephen took over the business after his passing, and still leads the company today. That’s over 85 years in business, and still family-owned and -operated.
In 1999 Apex Supply Company purchased Fort Worth-based plumbing supply company, Economy Supply. Today, there are a combined 12 Apex & Economy locations throughout north Texas, with 5 of those being premier showrooms. Several of the locations are registered Kohler Kitchen & Bath showrooms. They all feature innovative, high-end residential and commercial fixtures in traditional, transitional, and contemporary designs.
A lot has changed since 1933, but one thing has stayed constant. Apex Supply & Economy Supply continue to sell high-quality plumbing supplies with the utmost integrity and best all-around customer service in North Texas.
