Intro
The History of WAXIE Sanitary Supply
25th Tank Battalion moving supplies up to the front during fighting in France and Germany. The 25th earned the nickname “Liberators” after setting free the prisoners at Stalag VIIA, the largest prisoner of war camp in Germany. The 14th Armored Division also liberated the Ampfing Concentration Camp, which was a satellite of the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp. In 1945, Harry purchased a small busi- ness in his new hometown, San Diego Janitor Supply and Chemical Company. Then in January 1946, Morris moved to San Diego to join Harry in the new venture. “At first, I wondered what Harry had done,” joked Morris. “The company had very little business, a handful of employees, and one truck with no low gear and a four-foot truck bed!”
Harry Wax
Morris and Harry Wax and the staff of San Diego Janitor Supply, circa 1945
From its humble start, the company soon began to grow rapidly. Stated Morris, “A company’s growth is a reflection of the person who runs it. Harry and I were aggressive and willing to go after business.” In 1948, the Wax brothers needed extra space and the company expanded to occupy the entire building at 10th Avenue and B Street in downtown San Diego. Despite their different styles, the Wax brothers made a great team and continued to steadily grow their business; in 1954, San Diego Janitor Supply was officially incorporated as WAXIE’s Enterprises, bringing with its new name a distinctive trademark. In 1957 they had outgrown their building again and moved into a much bigger facility at the corner of 1st Avenue and G Street, downtown San Diego, and their single delivery truck burgeoned, over time, into an impressive fleet of five. “We have always wanted to expand and grow,” said Morris. “When you look to the future, you’re thinking about new customers which maintains our focus on providing excellent customer service.” Indeed, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the company grew by estab- lishing a stable customer base throughout San Diego County. The Waxes divided the county into five territories (Downtown, East County, South Bay, Beaches, and Coast) which were served by its “impressive” fleet of five delivery trucks. Today the firm’s fleet consists of more than 150 delivery trucks, tractor trailers and service vehicles. Then in 1962 WAXIE expanded outside of San Diego by acquiring the Kleen-Line Corporation with warehouses in Santa Ana and San Bernardino. This acquisition extended WAXIE’s service territory to include all of Southern California south of Los Angeles.
Morris Wax
In a one-room, storefront office with a handful of employees, the Wax brothers built a stable base of customers using an approach to business ingrained from childhood focusing on the customer’s needs, an approach that still resonates today in the WAXIE culture. However, acquiring supplies right after the war was difficult. Paper products, like tissue and towels, were hard to come by. The company survived by selling the basics – brooms, mops, floor wax and cleaners. Harry and Morris’ hard work paid off and the company quickly developed a reputation for being the very best at providing sanitary supplies to the local communities—a familiar story in the Wax family history.
WAXIE’s facility at 110 “G” Street in San Diego, circa 1961
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