Introduction
About Jandorf
IN THE BEGINNING Jandorf Electric Specialty was founded in Baltimore, Maryland around 1947 when Louis Jandorf went to New York City looking for electrical supplies, sockets and cords. Repair items were scarce due to WWII, but people repaired their items instead of throwing them away. One of their big sellers at the time was the iron cord. As in most family businesses, Louis’ two sons, Louis and Ross joined their father focusing their efforts on large appliance stores. Dryer vents, cord fittings, thermostats and venting were some of the parts they carried during this time period. CREATING THE CATEGORY Natural expansion and growth occurred as they began to sell to hardware stores. The country was buying houses and with home ownership came the fixing and repairing of items. The stores needed a method for organizing the items. Listening to the needs of their customers, Jandorf developed its classic yellow box, a suggestion by one of their customers. There were small, medium and large drawers each with its own internal configuration. By focusing on the stores’ needs the business continued to expand. Starting from Baltimore there were two sales routes; one was to Florida and the other to New Orleans. One year Louis would go to Florida and Ross would go to New Orleans. And the following year they would flip flop. To this day many hardware stores remember the Jandorfs and their wives visiting their store on these road trips.
Jandorf was growing and thriving, creating the specialty electrical and hardware business. Their success led to an increase in competition as more distributors entered the specialty business. In 1993 Jandorf was acquired by Orrco, Inc., moving its headquarters from Baltimore, Maryland to Orrville, Ohio in 1995. DEFINING THE FUTURE In 2007 Jandorf was acquired by Hy-Ko products, a leader in the hardware industry. Jandorf began a major transformation, focusing on the complete repackaging of the lamp and electrical product line. Jandorf rejuvenated the electrical specialty category by taking repair items out of drawers and into helpful packages for the consumer & retailer. Jandorf was acquired in 2020 by Midwest Fastener Corp, a family-owned and family operated company. Once again consumers are repairing and fixing items looking to Jandorf for guidance. Taking a cue from its past, Jandorf continues to engage and work with the retailers to make sure we are meeting their needs now and in the future.
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Ph 800-444-7313 • Fax 330-467-7442 • www.jandorf.com
JMCE LC#240131
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