McCombs Supply Inc. started in 1953 in the garage of the McCombs' family home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Ken McCombs Jr, the president of McCombs Supply, started working for the family business in 1968, and now oversees a third-generation company with his son, Ken McCombs III, who serves as vice president.

With President’s Day approaching (See related story on favorite foods of U.S. Presidents), here are a few words from the desk of McCombs' president on the state of the appliance industry and why small businesses like McCombs have continued having success selling replacement appliance parts.

Question: Where do you see the future of the appliance industry going?

Ken McCombs Jr: Appliances are being made today as good as they have ever been made, but there are so much electronics involved in it now that the mechanical part of it has gone away. So now when there’s a repair, instead of $12 water valve you have a $75 motherboard. 

That’s going to be future. More electronic. But the quality is still as good, and even better than it was when you think of the features are on appliances today that weren’t on there before.

Question: How challenging is it to find the best deals so you can pass along the prices to customers?

KM: It is an ongoing thing. It never ends. There is always something new, something different, something better, something less expensive. You have to decide, value being the key.

Question: You spend a lot of time looking at the computer for the latest, greatest trends, don’t you?

KM: Basically, what I do on the computer is buy merchandise. I am looking at various vendors, their suppliability, their price, their quality and make a decision based on that.

Question: You love that part of the job, don’t you?

KM: Yes.

Question: Is the biggest change in the industry electrical, or is there something else?

KM:The biggest change in the industry is the consumer’s knowledge is of the appliances and of the repair industry and of the quality of the service people and can they do it themselves. Plus, the vendors, the suppliers are more attuned to that also.

At one time you had the OEM manufacturers, the GE, and so ons, now there is one American manufacturer for appliances and that’s Whirlpool. Everybody else is owned by a foreign entity.

Question: The time are a changin’?

KM: Very much so.

Question: What has been the key for McCombs’ success and smaller businesses like this one?

KM: working your (butt) off. The business started with us making personal calls. Then we went to catalog and flyers advertisements. Now we are big on the Internet. Still, the same basic concept exists, though. You have to contact the customer and you have to have something they want. The difference is instead of talking to 15 people a day you can talk to 100 in seconds.

Question:So McCombs has always tried to stay ahead of the latest trends for selling products?

KM: Well, we want to be on the cutting edge on whatever is going on in the industry to better serve the customer with value and service when they need it. 

About Us

McCombs Supply Company, Inc.

In business since 1953, McCombs Supply Co., Inc. is a third-generation family-owned business that specializes in low prices and fast, reliable shipping.

We supply contractors, service technicians, housing developments, hospitals, retirement communities, institutions, and do-it-yourselfers.

Today, we have nearly one million SKUs in our system. We are constantly upgrading our cutting-edge technology to serve our customers better. Sell our product on Google Experess, Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, Jet, as well as on our website Mccombssupply.com.

Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, McCombs Supply Co., Inc. offers replacement repair parts for dishwashers, dryers, microwaves, range-ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, HVAC, commercial refrigeration, commercial cooking, pellet stove parts and more. Some of our manufacturers we distribute for include – Backer-Chromolox, Broan-Nutone, Exact Replacement Parts (ERP), EZ Flo, Fasco, Mastercool, ICM, JW Harris, Packard, Robertshaw, Sealed Unit Parts Company (SUPCO), White Rodgers, Englander, Breckwell, Harman, Lennox, Napoleon, St. Croix and Quadra-Fire. 

Copyright 2019.