If it’s the June issue of pme, that means it’s time to name our annual rep of the year.

As we know, reps play an important part in the PHCP-PVF supply chain. They are the folks in front of the engineers and are the conduits to the manufacturers of the lines they represent. Often times, when something goes off-kilter with a product, it’s the rep firm that is the solutions provider.

This time around, we have a dandy to bestow this honor on. Wiggs-Haun & Bohan has roots dating back to 1976 and is doing some next-level stuff out of its Nashville headquarters. WHB combines the veteran ownership of Larry Wiggs and Jeff Bohan with the next generation of ownership that includes Wiggs’ son, Jon.

Jon Wiggs has spearheaded a number of advancements on the technology side, including an electronic quotations system that has every piece of data related to an order you could ever want. And WHB’s warehousing procedures are akin to that of a larger distributor.

WHB deeply values its relationship with the engineers in its territory, which just got a whole lot bigger with the acquisition of Banks & Head earlier this year, expand-ing the group’s reach as far south as the Florida Panhandle.

“If you are not calling on those guys and giving them what they need, someone else is,” Jon Wiggs says.

Pretty easy equation there.

WHB also isn’t afraid to carry a deep line card, which today numbers close to 30. “You get your name to a manufacturer and the first thing they do is look online at you,” Larry Wiggs says. “We have strong lines that fit well. The number of lines we have doesn’t matter anymore. We just keep bettering our technolo-gy and our people.”

Bohan adds: “I don’t think the number is quite as critical as the quality. I think manufacturers realize that if you have seven, eight or 10 lines, that you’re doing business with a good firm and all of a sudden you have a pretty good shot with them.”

To get the full lowdown on WHB, check out my story on Page 26. Our annual Rep Locator, a printed and online tool that is hugely popular throughout the industry, begins on Page 32.

Also this month, I’d like to highlight the column that appears on Page 12. The writer is industry icon Dave Yates, a longtime contractor, writer, speaker and instructor, who has joined BNP Media’s Plumbing and Mechanical Group as a columnist and writer. Yates’ “From the Mechanical Room” column will be seen here in the pages of pme, plus he also will write for sister publications Plumbing & Mechanical and Supply House Times.

Yates joins an all-star pme columnist roster that includes veteran greats Julius Ballanco (Codes) and John Siegenthaler (Renewable Heating Design), as well as Jacqueline Wilmot (Fire Protection), Ethan Grossman (Water Cooler Talk), Christoph Lohr (Professional Development Pipeline) and Ray Wohlfarth (Boilers). Talk about a lineup filled with subject-matter experts.

If Dave’s debut column for pme is just a sampling of what is to come, we all are in for a real treat.

Speaking of all-star lineups, in the months ahead you will continue to see changes made to pme both from a content perspective and even with the look of the mag-azine, which will be undergoing a redesign in the near future.

Our goal is to ramp up the heat as far as we can in terms of the content we present, whether it be in printed form or through our robust catalog of digital products — superior content that will help our readers succeed in business. If you think we should be writing about a particular topic or you would like to write about a particular topic, contact me at 224-201-2225 or miazgam@bnpmedia.com. Don’t be shy.