Wittichen Supply

Wittichen Supply is a Birmingham-based regional wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. It was founded as a division of Carl Wittichen's Wittichen Chemical Company, specializing in refrigerant, in 1914. The company is presently operated as a division of Gryphon Investors of San Francisco, California, with Alex Averitt as CEO, operating from offices at 2912 3rd Avenue North.

The refrigerant division was more formally separated from the parent company under Drexel Daily in the 1950s. Wittichen Supply opened branch offices in Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Huntsville, and Sheffield in the 1960s. That same decade, Carl Wittichen sold off his chemical distribution business and took over as finance manager for the Supply Company, with Daily as vice-president and general manager. The company added heating and air conditioning equipment to its line in the 1970s, and also opened new offices in Anniston and Decatur. Wittichen expanded southward with offices in Montgomery and Dothan in the 1980s.

Wittichen's son-in-law David Henderson took over the duties of general manager after Daily's death in 1979. He was made president in the 1990s and appointed Charles Herring as new general manager. Wittichen acquired Refrigeration Air Conditioning Supply of Rome, Georgia in 1998 and the LaGrange, Georgia branch of Refrigeration Supplies in 2001. In 2006 the company acquired Refrigeration Supply Company, with branches in Mobile and Pensacola, Florida. It moved into its current offices in 2015.

Gryphon Investors bought Wittichen Supply Company in 2021. In February 2022 Wittichen sold its Gardendale and Bessemer branch locations and its headquarters office property to New Mountain Capital of New York for $12.66 million. Later that same month Gryphon purchased Benoist Brothers Supply Co. of St Louis, Missouri, and assigned it to its Wittichen Supply Holding Co. division.

References

• Parker, Illyshia (February 11, 2022) "Local wholesale distributor sells trio of properties to out-of-state firm for $12.66 million." Birmingham Business Journal
• Barr, Diana (February 16, 2022) "Wittichen Supply Holding Co. gains independent division after St. Louis sale." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Wittichen Supply website