West Chicago, Illinois, USA
November 30, 2020
This month, owner, President and CEO of Fred C. Gloeckner & Company Inc., Joseph A. Simone, has made definite his plans for retirement from the distribution industry and announced an agreement with Ball Horticultural Company to transfer its open orders to Ball Seed®, the leading horticultural distributor in North America.
Since its founding in 1934, Gloeckner has taken pride in offering products and services “From World Wide Sources.” The company’s product line and offering includes flower bulbs, specialty cut flower crops, potted plant programs, seed and other innovative grower supplies for North American customers. It has also built significant business in Latin America through subsidiaries and agents throughout Central and South America.
“We have many long-time employees – several in excess of 25 years. Our history of dedication to customers, vendors and to colleagues has been very strong. It is similar to the culture found at Ball, which makes this an excellent transition,” says Simone, who has been employed at Gloeckner since 1975 and served as owner/President/CEO since 1990. “This agreement allows the Gloeckner investment in people, innovative products and high-quality customer service to be entrusted to an established and respected platform at Ball Seed.”
Effective Dec. 1, 2020, Gloeckner will no longer accept new orders. Gloeckner will ship and service all orders in their system through the Dec. 18, 2020, ship date. All orders shipping after this date are transferred to and managed by Ball Seed. Suppliers will be added to the Ball program as necessary to meet customer needs.
Ednie Flower Bulbs, which merged with Gloeckner in 2016, will be continued by Simone with the den Breejen family, and will manage its supply chain and technical support for all bulb product lines. As part of the agreement, it will then distribute exclusively through Ball Seed.
“Ball and Gloeckner are both family-owned distribution companies that have serviced the market for decades. We share a common culture of focusing on the needs of our customers and employees while being dedicated to the horticulture industry,” says Al Davidson, President of Ball Horticultural Company. “This agreement ensures that Gloeckner’s high level of products and customer services continue in good hands. We look forward to a smooth transition for customers and suppliers.”
To help with the business transition, some office and sales professionals of Gloeckner will join the Ball team. These acquired personnel will also help continue research into key markets and products, and develop new and existing relationships with important vendors worldwide.
Gloeckner and Ball Seed customers can expect further communication from their sales and customer service teams as they provide a seamless transition. For questions about existing or future orders, please reach out to Ball Seed at www.ballseed.com or call 800 879-BALL.
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