Heavy Equipment Reigns
For the majority of Distribution Giants, the higher-priced heavy equipment category has long been the dominant product category in terms of sales percentages. In 2024, for all Distribution Giants who provided sales breakouts by product category (82 of 100), heavy equipment represented slightly more than half of sales, with smallwares and light equipment distant second- and third-largest categories, respectively.
Giants 2024 Sales by Category* %
*Results from 82 companies providing category sales data
Source: FE&S 2025 Distribution Giants study
Variations
A look at the largest industry players shows significant variations in product-category concentrations. While all but one (Wasserstrom Co.) of the Top 10 dealers have increased their percentage of sales in heavy equipment over the past decade, according to data provided for Distribution Giants studies, the category contributes half or more of sales for just 5 companies.
Then & Now
Heavy Equipment Sales Among the 2025 Top 10
| Distribution Giants Rank | 2015* | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clark Associates | 30% | 35% |
| 2. TriMark USA | 50% | 67% |
| 3. Edward Don & Co. | NA | NA |
| 4. Singer Equipment Co. | 57% | 65% |
| 5. Wasserstrom Co. | 35% | 20% |
| 6. KaTom Restaurant Supply | 30% | 30% |
| 7. Johnson-Lancaster and Associates | 58% | 50% |
| 8. Bargreen Ellingson | 20% | 35% |
| 9. Stafford Smith | 90% | 90% |
| 10. Boelter | 39% | 69% |
Source: FE&S Distribution Giants studies 2016, 2025
*year-end sales data
4 in Top 10 Have Less Reliance on Heavy Equipment
For four of the Top 10 dealers, heavy equipment represents significantly less than half of sales. According to 2025 FE&S Distribution Giants study data, prominent categories at those companies included:
- Clark: Paper/disposables (23%) and jan/san (12%) together matched volume done in heavy equipment.
- Wasserstrom Co.: Sales of tabletop items (20%) equaled that of heavy equipment, while smallwares dominated at 35%.
- KaTom: Light equipment was on par with heavy equipment, each at 30% of sales, while tabletop contributed 20%.
- Bargreen Ellingson: The most evenly spread across categories among the largest dealers: After heavy equipment, the majority of sales came from smallwares (18%), tabletop (14%), and light equipment and paper/disposables (both 12%).
