Company History
December 13th, 1965: Davenport Associates Inc. is established by Bob Davenport. The company began with its original line, Fiat Plumbing Products.
December 1969: Bob Davenport acquired the representation of Elkay Manufacturing in Connecticut.
July 13th, 1969: Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company chooses Davenport Associates to represent them in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
March, 1971: Bob Davenport hires Bob Coco to call on Engineers in Connecticut.
January, 1974: Jim Davenport joins the company. Drawing from a sales background that began with Shell Oil Company, Jim brings a new ethos to the company. "The Connecticut territory is small: growth will only come from leaving no stone unturned, no customer unsatisfied."
April 1976: Davenport Associates calls a 2,000 sq. ft. warehouse home. Warehousing is a direct result of Jim's desire to provide better service to the downstream plumbing supply chain.
March 1980: Davenport Associates Inc. breaks ground at our current address of 367 Washington Street in Wallingford. The original warehouse was 8,000 square feet.
November 15th 1984: Davenport acquires representation of Crane Plumbing products as a result of the Fiat / Crane merger.
January 30th 1989: Davenport Associates partners with Global Steel Toilet Partitions.
May 1st 1990: Davenport Associates partners with Mr. Steam and the entire line of Sussman Lifestyle Group products.
September 1996: Davenport Associates acquires representation of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company for all New England. Jim Davenport spends a year living in Massachusetts to successfully launch a new campaign in New England. Sue Davenport (Jim's wife) joins the company to manager the office for 1 year.
September 1996: Dennis Whitelaw joins Davenport Associates.
May 1997: Ryan Davenport, son of Jim Davenport, joins the agency after graduating from Boston College. He spends his first 4 months with the company working in the Charlotte Cast Iron Foundry.
April 1998: After purchasing the adjoining property to 367 Washington Street, Davenport Associates grew to a combined 65,000 square feet of inside warehouse space. The purchase also as gives Davenport 6 acres of paved yard space.
May 1998: Davenport gains Universal Rundle as a division of Crane Plumbing.
May 1998: Dan Davenport, son of Jim Davenport, joins the company after graduation from Providence College. Dan bring a unique logistics, computer, and data management background to the company from his Providence College major.
June 1999: Davenport Associates resigns the Zurn Industries and three other lines. It is the first step in a process to differentiate ourselves from our competition. Jim, Ryan, and Dan Davenport write the company's first mission statement: Davenport Associates focuses on a small number of quality manufacturers, devoting the proper time and energy to make each line successful.
August 2000: Rick Bush joins Davenport Associates upon graduation from Providence College.
November 1, 2002: Davenport Associates merges with Don Regan Sales and partners with Bemis, Church, Alsons, Norwesco, and Campbell.
December 1, 2002: Ryan and Dan Davenport assume leadership roles in the company.
April 1, 2003: Davenport Associates acquires representation for Church and Alsons throughout all New England.
May 3, 2004: Davenport Associates earns the right to represent Crane, Fiat and Universal- Rundle throughout all of New England.
June 15, 2004: Ryan and Dan Davenport create the "Key Man" group. The group is a leadership council for a few key members of the sales and management teams. This group is given a say in the direction and policies of the company.
September 2004: Davenport Associates expands their Connecticut operation to include a third 15,000 square foot warehouse to bring the total to 80,000 square feet of indoor storage.
October 2004: Davenport Associates assumes representation of Insinkerator for New Hampshire, Maine, Eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
March 2005: Davenport Associates acquires the representation of Myers Pumps Sump Sewage and Effluent division in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
April 1 2005: Davenport Associates begins representation of Bradley Corporation division 15 products for Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
June 2006: Steve Lally joins the Davenport team.
