Alpena Supply Company began its existence in 1935 when it operated as a subsidiary of Huron Industries, Inc. The founders were Phillip K. Fletcher and Clinton P. Harris. The original wholesale supply business served several of the Great Lakes marine fleets, including Bradley Transportation and Huron Cement Company carriers. In December 1941, the entire Huron Industries operation was purchased by a Detroit trio headed by Francis D. Tait. The manufacturing facility was named Die Tool Engineering Company (later sold and renamed Thunder Bay Manufacturing Corporation) and the supply division became Alpena Supply Company. With World War II, the supply business was reduced to welding gases and equipment. In 1944, the welding line was expanded and automotive equipment and supplies were added alongwith additional personnel, which had been reduced during the earlier war years. At the end of World War II, plumbing, heating and industrial supplies were added new lines, and the business territory was expanded to cover seven northeast Michigan counties. Alpena Supply Company incorporated in 1943 and moved to its present facilities at 410 S Eleventh Avenue in 1955. In 1962, the welding division was set up in a separate adjoining building at 510 Eleventh Avenue. Mark Kelly joined the firm in 1944 as manager and later became company president. In 1955, Pat Kennedy joined the company as an outside salesman. With the efforts of both Mark and Pat along with other seasoned employees such as George St. Charles, Bill Adusky, Lucile O'Neil, Gerald Scott and other dedicated employees, the company continued to grow with expanding product lines and serving a larger geographical area. Recent long term employees include Emmet Yuchasz and Jim Dziesinski (both recently retired after more than 37 years), Damian Kendziorski, Carl Tadajewski and Bob LaCross (all with 36 years or more of service). In addition to the above mentioned the company flourished over the years with a dedicated group of employees, who have helped build the success of the company. Bill Kelly, who has been with the company since 1978, serves as the company president. Alpena Supply Company expanded its services by creating Classic Baths in 1994 and added Kitchen cabinetry in 1999, changing the name to "Classic Kitchen & Bath". Additional locations were added to include services to other Michigan markets in both the lower and upper peninsulas. In 2002 and 2004 locations in Gaylord and Petoskey were purchased and named "Great Lakes Pipe and Supply". A separate welding supply company in Charlevoix was acquired in early 2004. At that point Alpena Supply Company had grown to four locations with 47 employees. In 2006, the welding supply divisions were sold to Airgas, Inc. which has over 1200 locations in the United States. Alpena Supply Company continues to focus on distributing plumbing, heating and cooling, piping, industrial and janitorial products. Today, Alpena Supply Company continues to serve its customers with three locations in Alpena, Gaylord and Petoskey, all of which have experienced employees, quality products and competitive prices.