history
Blending the strong and colorful history of the past with the entrepreneurial management and technology of today, The Republic Companies is well-positioned to meet the ever-changing needs and challenges of our industries and our customers.
Our founder, Joseph Stephen Kimmel, was born in 1885 in Dayton, Ohio. He knew early that it was essential for him, his brother and four sisters to work for the essentials in life. His first steady job was with the Dayton Public Library where he returned books to the proper shelves.
As a high school senior, he decided to pursue a career in law. Studying five days a week by the light of a kerosene lamp, he passed the Ohio Bar Exam on his first try. His law certificate still hangs in Republic's conference room.
Kimmel soon joined the sales department of the National Cash Register Company (NCR), then Dayton's largest industry. He loved his work and progressed rapidly up through the chain of command. He was assigned to New York City, where he met J.C. Penney, a fellow boarder at the YMCA. Kimmel almost joined him in the founding era of the retail chain.
His NCR career was successful, as he held the manager's position of the London office. He became the assistant general sales manager of the company.
But Kimmel eventually moved on. He knew Charles F. Kettering, the inventor of the automotive electric starter, who offered Kimmel a job with the Delco Remy Division at GM. About the same time, one of Kimmel's fired associates from NCR offered him a minor partnership in his new business venture. His friend was Thomas Watson, and his company went on to become International Business Machines (IBM).
Republic's Delco dealers installed over 12,500 light plants in this area. Kimmel developed one of the most successful Delco distributorships in the country, leading the entire Delco distributor organization almost every year. His business prospered until the federal government launched its Rural Electrification Administration. This activity ended the Delco business in 1932.
Fortunately, the Delco Light division of GM went on to develop the domestic and commercial refrigeration product line known as Frigidaire. Republic's founder converted his Delco Light dealers into major appliance outlets. The Frigidaire franchise was good for all concerned. Those wonderful white porcelain refrigerators were desired by all homeowners. Republic was truly a pioneering firm in both the electric and refrigeration industries.
In the years that followed, Republic has emerged as one of the largest independent wholesaler distributors in the Midwest.
