Website: https://www.doitbest.com/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doitbestcorp/, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/do-it-best-corp./
In 2022, moved to Electric Works.
- Do It Best Makes Electric Works Location Official Wednesday, July 29, 2020 InsideIndianaBusiness
- Electric Works anchor tenant Do it Best says the project is already boosting talent attraction, Do it Best is the largest privately held company in Indiana and the future anchor tenant of the Electric Works campus. Kara Hackett, February 17, 2021 Input Fort Wayne.
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When the journey to transform Fort Wayne’s vacant General Electric campus into the mixed-use cultural district Electric...
Posted by Input Fort Wayne on Friday, February 19, 2021Friday, February 19, 2021 post by Input Fort Wayne on Facebook:
When the journey to transform Fort Wayne’s vacant General Electric campus into the mixed-use cultural district Electric Works (@electricworksfw) began, a big piece of the puzzle was finding an anchor tenant. About one year ago in February 2020, the largest privately held company in Indiana claimed that role. Do it Best (@doitbestcom) is a member-owned hardware, lumber, and building materials cooperative that began in downtown Fort Wayne in 1945 and has since relocated to a warehouse-style office near New Haven. To keep up with market demand and attract top talent, Do it Best claimed approximately 200,000-square-feet of space on multiple floors of Building 26 in the future Electric Works West Campus. This move will allow them to create an additional 90 jobs in Fort Wayne and give them an extra 20,000-square-feet to grow. While renderings of the future office and the entire Electric Works campus are still in the works, leaders at Do it Best say their forthcoming HQ is already grabbing the attention of talent. Full story in our bio.
Electric Works anchor tenant Do it Best says the project is already boosting talent attraction
- Do It Best Leverages Housing Industry Expertise To Reinvent Itself And The City Of Fort Wayne, Indiana Jennifer Castenson, Contributor at Forbes.com.
- December 5, 2022 was a big day for Do it Best. It’s the first day in 75 years employees reported to work at a location other than the offices on Nelson Road in New Haven. Do it Best is the anchor tenant of Electric Works and moved its corporate headquarters to Building 26 on the Electric Works campus. On Monday, about a quarter of the nearly 500 Do it Best employees arrived. More employees will move in the rest of this week. Do it Best moves into Electric Works Alyssa Ivanson, December 5, 2022 CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15.
- Dec. 12 - Do it Best Corp moves into Electric Works Mary Anne Gates Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly December 12, 2022
January 27, 2023 post by Electric Works on Facebook:
Our campus sign is installed, and now we are ready to light it! Join us on campus Monday evening as we celebrate the inaugural lighting of the Electric Works and Do it Best sign.
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Video: New Do It Best Electric Works sign
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The Fort Wayne community took part in history Monday evening with the official lighting of the sign atop the Electric Works campus.
Posted by WANE 15 on Monday, January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 post by WANE 15 on Facebook.
Electric Works Do it Best sign lights up Fort Wayne sky by Joe Carroll, Clayton McMahan, posted: January 30, 2023 on
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January 31, 2023 post by Weigand Construction on Facebook.
What an iconic moment for our community! 💡 It's been quite a while in the making, but the new Do it Best Electric Works sign has officially been lit. If you didn't get the chance to come to the lighting ceremony last night, make sure you ✨look up✨ next time you're on Broadway! #BuildingLandmarks #ElectricWorks #FortWayne -
What a difference 3 years makes! Governor Eric Holcomb visited Electric Works today to see the incredible progress on...
Posted by Electric Works on Thursday, October 5, 2023Thursday, October 5, 2023 post by Electric Works on Facebook:
What a difference 3 years makes! Governor Eric Holcomb visited Electric Works today to see the incredible progress on campus and to present Do it Best CEO and President Dan Starr with the prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash award.
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Looking to for ways to improve his customers experience at his hardware store, led Fort Wayne businessman and native...
Posted by The History Center on Thursday, March 21, 2024Thursday, March 21, 2024 post by The History Center on Facebook:
Looking to for ways to improve his customers experience at his hardware store, led Fort Wayne businessman and native Arnold Gerberding to develop a co-op named Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI), later to become Do it Best Corp. HWI was began with the investments of 100 independent business owners in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Gerberding used the co-op model so HWI members could get better volume pricing from vendors by buying together rather than on their own. Independent hardware stores became members of the cooperative and its sole shareholders as well. The first warehouse facility opened in 1948, and HWI added a private truck delivery system in 1955. When Gerberding retired in 1967, HWI had more than 600 members and had over $35 million in annual sales. Don Wolf succeeded Gerberding and opened HWI's first distribution center outside of Fort Wayne in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Today, there are eight centers located across the US as well as five regional lumber offices. Mike McClelland succeeded Don Wolf as president in 1992. During his tenure, the co-op expanded internationally, primarily in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Here are some items from our collection from HWI. #sociallyhistory
This is the 1st of 2 posts on HWI and Do it Best, make sure to watch for the conclusion next Thursday.
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Today we share the final part in the story of HWI and Do it Best. Looking to for ways to improve his customers...
Posted by The History Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024Thursday, March 28, 2024 post by The History Center on Facebook:
Today we share the final part in the story of HWI and Do it Best.
Looking to for ways to improve his customers experience at his hardware store, led Fort Wayne businessman and native Arnold Gerberding to develop a co-op named Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI). Throughout the years, the company grew and expanded across the country and internationally. In 1998, HWI combined with Minnesota based regional co-op, Our Own Hardware. This move brought together the two most member co-ops in the hardware business. The histories of these companies are closely intwined as Gerberding talked with George Hall, founder of Our Own Hardware, to get ideas before launching his own hardware co-op. One of the most recognizable changes from their merger was the change of the co-op’s name from HWI to Do it Best Corp. This was done to tie together all of its members, truck fleets, store designs, and advertising. In 2002, Bob Taylor succeeded Mike McClelland as Do it Best Corporation’s President and CEO. Dan Starr became the next leader of the hardware co-op in 2016, a position that he still occupies today. Today, Do it Best Corp., based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is the only US-based, member-owned comprehensive and fully integrated hardware, lumber, and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. With annual sales of nearly $5 billion, Do it Best serves thousands of member-owned locations across the United States and in 54 other countries. The hard work and dedication of its 1,800 employees still exemplify the philosophy of its founder Arnold Gerberding almost 80 years later. Here are some items from our collection from Do it Best. #sociallyhistory