Mud & More Melds Equipment with Marketing
NORTH LIMA, Ohio – A new company in North Lima is providing contractors nationwide with equipment, tools and, in some cases, marketing help.
In addition to the safety equipment – hardhats, first-aid kits, safety vests and goggles, among other items – Mud & More LLC stocks at its office, 12035 South Ave. in North Lima, the company is a representative for Cetco Drilling Products, Ashland Pump, Robbco Pumps, Pyramex, Bestolife Premium Compounds and Vector Chemicals.
“Our main focus is water well, geothermal – which is very hot right now – and horizontal directional drilling,” co-owner Todd Tannehill said. “We do get into some of the pipeline work that’s going through with the Mariner and Rover [pipelines] with some fluids and safety gear.”
Mud & More held a ribbon cutting May 23. Tannehill and his wife, Dee, launched the company in October after he left his technical-sales manager position at Cetco, a job where he oversaw sales teams around the world. Since starting Mud & More, the Tannehills have sent products to Texas, Idaho, Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as locally.
“We’re shipping nationwide. We do a lot of advertising in trade magazines, so we’ve been getting a lot of out-of-state on products,” he said.
National distribution was what attracted Vector Chemicals, Youngstown, to Mud & More, said general manager Brandon Coughlin.
“We’re looking to expand our presence nationally and Mud & More looked, to us, like a perfect partner,” he said. “It’s not just because of their concentration in Ohio and Pennsylvania but because they’ve stretched beyond those two states.”
As it stands, the Tannehills are the only employees at Mud & More, although they expect to hire more in sales in the coming year. Dee Tannehill runs Tip Promotional Products, a division of Mud & More that Todd Tannehill’s father started in the 1980s and brought into the fold last year.
“I’m working to help promote businesses in the area,” she said. “It’s not limited [to Mud & More customers] but there is some blend to it. We’ve done hardhat labels and heat-stamping for safety vests.”
Outside of the industrial fields, Tip offers products from Bic, 3M, BelPromo, Hanes and Gill Line. Beyond just selling the items, though, the agency works with customers to develop programs around the items, such as giveaway promotions or tradeshow displays.
“One thing my dad taught me about the business is that there are a ton of people to sell promotional products,” Todd Tannehill said. “You can buy a pen with your name it through the mail or internet. But this is building a solution around it. If I sell a hundred pens, I need to get you a way to get those pens from your office to the street.”
The couple is also working to develop a dealers network for veterans and military spouses who’ve started their own businesses to help with marketing and promotion. Todd Tannehill is a Navy veteran and his son is stationed in Afghanistan with the Air Force.
“That way they can market their products and still be at home with their kids or transfer from base to base. It’s something that’s near and dear to us,” he said at the ribbon cutting. “We want that to be a main focus.”
Mud & More is a member of the National Veteran-Owned Business Association and is seeking certification as an Ohio Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise. Such certification would allow the company benefits when it sells to the state.
“It’ll also allow us, with Tip, to go after some of the military promotional products they do with recruiting offices,” Todd Tannehill said. “When you go to the Canfield Fair and visit their tents, there are all sorts of pens and little items.”
Pictured: At the ribbon cutting for Mud & More are John McCarrier, advisory committee; co-owners Todd and Dee Tannehill; Vickie Heller, advisory committee; George Heller, advisory committee.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
