The first 50 Years

MECO of Savannah

In 1952, MECO of Savannah, Inc. was established by Walter (Matt) Matthews and his partner James (Jim) Nettles as a subsidiary of Metal Equipment Company, Inc., which manufactured and sold steel storage tanks to the Jobber market. At that time, Matt hired a couple of outside salesmen to call on the Oil Jobbers and agents for Major Oil Companies in Georgia and South Carolina.

The salesmen traveled in station wagons with the back seat down, packed to the roof with hoses, nozzles, pipe fittings, mechanical computers and hand pumps. They would leave on Sunday night and return on Friday night peddling their wares.

While there are presently 10 branches of MECO, three main roots sprang forth from Savannah, Georgia. In 1956, Frank Futrelle (Root #1) joined MECO as an outside salesman. Also in 1956, Mike Scudder (Root #2) joined MECO to handle the invoicing, shipping, receiving and anything else that needed doing. In 1959, Rentz Woodruff (Root #3) joined MECO as a salesman handling the eastern South Carolina area.

As sales in the Savannah area became strong, we started to get requests from the outlaying areas: areas like Augusta, Georgia and Florence, South Carolina. We started stretching ourselves to cover these requests and as they became more frequent, we started to consider taking an outside salesman, moving him to one of these areas and trying to make a go of it.

In 1996, Bill Campbell became the branch manager of MECO of Savannah. There are presently 15 employees at work.

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Root #1: MECO of Augusta

In 1956, an aspiring young safety shoe salesman working for the Union Bag Papermill in Savannah, Georgia was to receive an opportunity that would change his life forever. A neighbor told Frank Futrelle of a job opportunity at MECO of Savannah.

Young Frank became an outside salesman for Matt Matthews. Frank would leave home on Sunday night and return home on Friday night. He would go to the office on Saturday mornings to turn in sales tickets and pick-up his expense check. Matt would then win back Frank's expense check by throwing dice. A hard lesson learned.

In April of 1959, Frank became a partner with Matt and Jim as the owners of MECO of Augusta. Mike Scudder also relocated to Augusta to run the inside while Frank handled Sales. The two families shared a moving van.

The first year Frank received a large $8,000.00 order. He later surmised he was not going to receive payment for the equipment sold. He called Matt and told him he had Good News and Bad News'. The good news was he sold the $8,000.00 order. The bad news was they weren't going to get paid, but he had learned a valuable lesson. Matt said “I could have sent you to Harvard for less than $8,000.00. Matt was tough.

Business grew and MECO of Augusta prospered. Mike Scudder would leave to partner with Matt in the MECO of Atlanta venture.

In 1986 Frank passed on as a victim of an automobile accident. His son Jeff Futrelle would take over the business and continue the MECO heritage as a second-generation employee. In February 2001, Jeff would open a branch in Greenville,
South Carolina.

The business continues to prosper and expand. The legacy lives on. These two branches have a total of 28 employees at work.

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Root #2: MECO of Atlanta

In 1955, MECO of Savannah opened a one-man sales office in Atlanta, Georgia to call on the Major Oil Company regional purchasing departments. In 1956, Mike Scudder was hired at MECO of Savannah - because I knew how to type. In 1959, he became a right-hand man in the MECO of Augusta branch.

In 1965, Mike moved to Atlanta, Georgia to take over sales and establish a branch operation. In 1975, Mr. Matthews sold his interest in MECO of Savannah and MECO of Atlanta to Mike Scudder and William (Billy) Carver.

In 1977, MECO of Savannah and MECO of Atlanta established a branch in Montgomery, Alabama that incorporated in 1984 as Montgomery Equipment Company, Inc.. C.M. (Mike) Mock and John Beck, both Savannah boys, became partners in this venture. They presently have 12 employees at work.

In 1987, Mike Scudder acquired Billy Carver's interest in MECO of Savannah. Mark Scudder moved to Savannah, Georgia to manage this operation.

In 1990, MECO of Atlanta acquired the assets of Sunbelt Hose and Equipment Company (formerly Equipment Sales Company, Inc.) in Georgia.

In 1993, MECO of Atlanta opened a branch in Macon, Georgia. Carlos Mobley moved to become MECO of Macon branch manager.

In 1993, when Stage II Vapor Recovery hit Atlanta, MECO of Atlanta was contacted and contracted by nearly every single Major Oil Company to assist them in meeting these new and expensive federal regulations. They counted on our experience in the petroleum equipment industry to guide them to compliance. This was a gratifying experience to be recognized and trusted by the southeastern regional offices of the Major Oil Companies.

In 1998, MECO of Atlanta opened a branch in Albany, Georgia. Wayne Bell was hired to become MECO of Albany branch manager.

In 1999, MECO of Atlanta purchased the assets of Florida Equipment Sales, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. Partners Lamar Scott and Mike Meadors manage the newly formed MECO of North Florida branch.

We presently have 39 employees at work at MECO of Atlanta. Three of these employees are poised to assume the role of a second-generation employee. Mickey Scudder started in 1979 and is now the General Manager of Operations. Mark Scudder started in 1984 and is now the Manager of Sales and Branch Operations. Pamela Scudder started in 1984 and is now the Comptroller. It is under their leadership, but with the guidance of Mike Scudder, that MECO of Atlanta has grown, prospered and remains strong.

All together, the five branches of Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Albany and Jacksonville have a total of 91 employees at work.

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Root #3: MECO of Florence

In 1959, Rentz Woodruff joined MECO of Savannah as an outside salesman handling eastern South Carolina. In 1964, Matt Matthews sent Rentz to Florence, South Carolina. Rentz had started calling on the Oil Jobbers in South Carolina from the Savannah office and it was a natural progression to locate the next branch in South Carolina. Rentz brought along a young service technician from the Savannah office named Jack Brantley. Rentz hired a third employee to handle shipping and receiving at the new facility constructed at South Church Street.

Over the years, the company continued to grow and prosper under the leadership of Rentz and Jack. A company philosophy which places people and relationships first, whether a customer, an employee or a supplier, has remained a driving force today.

In 1978, Rentz's son, Taylor Woodruff, joined the company as an outside saleman and a second-generation employee. In 1989, Taylor was named president of MECO of Florence. Jack Brantley still serves the company as General Manager. Jack's sons, Chris and Tim Brantley, provide their expertise to the Technical Service Department. These are three shining examples of continuing a MECO tradition as the torch is passed to a second generation.

In 1997, MECO of Florence established a branch office in Fayetteville, North Carolina to better serve the company's good customers in eastern North Carolina.
Bob Baskin, with over seventeen years of service to the petroleum marketers in the Fayetteville area, became the MECO of Fayetteville branch manager.

Still headquartered at 904 South Church Street, the original facility has undergone five additions. A company which started with 3 employees now has a dedicated workforce of 32, with many key employees having over 25 years of service to the company.

Rentz Woodruff still provides his wisdom and experience as a new generation carries on the MECO tradition of providing our customers with quality products and excellent service while maintaining the valuable relationships built over the past 38 years.

Closing

In closing, two things. First, a brief note to thank the "silent partners" , the wives, of the three main roots.. Frank Futrelle - Sybil.. Mike Scudder - Betty .. and Rentz Woodruff - Annette. These women held their families together allowing their husbands the concentration time it takes to run a successful small business. Not to say there weren't moments that tested the strength of their relationships, but they met the test. It goes to prove: Hard work (on both their parts), never hurt anyone.

Second, Jeff Futrelle became the first second-generation employee. MECO is fortunate to have second-generation employees to witness the skills of the founders, to learn the trade of successful small businessmen and to experience the day-to-day effort it takes to keep a good customer. It is this group of second-generation employees who are testing their wings while still under the guidance of the first generation. Many of us see this as insuring proper business practices and ethics are continued so the enterprise will be fit for a third generation, and so on. You know, an extremely close relationship existed between Matt, Frank, Mike and Rentz and continues among the second-generation employees. Although we have separate ownership, we continue to operate and communicate together as a group.

This is a unique difference about MECO - we plan for the future, we enter business relationships with customers and employees for the future, and we work with our customers and employees as though they are family because our future includes our customers and employees. We want them to be as successful as they can be, knowing their success and our proper business practices are how sound futures are built.
With a total of 163 working, tax-paying citizens of the United States of America, MECO is a small, shining example of the great American Free Enterprise System.

God Bless America
and
God has Truly Blessed MECO

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