The year was 1974, nearly the peak of one of this country’s largest coal booms. The Arab oil embargo had hit home. Americans for the first time became painfully aware of how dependent they were upon foreign suppliers of oil. Gas prices soared and, to add insult to injury, gas rationing became a reality (remember odd-even tag numbers). This country’s energy suppliers returned to coal to fill the gap left by dwindling supplies of foreign oil.

Prior to the embargo, coal sold for less than $10 per ton. During the embargo, prices skyrocketed to over $50 per ton; the increased demand heavily accentuating the price. Opportunities to capitalize on the coal boom were unprecedented. With demand rapidly escalating, the number of coal producers grew proportionately. Suddenly, it seemed, everyone was getting into the mining business. Unfortunately, support industries were in no position to keep pace.

United Coal Company was a mere four years old in 1974 and it was in the enviable position of being able to capitalize on the coal boom. Unfortunately, it found itself in the same boat as everyone else when it came to mine supplies. Parts for mining equipment and general mine supplies were suddenly extremely scarce. Following the tried and true laws of supply and demand, existing mine supply houses, whose products were suddenly in great demand, but low in quantity, raised their prices accordingly.

To alleviate the availability problem and further capitalize on the coal industry, United Coal formed its own mine supply division in 1974. United Supply was initially formed to provide supplies to United Coal Company and its contractors. By becoming a distributor of supplies, United Coal could always warehouse enough supplies to meet the demand of its own company. The location was the old Buchanan County Coal company store, located in Big Rock, Virginia. United Coal had acquired all the assets of Buchanan County Coal the previous year and the formation of a supply division gave new life to the old company store.

In the years that followed, growth was the predominant theme of United Supply. 1976 saw the acquisition of Buchanan Wholesale, which was also located in Big Rock, and operated a branch store in Oakwood, Virginia.

More growth followed with the opening of new stores in Man, West Virginia in 1978 and in Martin, Kentucky in 1980. Once operating in three states, United Supply was recognized as a legitimate and substantial supplier to the Appalachian Coal Industry.

Expansion and growth were all that United Supply had known until 1982. By that time however, America had forgotten the hard lessons it had learned in the 70’s. There was now an oil glut and gas was again comparatively cheap. The resulting downturn in the coal industry had serious implications for everyone involved. In that year, United Supply, like so many companies around it, was forced to experience its first layoffs. Though painful as they were, they forced the company to become lean and mean and thus, a survivor.

Though the coal industry never rebounded to the growth levels seen in the 70’s United Supply continued to prosper by being more efficient and aggressive than its competitors. In fact, in 1986 and again in 1988, United Supply won the “Best Managed Distributor” award from the Industrial Distributors Association, a national organization with over 1800 members.

1989 marked a turning point for United Supply. In that year, it made its largest single acquisition to date. Central Supply Company was purchased from Westmoreland Coal. The purchase added six new stores, which were widely scattered throughout the coalfields. The combining of United Supply’s interests and Central Supply’s interests created a vastly different entity and necessitated a new name: United Central Industrial Supply Company.

Although United Central initially had ten branch locations, overlapping market areas and/or economic factors forced the closing of two stores, those being at Sutton, West Virginia and Martin, Kentucky. The remaining eight stores comprised an organization that was more than twice the size of the original United Supply.

With its size and financial strength ever growing, United Central no longer fit the role of subsidiary of United Coal Company. In fact, United Coal itself was no longer the lead organization but a subsidiary of a larger and now more diverse organization that was formed in 1987, The United Company. Ultimately, United Central became a stand-alone operating division of The United Company.

Growth continued in 1993, with the acquisition of Buckhanan Supply. A long-term competitor of United, the assets of Buckhanan Supply were merged with those of the Oakwood branch store, significantly enhancing that operation’s total sales volume.

New Year’s Eve, 1993, saw the year end with a bang. On that day, United Central officially took possession of Erwin Supply from the Pittston Company. Erwin Supply had two large facilities located at Rocky Gap, Virginia and Shinnston, West Virginia. In addition, the facility at Rocky Gap included an electrical/electronic equipment repair center.

Slightly over a year later, in January of 1995, United Central acquired the assets of the former R&H Supply from Arch Minerals. The deal added three more locations including the company’s first operations outside the Appalachian coalfields. The R&H acquisition added locations in Southern Illinois (Carterville) and in Western Kentucky (Madisonville). The purchase also included a location in Harlan County, Kentucky (Putney), a region that bordered on the extreme edge of the service areas of several other United Central locations. While Carterville and Putney continued to thrive under the new ownership, a declining coal industry in Western Kentucky forced the close of the Madisonville location less than two years later.

United Central’s continued growth produced an unexpected consequence for its management team. The steady stream of acquisitions created an organization with branches and customers scattered widely throughout the eastern half of the U.S. Business and business travel requirements for United Central’s executives and managers continued to grow proportionately. The company’s Big Rock, VA, headquarters was no longer a suitable location and so in 1996, the company transferred its headquarter location to Bristol, Virginia. The company moved its executive staff, purchasing, and accounting groups to the site of The United Company’s headquarters location on the campus of the former Sullins College in Bristol.

The most substantial change in United Central’s history occurred in 1999. Its former owners, The United Company had sold the last of its coal holdings in 1997 leaving United Central the last direct tie to the coal industry. That tie was severed in August of 1999 when the assets of United Central were acquired by Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, and members of United Central’s management team. As a result of the purchase, a new company was formed: United Central Industrial Supply Company, L.L.C.

The new company remained headquartered at its Bristol location. Code Hennessy & Simmons’ operating philosophy is to work closely with the management of its portfolio companies to grow the business. In 2001, the first acquisition by United Central under CHS was completed with the purchase of certain assets of Morgantown National Supply.

The merger of two companies, National Mine Service and Morgantown Hydraulics, had created Morgantown National Supply. National Mine Service had been a long-time competitor of United Central and carried an extensive and in many cases, exclusive, line of safety related products for the mining industry. The hydraulics repairs business was of little interest to United Central and so was excluded from the sale.

One of the most attractive features of this acquisition was the locations it added in the coalfields of the Western U.S., Pennsylvania, Alabama and Canada. In all, the addition of the assets of Morgantown National added six new locations to United Central and gave the company a national company status in the mining industry.

In August 2004, The Riverside Company and United Central’s senior management team purchased the financial interests of Code Hennessey & Simmons’ ownership in United Central. The Riverside Company is one of the leading private equity firms investing in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market.

In June 2005, United Central acquired the assets of A & C Equipment and Supply located in Stanaford, West Virginia. This purchase adds one new branch to United Central and adds a significant product line that includes electrical mining cable and equipment repair services.

In October 2005, United Central acquired Triune, Inc. headquartered in Grand Junction, CO. “The addition of Triune's products will broaden UC's product line in the Midwest and West", added Darrell Cole, Chief Executive Officer of United Central. “Triune has established a fine reputation in the industry for its products and service offerings. United Central intends to continue this fine tradition”. “This will enable UC to offer a compelling value proposition as the one-stop shop for coal producers in these growing regions”.

In April of 2006, American Securities Capital Partners and United Central’s executive management team acquired the assets and financial interests of United Central from The Riverside Company. American Securities is a leader in middle market private equity. They have one of the most consistent and enviable track records in the industry, having partnered with management teams to build successful, enduring companies since 1947.

In April of 2007, United Central completed its first acquisition under the new ownership when it purchased certain assets of Persinger Supply Company. United Central acquired the mining supply division of Persinger which included locations in Jenkins, KY and Chapmanville, WV.

At present, United Central operates 24 branch locations (23 in the U.S. and 1 in Canada). The corporate headquarters remain in Bristol, Virginia. The company continues to focus its efforts on being unsurpassed as the largest nationwide provider of products and services to the mining industry.