The Value of Distributor-Vendor Relationships

Founded in Glendale, Arizona, in 2012, Stenzel Sealing Solutions may be somewhat of a new kid on the fluid sealing block, but its owner and founder, Linda Stenzel, is an industry veteran. In total, Linda has 41 years of fluid sealing experience under her belt — 34 of which as a distributor — and that amount of interest and dedication, along with a natural mechanical aptitude, led her to start her own business.

Distributor-Vendor Connection

Our CEO, Chris Wilder, first met Linda (second from left in the picture) at the Fluid Sealing Association’s Fall Meeting (FSA) last month in Pittsburgh. FSA is a wonderful resource for industry members to network and learn from one another. Without it, the friendship between SEPCO and Stenzel Sealing Solutions may not have formed. She and Chris place value on distributor-vendor relationships and attending FSA meetings

“It was really cool to attend this event as a distributor and see the manufacturers I had done business with for so many years,” Linda said. “It was especially inspiring to see firsthand the focus on transparency for the benefit of the industry. Not that you’re sharing all of your trade secrets, but you’re sharing information for the betterment of everyone involved. I think that’s fabulous.”

Focus on Power Generation

Now, back to Stenzel Sealing Solutions. Throughout her extensive career, Linda worked with a many heavy industries,including mining and power, but today, her company exclusively focuses on the power generation market.

“Anything on the mechanical side of the power generation facility — like turbines, pumps, valves — is what we do and love doing,” Linda said.

These days, Linda still has a lot of interaction with her customer base, spending 70 percent of her time in the field working on short- and long-term projects, attending to troubleshooting issues, engineering endeavors, and hands-on field training. The rest of her time is dedicated to guiding her business’s direction and decisions.

“We’ve got some aggressive long-term goals in the works, as well as plans for empowering even more women. We’re also excited to look at expanding our business beyond power generation and into industries such as municipalities and wastewater treatment,” Linda said.

“Additionally, we’re seeing a younger workforce penetrate the industry and bring new ideas to the table. It’s exciting to watch this happen before my eyes as I work towards exiting.”

The SEPCO team plans to grow all the distributor-vendor relationships and provide value to end users by prioritizing relationships.