TYLER, Texas - Trane announced that it will begin taking direct orders from dealers in Georgia and most of Tennessee as early as Dec. 17, 2007, marking its transition to company-owned distribution in this sales territory. The transition is expected to be complete throughout the territory by Dec. 26, 2007.

The company decided to change its residential and light commercial distribution strategy in this territory from independent wholesale distribution to company-owned distribution earlier this fall, transitioning operations previously handled by HD Supply’s Apex division. This change does not impact Woodson & Bozeman Inc., which continues to distribute Trane products in western Tennessee.

“As a business, we continually work to develop, expand, and upgrade our distribution network to drive Trane’s key strategic initiatives,” said Louis Cook, vice president of Trane Sales. “That means choosing the best distribution model - whether independent or corporate-owned - for the specific geographic market we’re serving. In this case, we decided it was in the best interest of our business - and that of our dealers - to transition to company-owned distribution. We’re excited about directly serving the dealers in Georgia and Tennessee to drive their growth and profitability.”

Moving forward, the Georgia sales territory will be supported by a new Atlanta-based Dealer Sales Office (DSO) to be led by Mike Felt, the former DSO manager for Trane’s Pennsylvania/Ohio market. Meanwhile, the Tennessee market is being combined with Trane’s existing Louisville, Ky.-based DSO. Steve Reed, manager of the Kentucky DSO, will continue in his role directing sales and distribution activities for the newly expanded territory which will now be known as the Kentucky-Tennessee DSO. Limited areas of Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina will also be served by these two DSOs.

While permanent facilities are being secured, the DSOs will operate out of five temporary warehouse locations in Georgia, with three in the Atlanta area, one in Savannah, and one in Macon. There will also be three stocking locations in Tennessee, one each in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Each of these markets will have territory managers, sales leaders, field service representatives, inside sales, and administrative personnel in place to facilitate sales and distribution activities.

“While we’re still getting our permanent infrastructure in place and rounding out our support team, we’re confident we have the facilities and key people we need in place to hit the ground running and immediately begin serving our dealers,” Cook said.

For more information, visit www.trane.com.

Publication date:12/17/2007