Unistrut Midwest is the corporate entity that encompasses Unistrut branches in Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, OH, Detroit, MI, Indianapolis, IN, as well as Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Our mission has not changed from 1975 to the present; “We strive to sell a quality product, with quality service.”
Unistrut Midwest History
We are still run as a family firm that had its origins in 1974. Jack Ellis started as a sales rep for Unistrut Cincinnati in 1974 and acquired the company in 1978. In 1983, his son Mark joined the firm in sales. In 1989, his son Dave joined, also in sales.
In 1996, Mark and Dave took over and began growing the company. Later in 2001, Mark and Dave took over distribution for Unistrut Indianapolis, and in 2002 Unistrut Toledo was acquired. In 2011, Unistrut Detroit was acquired as well. In 2016, Unistrut Midwest grew by expansion starting with its Columbus, OH, location. In 2020, Unistrut Midwest expanded its Cincinnati location with a new Fabrication Division and an additional warehouse location.
In our organization, we have 7 sales professionals with experience ranging from 5 to 30 years with the Unistrut products. Joe Blust (Dayton area) joined Unistrut in 1994. Scott Welch (Unistrut Indianapolis) joined in 2003. Michael Hoff (Unistrut Cincinnati) joined in 2007. Rory Moser (Cincinnati/Kentucky) joined in 2011. Brian Blust (Unistrut Detroit) joined in 2011. Jeff Ring (Unistrut Columbus) joined in 2016 and opened our Columbus location. Ben Sabatino (Illinois/Wisconsin) joined our sales team in 2021. Unistrut Midwest has sales specialists in medical support systems, traffic sign supports, computer access floors, Sikla Framo 80, ErectAStep, modular offices, wire mesh partitions, and lockers. We are leading distributors/installers for several well-known companies including Tate Access Floors (2007), Sikla (2011), ErectAStep (2012), and Food Grade Strut® (2016).
In 2022, Unistrut Midwest went through some organizational restructuring and welcomed Kevin Brooks as President/CEO and promoted Michael Hoff to Chief Revenue Officer. Dave Ellis remains with the organization as Chief Operating Officer. Mark Ellis has stepped down as president but remains with the organization in an advisory role.
Our organization has grown into a successful firm that began as a small local distributor in 1975. We have grown to become the largest independent Unistrut distributor in the country. We consistently hold the largest inventory of Unistrut construction products including several hundred thousand feet of channel, over ten thousand fittings, ten thousand feet of grating, fifty thousand feet of Telespar tubing, and much more!
Our Team
Kevin Brooks
President / Chief Executive Officer
Dave Ellis
VP of Engineering
Mike Hoff
Chief Revenue Officer
Mark Ellis
VP of Purchasing
Dave Martin
Chief Financial Officer
Megan Perry Rash
Human Resources
Jody Floyd
Project Manager
Eric Hoover
Project Manager
Matt Boissy
Project Manager
Matt Geig
Buyer
Evan Bates
OPEX Coordinator
Trevor Ellis
Estimator
Teresa Tenkman
Accounts Payable
Jade Keenan
Accounts Receivable
Chrystal Boyd
Executive Administrator
Denise Newland
Customer Service
Mark Boyd
Customer Service
Kim Plunkett
Customer Service
Chris Engel
Operations Manager
Heather Engel
Inventory Manager
Pete Gessendorf
Warehouse Manager - Cincinnati
Syd Lawrence
Warehouse Manager - Cincinnati
Justyn McLaughlin
Fabrication
Benjamin Boyd
Warehouse - Cincinnati
John Gessendorf
Warehouse - Cincinnati
Todd Easterwood
Manager - Michigan
Randy Benton
Delivery Driver - Michigan
John Wszolek
Warehouse - Michigan
Jeff Mosca
Delivery Driver - Columbus
John Justice
Warehouse Manager - Columbus
A Brief History of Unistrut
Invented around 1920 by Charles Attwood, the Unistrut Metal Framing System was originally referred to as the Attwood System of Frame Construction. His company, DECELECO INC. was later changed to Unistrut Corporation. The original design came from a specific need for efficiently mounting electrical components in large electrical cabinets. The key was development of the Unistrut channel and Unistrut nut. Although developed for electrical applications, Mr. Attwood envisioned using his product for almost any application requiring a structural support frame designed and built in the field. He realized the vast number of applications in construction and industry and began developing a broad range of Unistrut channel, nuts, hardware, fittings and brackets to increase product versatility. One application he developed was a wall framing system. In order to be compatible with standard industry materials, he designed Unistrut channel to be 1-5/8″ wide x 1-5/8″ deep, the same thickness as a common 2 x 4 stud. This was the origin of the 1-5/8″ Unistrut channel dimension now used by strut manufacturers worldwide. As a proof-of-concept project, he constructed an office building at Unistrut Corporation using Unistrut channel as the wall framing material. Unistrut was acquired by Tyco International in 1995 and later sold to Atkore International in 2010.
Although “Unistrut” is a registered trade name and product trademark, many architects, engineers, contractors and industrial users now use “Unistrut” as a generic term for any version of metal framing system that resembles the Unistrut product. There are many poorly made off brands that do exist, so customers should find out who manufactures the “Unistrut” they are using. Many sales clerks do not know what brand of strut they sell, or that there is a difference. Unistrut Metal Framing is the original and is still manufactured right here in the USA.
Mr. Strut
Unistrut’s famous Mr.Strut logo has it’s own interesting history. Charles Attwood’s personal friend was a well known cartoonist named Walt Disney. Walt Disney presented the original concept for Mr. Strut to Charles Attwood on a cocktail napkin. They liked the concept so well that they agreed to do a short video called “The Sky’s the Limit” Check it out below!