Tribute Customer of the Quarter: Nashville Rubber & Gasket Co., Inc.

by Karl Geesey
Inventory Manager and Systems Administrator

Nashville Rubber & Gasket Company is one of the two original “Rubber & Gasket” stores founded by Walter Bates, Michael Haley, and Art Schmidt in 1966. The two original stores have given birth to numerous other “Rubber & Gasket” stores in the last forty years and are spread out over nineteen states. A full service distributor of industrial supplies, Nashville R&G has served the Middle Tennessee area continuously for over forty years.

An umbrella organization known as RAGCO (Rubber And Gasket Companies) was also formed to join the “Rubber and Gasket” stores into an organization that is capable of working on national pricing agreements or developing local agreements with customers. Ragco, Inc. now has sixty-two member stores coast to coast, making it the largest supplier of industrial rubber products, gasketing, belting and related products in the world.

Vice President and General Manager, Don Garner, not only runs the day to day operation of Nashville R&G, but this year is serving as the President of the National Industrial Belting Association (NIBA). Don served as chairman of several NIBA committees including the Technical Committee before becoming president, and had the opportunity to give Tribute input regarding its Belting Module during its inception.

Nashville R&G is a Premier Distributor for Eaton/Aeroquip hydraulic hose and fitting products, with a service van for on-site work and three Aeroquip Hydraulic Product Specialists on staff. We also offer hydraulic tube fabrication and custom bending along with a certified welding specialist for metal fabrications. We are a Certified Chemical Hose Distributor and our industrial hose department has certified hose pressure testing capabilities. We are also a Premier Distributor for Goodyear/Veyance Technologies industrial hose, v-belts, and conveyor belting.

Nashville Rubber’s inventory includes thousands of parts contained in four major departments throughout our fifty-six thousand square foot warehouse. Fabrication services include everything from custom cut gaskets, to custom fabricated hydraulic hoses, to custom sized conveyor belts that can be installed and vulcanized on-site at a customer’s facility.

Nashville R&G has been using Tribute distribution software for the last sixteen years to manage its extensive inventory and fabrication services for customers. The Tribute distribution software has been a significant asset to Nashville Rubber & Gasket and has played a big part in it becoming one of the premier stores in our industry.

Nashville Rubber & Gasket Co., Inc.
1900 Elm Tree Drive Nashville, TN 37210
800-883-0030
www.nashvillerubber.com