Our History
Our knowledgeable sales and service team, technical expertise, and unmatched reliability are what make Swagelok North Texas a preferred supplier of Swagelok products and services. Meet the experts and professionals behind the Swagelok North Texas name!
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Our Story: Swagelok North Texas History
The origin of Swagelok North Texas dates all the way back to 1957 when the Swagelok distributorship, then named Texas Valve & Fitting Co. (TVFC), opened for business. It began when Thomas A. Read, one of the original Swagelok distributors in Houston, encouraged his brother George to go to Dallas and sell Swagelok products. George did just that, and registered the business name: “Texas Valve & Fitting Co.”George Read successfully introduced Swagelok products, including the revolutionary two-ferrule compression fitting, to prospective customers across the metroplex. After years of working from his home, Mr. Read opened the first TVFC office in Dallas and assembled a team of dedicated salesmen that would carry Swagelok's tradition of quality and service for decades to come.
With 37 years as the distributor principal at TVFC, Mr. Read retired in 1994 and Sales Manager JW Crane was named TVFC's second distributor principal. Mr. Crane focused on extensive product knowledge and local inventory increases to help expand the business out of the original location, to a larger facility in Dallas that could accommodate the growing needs of customers. During Mr. Crane's tenure, the distributorship earned the business of one of the largest semiconductor facilities in the nation, under the leadership of a salesman named Ben Williams. Ben started with TVFC in 1979, and by 1996 was promoted to Sales Manager. Ben's innate ability to connect with customers and excel in business management, combined with his vast knowledge of Swagelok offerings, positioned him to be the ideal choice as Mr. Crane's successor in 2008.
With new leadership came new offerings at TVFC, including its third and current office location in Allen, Texas, as well as the introduction to Swagelok's Custom Solutions department to offer customers in-house, customized fabrication capabilities and turn-key assembly applications. Ben Williams retired in 2020, paving the way for our current distributor principal, Mike Merkel; and in October of 2020, TVFC was rebranded to Swagelok North Texas to better align with the global brand recognition of the Swagelok name. Mike has been with Swagelok for more than a decade in various leadership roles, including Regional Director at Swagelok Corporate in Ohio. His focus is on developing his team to continue providing customers world class service and lifelong partnerships that Swagelok and specifically, this distributorship offers now and into the future.
