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History

Becoming the Foremost Distributor of Factory Supplies in the Midwest

In the early 1920’s W.O. Hanson and his partner V.W. Olson started Automotive Service Company in St. Paul, MN. With several years of success in the automotive industry and connections with bearing suppliers, they decided to start another business to serve manufacturing industries in the upper Midwest.

In 1939 they partnered with E.E. Rempher, who had a background in the bearing and power transmission distribution business to form Industrial Supply Company. Their stated vision was to:

Become the foremost distributor of power transmission equipment and factory supplies in the entire Midwest.

Their charter was to deliver strong product knowledge and application assistance beyond what was expected and to offer an in-depth local inventory of premier product brands. From the beginning, they adopted the slogan:

“A Drive or Bearing for Every Purpose.”

That slogan became a well-known identifier of Industrial Supply Company in their market area.

They outgrew the original Minneapolis location at 717 South Eighth in 1945 and moved to what would remain the long-standing address of 1100 3rd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis with several additions to the building along the way. With the passing of V.W. Olson in 1961 and E.E. Rempher in 1975, W.O. Hanson became the sole owner.

Paul Koch joined Industrial Supply in 1960 as a sales representative and became company president in 1977 until his retirement in 1999. The main office moved from downtown to the current location in Plymouth, MN, in 1984. Over the years, the company has grown and diversified and now offers a broad range of products and services.

In 2008, Industrial Supply Company was re-branded and became ISC Companies to reflect the expanded offerings. The business can be defined by three product and service areas that include: bearings and power transmission distribution, machining and fabrication, and ISC Automation and UL panel shop. Additional locations include ISC Automation also in Minneapolis, ISC Companies, Inc. in Sioux Falls, SD, and ISC Companies, Inc. in Rapid City, SD.