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Orgill, Inc. has announced the passing of its former president and chairman, Joseph “Joe” Orgill III. He died on March 12 after a brief illness.
Though he had not been active in Orgill’s day-to-day management for a number of years, Orgill played a prominent role in the growth of the distribution company.
During his more than 60 years in the business, Orgill guided the company’s transition from a small, regional wholesaler to the largest independently owned hardlines distributor in the world. Just last year, he celebrated with the company as it surpassed $2 billion in annual sales.
According to a statement from the company, one of Orgill’s greatest legacies was “leaving a strong, vibrant organization, with a rich heritage and a bright future that is firmly focused on the company’s mission of ‘helping its customers be successful.’”
Orgill first joined the distributor, then known as Orgill Brothers & Company, as a salesman and later served as its president from 1968 through 1980 and chairman of the board until 2005. He was an inaugural inductee into the Home Channel Hall of Fame as well as president of the Society of Entrepreneurs.
