Company History
70 Years of Success - The History of Atlanta Fixture
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Incorporated in 1927 by Ralph Sinkoe.
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Named 1997 Dealer of the Year by F. E. S. S. and
Vulcan-Hart.
The original Atlanta Fixture & Sales Company
location at 104 Prior Street in Atlanta, one-half block north of the
Fulton County Courthouse, posed some interesting logistic challenges for the
company. The location, being in a 100-year-old structure, consisted of two
adjacent buildings with one antique elevator servicing the combined eleven
floors. Coupled with the fact that there was only one shipping door, the
dealership opted to move in 1976 from the downtown location to its' current
site in order to achieve modern warehouse and shipping operations.
Atlanta Fixture & Sales Company was incorporated
in 1927 by Paul Klein's uncle, Ralph Sinkoe. The lifeline of the
initial business was store fixtures such as wall cases and showcases, primarily
selling to grocery stores, drugstores, soda fountains and pharmacies.
Originally, a focus on mom and pop stores drove the
company's sales, but this market waned as national chain operators
entered Atlanta, centrally purchasing their store fixtures. Sinkoe directed the
company into the burgeoning restaurant business, which was growing along with
Atlanta as the city became more than just a small country town with few major
hotels.
Upon his uncle's death in 1950, Klein, at 23 years
old, took the helm of the company, interrupting his studies at the
University of Georgia at Athens. Klein transferred to the University of Georgia
in Atlanta, three blocks from company headquarters, so that he could continue
his studies as he led the company. He took the business from a $2.5 million
company to the present $35 million position.
The most striking change Klein has noted throughout
the years is taking the business from pen and ink bookkeeping to computers and
the use of bar coding; from draftsmen to the use of CAD technology. Klein says,
"With sophisticated technological improvements, ordering cycles and balanced
inventories, we offer our customers the most timely deliveries. Technology
helps cycle accounts receivables, give us better turns on inventory, and better
fill rates."
Atlanta
Fixture was named 1997 Dealer of the Year by F. E. S. S. and
Vulcan-Hart.
