The story begins on a shop floor mixing chemicals to pay for college, and it unfolds into a five-decade tour across the janitorial and sanitation supply world, connecting legacy manufacturing, distribution pivots, private-label strategy, and national account execution. Jeff Heeren traces roots to a family-owned distributor descended from a 1907 fixture manufacturer, where early exposure to patents, sweeping compounds, and dispenser innovation seeded a curiosity about markets, margins, and channels. Those formative years revealed a durable truth: relationships and adaptability beat almost everything. When rain shut down roadwork paychecks, a backroom blending job offered stability—and unexpectedly, a classroom. Conversations with owners, reps, and factory leaders stretched long past business hours, creating an apprenticeship in how value moves through the Jan-San ecosystem: raw materials to mills, mills to converters, brokers to distributors, distributors to end users. That map would later guide decisions on footprint, product mix, and branding.

After rising to a 35% stake in the family’s distribution business, Jeff confronted a strategic ceiling: influence without control. The parting of ways led to a call with Jim Schinner that shifted the arc of his career and, eventually, the trajectory of RJ Schinner. At the time, RJ was a focused regional player with three locations and an intent to compete. The thesis was simple and sharp: reach a sales volume that confers leverage, then use it responsibly to earn better pricing, priority, and presence. But scale wasn’t the only lever. The company bet on flexibility—operating like a Swiss Army knife in receivables and inventory—and kept adding field talent while rivals consolidated and trimmed. That bias for action created room to serve accounts others overlooked and to enter markets that seemed “taken,” if the team could out-serve incumbents.

Expansion brought both wins and humbling lessons. St. Louis started small through an acquisition designed for pickup, not delivery, and the model had to be rebuilt around 53-foot semi distribution and broader assortment. In Dallas, a stealth launch surprised vendors and competitors—and backfired. The team learned not to “arrive unannounced” to a well-connected market. Even the swag misfired: burnt-orange portfolios polarized customers in a football-mad region. The takeaway was operational and cultural: respect local dynamics, align vendors early, and avoid symbolic own-goals that distract from service. Yet even missteps clarified what mattered. When national brands held back support, the path forward was to build a brand platform durable enough to win on its own terms.

That path was private label. Empress, initially aimed at foodservice and towel/tissue, emerged because national labels wouldn’t fully embrace a distributor they viewed as overlapping coverage. RDA’s Vintage brand had set the stage, but Empress allowed RJ to own specification, origin flexibility, and marketing economics. Sourcing mills-of-origin created resilience on availability and price; absorbing marketing spend gave manufacturers reason to sharpen pencils; and consistent quality standards turned “house brand” into a reputational asset. Over time, the brand portfolio evolved from price-fighters to a tiered strategy that could win bids, defend margins, and sustain loyalty. In a category where consumption is constant and performance is visible daily, brand trust compounds quickly when shipments are reliable and SKUs feel tailored to operator needs.

National accounts forced another evolution. A small Clorox-adjacent opportunity taught the team they lacked infrastructure for multi-site, multi-region service. Rather than dabble, they built a national template: standing cross-functional calls, operations alignment, customer service continuity, and leadership that stayed put. Adding specialists with vertical expertise—med-surg, MRO—expanded targetable segments and informed the playbook for compliance, contracts, and service-level agreements. Markets followed: Bethlehem to anchor the Northeast, Atlanta to unlock the Southeast, Phoenix to crest the Rockies, Tampa and Carolina to densify routes. Each node added inventory intelligence and backhaul opportunities, while the sales organization learned to stitch local agility into national consistency.

Culture made the mechanics work. A flat hierarchy empowered people closest to the customer to make decisions without climbing approval ladders. Transparency in data reduced fear and sped iteration: try, measure, pivot. Finance wasn’t a “no,” it was a design partner. When a complex customer request arrived, teams huddled, modeled, and solved in minutes—turning “we don’t do that” into “here’s how we can.” That bias to yes is not recklessness; it is the operationalization of mutual value. Jeff frames it as a four-legged stool: customers, vendors, employees, and shareholders must all win, or the seat breaks.

Link to Episode 17: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2255768/episodes/17958338-the-jeff-heeren-interview-ownership-mindset-over-hierarchy-the-quiet-engine-of-growth.mp3?download=true