JDJ Solutions serves as the current exclusive North American distributor of Jobe Valves. The relationship goes beyond just a business arrangement. It functions more as an integrated partnership with each side equally important to the other. JDJ Solutions’s interesting background stretches from New Zealand to upstate New York by way of the agriculture industry.
Started in 1995 in Homer, NY by New Zealand transplants, JDJ Solutions is a wholesale distribution and packaging facility. Originally known as FIL Agritech, their early beginnings primarily focused on farm chemicals, dairy components, and other agricultural products.
You may be asking: “How did folks from New Zealand find themselves in upstate New York?”. There’s an interesting answer to that question.
JDJ Solutions History
In Ithaca, NY – less than an hour from Homer – there is a large bovine semen collection center, so the region is important to many dairy farmers. One of the supplies frequently used by farmers in breeding is “tail paint,” a marking material used in a method to determine when a cow is in heat. New Zealand happens to be where a popular water-based tail paint type was developed. Distributing that tail paint and other agriculture supplies was a natural fit for upstate New York. FIL Agritech/JDJ and its New Zealand founders made Homer the home of their new headquarters.
Jobe Valves are frequently used in farming applications, so they were one of the products being distributed by JDJ in their early years. Initially, they were only distributing Jobe products locally and regionally. Eventually, JDJ recognized that they had an opportunity to expand valve sales into other markets beyond agriculture. Around the same time, Jobe was looking for an exclusive North American distributor. In 2012, FIL Agritech became JDJ Solutions and officially partnered up with Jobe Valves to ramp up distribution.
Relationship Between JDJ and Kleen-Rite
With a lot of help from that partnership, Jobe Valves has become arguably the most respected name in specialty float valves for car washes, agriculture, cooling towers, and other light industrial applications. They design and manufacture the best float valves on the market. JDJ’s supplying a variety of industries that use float valves has helped them to evolve and refine their products. For example, JDJ Managing Director Timothy Duff notes that “the feedback from Kleen-Rite car wash customers was invaluable in developing hot water float valves, which became the Topaz line of valves. Listening to them helped us make a good product even better.”
By chance, Duff met Kleen-Rite’s COO Jeff Detz at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Although JDJ was at the show for farming, they were open to alternate opportunities beyond agriculture. The two discussed how Jobe Valves could be of great use in the car wash world where the harsh environment requires well-built, durable equipment with unusual specifications. They exchanged contact info, Duff sent some samples to Kleen-Rite to test at car washes, and they formed a relationship.
Duff noted that he feels most comfortable working with organizations like Kleen-Rite that have deep knowledge of a particular industry, rather than a huge retailer that sells to the general public.
“We steer clear of the big box stores. Those places often don’t have any idea what they’re buying or how they work. They’re interested if they can buy it for a dollar and sell it for five, but it’s only a numbers decision to them. We like dealing with Kleen-Rite because they have the knowledge and understanding of what makes Jobe Valves different than others,” said Duff.
JDJ Solutions Today
JDJ still sells some other specialty agricultural products, but Jobe Valves accounts for the large majority of their business now. Aside from designing and building incredible float valves alongside Jobe, JDJ has also committed to packaging those valves in a smart, attractive, and functional manner. They used to ship in a bag with an info sheet stapled to it. Now they come in high-quality boxes with specifications, clean branding, and instructions in multiple languages.
JDJ puts in the extra effort to make sure their customers virtually never feel the effects of supply chain issues. Even during the pandemic and the resulting damage to the global supply chain, JDJ and Jobe has pushed hard and adapted to ensure they continue their renowned customer service. At times, they pay extra for the speed and convenience of air freight just so nothing changes for their customers. They recently expanded their warehouse to hold more stock. In conjunction with their packaging initiatives, they developed a strategy to stock different components and assemble some valves as needed. By streamlining, planning ahead, and sometimes sacrificing a little short-term money, JDJ maintains excellent shipping standards even during tenuous times.
Kleen-Rite is grateful to have fostered such an important alliance with JDJ Solutions and Jobe Valves. We can attest to the quality of their float valves AND the service that they provide to back them.