House-Hasson Adds New Members to Leadership Team

The retirements of two longtime House Hasson Wholesale Hardware Hardware department heads forced the company to undergo leadership changes in its Knoxville, Tenn., corporate headquarters’ information systems and operations divisions.

“Our company is truly fortunate in that we’ve had professionals in leadership positions who have been with us for decades,” Don Hasson, company president, in a statement. “Now we have outstanding people ready to step in to continue House Hasson Wholesale Hardware’s momentum and growth.”

The retiring department heads and years with House Hasson Wholesale Hardware are:

§              Tim Lawson, vice president of operations,  30 years

§              Larry Fennell, information systems director, 26 years

 The new department heads are:

§              Operations: Don Phillips, who has worked in logistics and management for several corporations

§              Information Systems: Dennis Quilliams, who has nearly 30 years’ experience in computers and information technology

Lawson started at House Hasson Wholesale Hardware as a credit analysis reviewer. In 1987 he was made warehouse manager and subsequently operations manager. Ten years ago he was promoted to operations vice president.  

“It has been a great run,” Lawson said. “I owe a lot to this company, and I know I’ve given it my best.” Warehouse technology leads the list of all the changes he’s seen in the three decades. “When I started it was 100 percent paper,” he said. “The speed and efficiency of what we can do now would have been science fiction not too many years ago.”

Don Phillips takes Lawson’s place as supervisor of 210 employees in House Hasson Wholesale Hardware’s Knoxville and Prichard, W.V. warehouses. Phillips worked with FedEx, a NCR, and a national trucking services firm. For weeks he’s been training with Lawson and working with all House Hasson Wholesale Hardware’s departments.

“This company has a stellar reputation,” he said. “At a time when many companies are struggling, House Hasson Wholesale Hardware in the last two years has expanded both its Tennessee and West Virginia warehouses. I’m delighted to be part of this team.”

Larry Fennell has held two jobs in his 43-year career, the last 26 of them with House Hasson Wholesale Hardware.

“I went to college as music major,” he said, “but then I went into computer programming and it fascinated me.” His department does all in-house programming and anything that relates to the company’s IBM mainframe computer.

“When I came here there were five computer terminals in the entire business,” he said. “Today we have 85 hand-held computers just in the warehouse. Technology drives every facet of the business.”

Dennis Quilliams has worked with several major East Tennessee corporations and joined House Hasson Wholesale Hardware in February. His education in House Hasson Wholesale Hardware processes has been intense.

“We’ve been going over systems,” Quilliams said. “There are probably a hundred programs involved in processing systems. It’s a full day’s work, every day. I am also glad each day to be able to come to work at a true leader in an important industry.”

“We owe a debt of gratitude to Tim and Larry. They are quality people who mean a great deal to House Hasson Wholesale Hardware,” Hasson said. “We’re delighted to welcome Don and Dennis. They each are determined to ensure we’re taking exceptional care of our customers, every day.”

House Hasson Wholesale Hardware is America’s largest independent regional hardware distributor. The company serves 17 states and the Caribbean region. Its annual sales top $200 million.