Here are Ace's 2016 Vendors of the Year

Ace Hardware Corp. has announced its 2016 Vendors of the Year honorees, which numbers 10 this year.

“We are privileged to work with such an outstanding community of vendors who bring unparalleled discipline and execution to the Ace team,” said Frank Carroll, VP of merchandising at Ace. “This year’s Vendor of the Year honorees delivered world class service and assortment differentiation to Ace, allowing us to further advance our vision of being the most helpful hardware stores on the planet with the best brands.”

One of the things Ace did different this year was align the Vendor of the Year program more closely with its 20/20 Vision growth strategy. This means vendors were selected based on their efforts to help Ace invest in the brand, fulfill its helpful promise, enrich its merchandising assortment and support its B2B efforts through The Supply Place.

Ace also looked at vendors who delivered exceptional service to its subsidiaries, Ace Retail Holdings (Westlake Ace Hardware), Ace International Holdings and Ace Wholesale Holdings (Emery Jensen Distribution).

As in previous years, Ace also recognized a vendor who delivered outstanding sustainability efforts, and also a vendor whose generosity helped advance the work of the Ace Hardware Foundation.

Here they are, in no particular order.

Apex Tools (Sparks, Md.) – Vendor of the Year

Gardner Bender (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) – Vendor of the Year

For Life Products – Rejuvenate (Miramar, Fla.) – Vendor of the Year

Gorilla Glue (Cincinnati, Ohio) – Vendor of the Year

Traeger Grills (Wilsonville, Oregon) – Vendor of the Year

3M (St. Paul, Minn.) – Westlake Ace Hardware Vendor of the Year

Vanco (Batavia, Ill.) – International Vendor of the Year

Freud Tools (High Point, N.C.) – Emery Jensen Distribution Vendor of the Year

Westinghouse (Philadelphia) – Sustainability Vendor of the Year

Milwaukee Tools (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) – Ace Foundation Vendor of the Year