Our Story
Gage Van Horn & Associates, Inc. was founded by Gage Van Horn in 1949 in Pecos, Texas. Gage Van Horn’s focus at the time was business forms, business labels, filing supplies and filing equipment. Later, in 1963 Mr. Van Horn’s son-in-law Charles “Buddy” Furgerson came to work for Gage Van Horn as a salesperson in Lubbock, Texas. It was then in 1975 that the home office was moved from Odessa to Lubbock, Texas and Buddy Furgerson became the General Manager. Since 1983, Beth and Buddy Furgerson have been the owners and the vision behind Gage Van Horn & Associates. Gage Van Horn & Associates expanded with offices in Dallas, San Angelo, Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, and Lubbock, Texas. As a forward thinker, Buddy wanted to continue to grow the business and diversify. In 1997 Buddy continued the tradition of hiring family and hired his son-in-law Joe Schmidt as Gage Van Horn’s Sales Manager and he eventually became the president and managing partner of all the companies. Over the last several years GVH has become one of the fastest growing independent distributors in the country by securing national, regional, and local customers.
GVH/Millennium Distribution, Ltd. was formed in 2003, as a result of a partnership between two businesses with common goals and objectives. Buddy Furgerson and Joe Schmidt, the managing partners, secured the business of United Supermarkets based in Lubbock, TX. Today GVH and Millennium are no longer partners but do engage in friendly business. GVH continues to distribute all the labels, packaging, and supplies to United Supermarkets/Alberstons stores in Texas and New Mexico. GVH Distribution, the first of its kind in the country with an on an online ordering system and cross dock program, became a huge success.
Miller Paper & Packaging began as an Amarillo, Texas based, home owned, and operated company established by Barbara Miller in 1995. Serving a wide range of customers, the company’s product line consists of over 1500 products from foam cups, paper products, and janitorial supplies to industrial packaging supplies. In 2006, Joe Schmidt and Buddy Furgerson acquired Miller Paper & Packaging to further expand our product and service offerings.
In May of 2007, GVH Distribution opened another branch and warehouse in Amarillo, Texas to service Affiliated Foods, Inc. The Amarillo branch became the first cross dock program in the country to be a true “LIVE” cross dock program.
A short time later, in 2008, Joe and Buddy purchased Blaine Industrial Supply, Inc. in Hobbs, New Mexico introducing and distributing chemical and industrial supplies to the company.
After continued success, GVH expanded the business even further into the northwest, opening a third facility in Spokane, WA during 2009 which relocated to Post Falls, ID in 2018.
In 2011, they continued with the expansion and purchased Oaks Distributing in Midland, TX that specializes in carwash chemicals, janitorial, and industrial supplies for West Texas and New Mexico.
Then, in the spring of 2012, GVH expanded, yet again, and opened a facility in Salt Lake City, UT to service Associated Food Stores and their 600 retail members in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Later that year a similar facility was opened in Chicago, IL to further GVH service to the Midwest and their customers.
During the early spring of 2016, GVH Distribution and Family of Companies expanded yet again with the purchase of Corley Oaks Paper Box Co., Midland, TX, now known as Corley Oaks Distribution, which specializes in paper products, food service products, and moving supplies for West Texas. A few months later, GVH Distribution opened a new facility in Seattle, WA to service the Pacific Northwest grocery industry, and in the spring of 2018 moved the facility to Fife, WA. In early 2018, GVH Distribution also expanded the business into Southern California to grow the west coast packaging and supply business. In 2019 GVH opened in Ennis, TX to service the DFW area and East Texas and moved in 2021 to Houston, TX. In 2021, our Alabama location re-located to Bessemer, Alabama to be closer to service Piggly Wiggly of the Southeast.
GVH Distribution and Family of Companies continues to pursue new business opportunities and open additional branches across the country. They feel the greatest asset is the employee relationship and strongly believe the company is only as good as the employees.
Our Model
At GVH, our expertise is in state-of-the art packaging supplies. All customers are provided with their own tailored program, customized to meet their specific needs. Our complete line covers all areas of the store to include bakery, deli, meat and seafood, on-premises dining, home meal replacement, beverage service, front end and supply items for carryout. Our packaging allows our customers: supermarkets, foodservice, and convenience stores to market their products for impulse sales while maintaining the highest degree of freshness and appeal. Our food processor division focuses on providing those specialized items designed to meet the needs of the food processing industry.
Our Results
Proven Results through integrity, transparency, service, and savings!
These are the cornerstones of who we are and the foundation on which our business is built to provide our customers with results.
Fill Rate – From our beginning, we have put a heavy focus on maintaining a 99% fill rate, assuring our customers they have the right packaging delivered to them on time. We understand it is hard to sell fresh foods without packaging!
Reduction in supplies cost – Year over year, GVH produces cost savings for our customers by consistently checking for better value and alternative products.
Customized Programs – GVH carries the product mix our customers need that creates a turnkey program and helps them sell more products.
Innovation & Brand Focus – We pride ourselves on offering innovative products from all over the world and assist in ensuring the packaging choices we present to you remains consistent with your brand standards.
Technology – GVH’s best in class technology has supported each of our customers for implementation of easy ordering, reporting and live time data analytics.
