Steven Pan is proud to own a company that began in 1985 with his parents in China and has been in the United States since they immigrated in 1996.
The business operated out of New York before moving to Croydon in the early 2000s and, since 2017, at 920 Levick St.
Today, G&F Products, doing business as WorkGlovesDepot, has a successful operation, with direct sales to giant companies and shipments around the country out of a 60,000-square foot warehouse. The company, having recently celebrated 40 years, is thriving.
“It’s a milestone for the business,” said Pan, who has run the business since 2007.
G&F has nine employees, including Pan’s wife and dad. It has nice business-to-business relationships, selling its products to Amazon, Walmart and Home Depot.
The warehouse is filled with goods, keeping the workers busy prepping them for shipment.
“We have customers nationwide. We ship nationwide,” Pan said.
E-commerce has been good to the company. Products go to, among others, construction, water management, recycling and roofing companies.
“Our niche customers are small business owners,” Pan said.
As for sales at Walmart and Home Depot and on Amazon, the typical customer is an individual.
G&F inventory includes gloves for gardeners, hunters, mechanics and other workers. Other items include safety vests, tool bags, garden tools and barbecue tools.
There are even safety glasses and toy rakes and shovels for kids ages 2-8.
The work gloves, safety gear and more are manufactured in Asia before being shipped to the U.S. The company bought the Levick Street property in 2017 from Greenfield Manufacturing, which moved to Bustleton.
Online sales increased during COVID, when stores were closed.
As Pan looks to the future, he hopes to take advantage of AI to grow the business through marketing and improve efficiencies.
In addition, he wants to use available tax incentives to bring some of the production to the U.S., specifically the big warehouse on Levick Street.
“We have the space for it,” he said. ••
For more information, go to WorkGlovesDepot.com.
