Part 1: Started on Faith and Family
Bunk and Arlene Whitley founded Whitley Manufacturing in 1960 in Midland, NC. Not only is L.W. “Bunk” Whitley credited with incorporating Midland in 1999, but he was also the town’s first mayor. He was an integral part of efforts to prevent annexation of the town by fast-growing neighboring municipalities before he passed away in 2005. The company name changed to Whitley Handle, Inc. and again to Whitley Monahan Handles after a merger with Illinois-based Monahan Company. But locally, they are still referred to as Whitley Handle.
Arlene vividly remembers getting the company off the ground. “We received our first several invoices, and I asked myself…how are we going to pay these? But I asked the Lord and He said we would be ok,” she said. If you have never put all of your hopes and dreams into opening a business, you may not realize what a strong role faith plays in that decision, but Arlene certainly did, and it has worked out well for her family.
At 90 years old, she still comes into the office four days a week, but their son-in-law Patrick Peebles runs the operation today. Patrick’s was invited to get involved with the business when Bunk had a heart attack and had to slow down. Bunk lived and worked alongside Patrick for another 20 years, and he feels lucky to have had the opportunity to benefit from his wisdom and experience during that time.
The company makes many different types of wood handles and wood dowels and sells them on a wholesale/commercial basis, primarily to the broom and mop industry. In the beginning, most of their business was in consumer household cleaning handles, but in today’s market more of those handles are now metal. Whitley considered expanding their production to handle metal handles, but in the end, it was too expensive. They stay busy today because they focus on heavy duty commercial brooms and flagpoles which have both seen slow, steady growth. Flagpole demand in particular
When you are at the store shopping, you won’t see Whitley Handle’s name on any products because their customers are the manufacturers who make brooms. But you have most definitely seen their products on the shelves if you have ever bought a commercial Rubbermaid broom.
Other clients include Quickie®, which is headquartered in Huntersville, NC and makes the Quickie® BulldozerTM industrial broom that still uses a wooden handle. Whitley also has clients who have been with them for 35 years, like the O’Dell Corporation who makes corn/fiber brooms and was founded by a young Marine named William O’Dell in Ware Shoals, SC.
Changing with the Times
