Hundreds attend Whayne Supply’s centennial celebration in Corbin

Whayne Supply Corbin Branch Manager David Goins, above left, presents company owner Monty Boyd with a plaque celebrating the company’s 100th year of business.

Over 500 people gathered Saturday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of one of Corbin’s most venerable corporate citizens.
Whayne Supply Company held its centennial celebration at its Corbin branch with a daylong party open to employees, retirees, dignitaries and members of the community.

“We’ve done the right things, fairly and ethically, and prudently managed this business through all economic cycles to keep it moving forward,” said Monty Boyd President and Owner of Whayne Supply Company, during Saturday’s celebration.

Boyd added the company maintains “aggressive long-term goals” and is well positioned to be in business for years to come.
“We truly are ready to begin building on a second century of commitment to you.”

The Corbin Whayne Supply branch is just one of 16 company facilities in Kentucky and southern Indiana. Celebrations and community service events to mark the 100th anniversary of the company’s existence are being held all this month in each of the communities where the company does business.

Whayne Supply Company was founded in 1913 by Roy C. Whayne Sr., who was the sole employee at the time, selling light engines, pumps, wheelbarrows, and bicycles. Whayne began its long-term association with Caterpillar brand equipment in 1925 and has steadily grown to serve new markets and customers.

Boyd noted that when Whayne Supply began as a company, the price of a postage stamp was two cents, a loaf of bread was six cents, stainless steel had just been invented and Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the nation’s 28th President.

He called company founder Roy C. Whayne a “visionary” and “true entrepreneur” who started with little more than a desk, filing cabinet and some catalogs. He provided simple construction equipment to contractors in the Louisville area where the company is headquartered today.

Whayne Supply is one of the oldest, and largest, Caterpillar dealerships in the world and sells and leases equipment for all sorts of construction and the mining industry. The company has also branched out in terms of the product lines it offers and its services which now include a rental division, power systems division, lubricants as well as research and development. The company is consistently ranked as one of the top Caterpillar dealerships in the country. Whayne Supply Company is consistently ranked as one of the top

Caterpillar dealerships in the country.  Whayne also represents a variety of other major equipment lines and maintains extensive parts inventory and service capabilities.

“Whayne has not grown complacent in its hundred years,” Boyd told the crowd.

Saturday’s festivities included games, toys and inflatables for kids to enjoy. A catered meal was provided to everyone, and those in attendance were given tours of the Corbin facilities. Also, generous door prizes were given out and the day ended with a scavenger hunt.

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney was one of several city officials who attended Saturday’s event. McBurney said his own memories of Whayne Supply were positive. He recalled a time in the early 1960s, when he was a teenager, and the town had been paralyzed by a trio of back-to-back heavy snows.

“Whayne came to the rescue. They cleared all the main roads and then went into the residential areas,” McBurney said. “Whayne has always been a very good neighbor to Corbin and a good friend.”

All told, Whayne Supply employs roughly 1,300 people.

McBurney said the company is integral to Corbin’s local economy, but also said it’s societal impact cannot be understated.

“I don’t know what it would be like in Corbin without Whayne,” McBurney said. “It gets done if we need something. They work with us. They are very community minded.”

“We certainly do appreciate Whayne being in this town and in this area.”