Lead image: A rendering of Supply Technologies’ future distribution center in Union, Ohio. Source: Supply Technologies

Engineered assembly components distributor Supply Technologies is making the largest infrastructure investment in its history, betting that the future of industrial supply chain management will require greater automation, enhanced visibility and a fundamentally different distribution network.

Since joining the ParkOhio subsidiary in October 2021, Supply Technologies President Brian Norris has quietly lead the company through industry-wide demand volatility and ongoing supply chain disruptions. Now, he’s spearheading an ambitious investment that will augment a network of over 70 warehouses globally with a new 375,000-square-foot distribution center while working in parallel to modernize the business built through 24 acquisitions over three decades.

Read more: Park-Ohio’s Supply Technologies to Add Large DC in Ohio

The $20 million distribution center investment is just one piece of a larger business transformation. Combined with a new ERP implementation and other technology upgrades, Supply Technologies’ total investment is approaching $50 million, according to Norris.

Norris joined MDM Senior Editor Vesna Brajkovic on the latest episode of the MDM Podcast to discuss the company’s soon-to-open distribution center in Union, Ohio. He explains how the facility is designed to anchor a more centralized hub-and-spoke operating model while supporting robotics, automated kitting, advanced warehouse management systems and expanded engineering capabilities.

During the conversation, Norris details how the new facility will help reduce inventory duplication, streamline product flows and support growing demand from emerging markets such as AI data centers — a segment that has expanded from virtually no revenue two years ago to approximately $150 million annually, according to ParkOhio’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings report.

The episode also explores the challenges of launching a new distribution model while simultaneously implementing a new ERP system, navigating persistent demand volatility and helping customers build more resilient supply chains, which remains a top priority for OEM customers.

“At the end of the day, it’s really about our customers wanting to know that if something happens tomorrow, we have another supplier in our back pocket that can serve them,” Norris said.

Listen to the full episode in the audio player above, or find it wherever you get your podcasts. 

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