About us
Who We Are
Since 1974, 1st Ayd has been a family-owned American manufacturer and B2B distributor of maintenance, safety, janitorial and industrial supplies. Today, our 130+ person outside sales force serves customers throughout the Midwest and across the United States, backed by a product offering of more than 100,000 items — including over 100 products we manufacture ourselves. We help maintenance departments, manufacturers, food processors, automotive facilities and other businesses consolidate purchasing with one dependable source for the products they use every day — just ask our customers.
Our product line includes chemicals, brake cleaners, hand cleaners, gloves and PPE, degreasers, disinfectants, paper products, trash liners, wipers, floor and carpet care, hose clamps, wheel weights, fasteners, sanitizers, deodorants, mops, LED lighting, material handling equipment, tools and much more.
We remain proudly family-owned, customer-focused and built around personal service. Learn why the Chicago Tribune has repeatedly recognized 1st Ayd as a Top Workplace.
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More Than a Distributor
Behind our 100,000+ item catalog is something most distributors don’t have: our own production floor. We still formulate, batch and quality-check our own line of cleaning chemicals right here in Elgin.
That experience makes us better at everything else we do. We know what goes into a product, so we can tell you what’s worth buying. We understand raw materials and production schedules, so we’re realistic about lead times and quick to find alternatives. And when a stock item doesn’t fit, we can offer a custom or private-label option.
Whether it’s our own formula or one from a supplier partner, you get the same standard: the right product, on time, backed by people who know the chemistry.
“We distribute the products American businesses run on, and we still make some of them ourselves.”
Our Purpose
How We Help Customers
Cheaper. Better. Faster.
We think of ourselves as assistant buyers for our customers. Our job is to help you:
We don’t just sell products — we help you find better ways to get the job done. Our owners are still out in the field, and your local rep will visit your facility, find problems and recommend solutions.
Our Culture
Open-book. No ivory towers. Built by people who work.
We're a family-owned company, but "family" isn't a slogan on a wall — it's how we run the place. Whether you're on the warehouse floor, on the phone with a customer, closing the books, or closing a sale, you're expected to understand the business and empowered to make calls that improve it. That goes for someone's first week as much as their twentieth year.
Our History
It Started With Blue Soap
Tom Schreiner Sr. founded 1st Ayd in 1974 with a simple product and an entrepreneurial idea. He developed a blue hand cleaner strong enough to cut grease, glue, paint and grime — and started driving from service station to service station, handing out samples and selling cases out of the trunk of his car.
The product worked, and word got around.
At one stop, Tom met a young man named Jim Evans pumping gas. Around 7 p.m. Tom drove off — and when he passed the same station near 7 a.m. the next morning, Jim was still there, hard at work. Impressed by his work ethic, Tom invited Jim to join him selling soap, promising he could make twice the money for half the hours. Jim said yes, and the two of them started building the business together.
Customers who bought the soap started asking for more — a case of brake cleaner here, a box of trash bags there. One product became a handful. A handful slowly became a full line. What began with two salesmen, a car and a case of blue soap gradually grew into the 1st Ayd of today.
Founders Jim Evans and Tom Schreiner Sr. at the groundbreaking for our current Elgin headquarters, 1999.
The Next Generation
Tommy Schreiner started at 1st Ayd the way most of the warehouse team does. In 2008, he began working summers in the 1st Ayd warehouse — packaging soap, labeling brooms, picking orders and filing invoices. After graduating high school in 2010, he moved into outside sales while attending Illinois State University.
His first week was discouraging: no sales and lots of rejection. He swore that if he didn't make a sale by the weekend, he'd quit — convinced he was a failure. Then, around 4 p.m. on the fifth day, a Car-X auto repair shop in Des Plaines, Illinois placed an order. He said he'd give it one more week. That turned into one more year, then one more decade, and the story goes on. He built his book of business from scratch and eventually became the company's top salesperson. Today he also recruits and trains, leads by example, and works to improve the organization any way he can to serve our mission.
Tom Schreiner Sr., Tommy and his sister Natalie at their first trade show, 2015.
Tommy addresses the team at our June 2025 National Sales Meeting, recognizing top performers.
Our history shapes our future. As we keep growing, we're grateful to the employees, sales representatives, suppliers and — most of all — the customers who have helped build 1st Ayd over more than five decades.
Explore Highlights From Our History →