History of Southern Diversified Distributors
Southern Diversified Distributors (SDD) was created in 2003 as the parent company of William M. Bird, a flooring distribution company with a successful 150 year history in the Southeast United States. The goal of SDD was to expand William M. Bird’s distribution channels and create a platform to develop new companies. Led by a team of key management professionals from William M. Bird, the strategic plan for SDD was set in motion.
The founding year of SDD, the company met the immediate needs of William M. Bird and other regional flooring distributors with the launch of TranSouth Logistics, a transportation, warehousing, and logistics company. TranSouth has grown to ten locations throughout the Southeast and services clients from Baltimore to Mobile and Charleston to Nashville. Under SDD’s management, TranSouth’s client base has reached beyond the flooring industry and serves a broad range of businesses with their warehousing, trucking and logistical needs.
Also in 2003, SDD established Bird Pro Supplies, an installation supply division housed in multiple William M. Bird locations. Bird Pro Supplies served as a “one stop shop” for flooring installers to quickly purchase the supplies needed for their daily jobs. In 2015, Bird Pro Supplies was re-branded as East Bay Supply Co. in order to unite SDD’s flooring distribution companies throughout the Southeast.
SDD continued to gain momentum by acquiring Kraus Southeast Division in 2009 and Design Distributing in 2010. With these transactions, SDD gained a greater presence in North Carolina and Virginia by obtaining additional facilities, as well as distribution rights to flooring products that could be included in William M. Bird’s product offering.
SDD further expanded its flooring distribution territory in 2012 when it acquired Southern Tile Distributors headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. A family-operated business with over 50 years of experience in the flooring industry, Southern Tile was well positioned to be a sister company to William M. Bird. The Southern Tile management and sales teams remained on board and were instrumental in creating the successful transition. With the Southern Tile acquisition, the company gained a strong foothold in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC markets while also obtaining distribution rights to a breadth of new flooring products. Although Southern Tile and William M. Bird were separate in name, they operated as one company in spirit. With this in mind, it was decided to bond the companies together and, on January 1, 2017, Southern Tile began operating under the William M. Bird name.
For over a decade, Southern Diversified Distributors has thoughtfully and strategically managed and grown its subsidiary companies through acquisitions, business developments, and innovative technological advances. Each of SDD’s businesses share the same commitment to offer profitable solutions and the highest level of service to their customers.