Sidney Jacobson (businessman)
| Sidney Jacobson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1918 |
| Died | June 21, 2005 (age 87) |
| Residence | Great Neck, New York |
| Nationality | United States |
| Ethnicity | Jewish |
| Occupation | businessman |
| Known for | founder of MSC Industrial Direct |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Spouse(s) | Bernice Jacobson |
| Children |
Mitchell Jacobson Marjorie Jacobson Gershwind |
Sidney Jacobson (1918-2005) was an American businessman who founded the tool supply company MSC Industrial Direct and pioneered the use of computerized inventory management and order processing.
Biography
Jacobson was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn.[1] At the age of 16, he took a job as a machinist[2] and in 1941, he founded the Sid Tool Company in Little Italy, Manhattan with $1,000 of his own money and $3,000 borrowed from his mother.[2] Sid Tool sold cutting tools to New York City machine shops.[2]
After serving in the Army Air Force during World War II[1] leaving the business first, in the hands of his brother (until he too was drafted) and then his sister while he was gone.[2] He returned to a company with $36,000 in annual sales[1] where he soon landed exclusive contracts with Grumman Corporation and Republic Aircraft.[2] In 1955, he moved the company to Plainview, New York, closer to his home in Great Neck, New York.[2] Sensing that he was overly reliant on the two aerospace companies (they were 90% of sales in the 1960s), he launched a catalog business to diversify his customer base.[2] His colorful catalog (known as "The Big Book") combined with an expansive portfolio of lower cost imported tools purchased at a discount (Sid Tools was the first company in the industry to widely import foreign-manufactured tools) propelled catalog sales which soon exceeded the company's regular sales.[2] After an inventory problem where he ran out of stock of a critical item, Jacobson invested heavily in computerized inventory management and order processing, the first to do so in the industry.[1]
In 1970, Sid Tool purchased the cutting tool marketer, Manhattan Supply Company and changed the name of the company to MSC Industrial Direct, using the initials of Manhattan Supply. In 1978,[2] MSC became one of the first distributors to launch a fully integrated Quality Assurance Department.[1] In 1976, his son Mitchell, a lawyer, joined the company and was tasked with seeking out the best practices at other industrial suppliers to implement at MSC.[1] In 1982, Mitchell replaced his father as president of the company.[1] The company went public in 1995.[3] MSC went on to become one of the largest industrial equipment distributors in the world with $1.87 billion in sales in 2010.
Philanthropy
Jacobson was a strong supporter of the Jewish community giving generously to the UJA-Federation of New York. The Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills, New York is named in his honor.[1][3] He served as president of the New York UJA-Federation Palm Beach committee; and served on the boards of directors for both the Mid Island JCC and United JCC's of Long Island.[1] Jacobson was a founder of Long Island Jewish Hospital and served as an associate trustee of North Shore Hospital.[1]
Personal life
Jacobson was married to Bernice Jacobson with whom he had two children: Marjorie Jacobson Gershwind and Mitchell Jacobson.[1][4] The couple lived in Great Neck, New York and Palm Beach, Florida.[1] They died together at their home on June 21, 2005 of carbon monoxide poisoning.[1][3][5] Their funeral was held at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The Roslyn News: "JCC Family Mourns Sidney and Bernice Jacobson" July 01, 2005
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Funding Universe: "MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. History" retrieved April 20, 2014
- 1 2 3 New York Times: "The Legacies They Left" By MARCELLE S. FISCHLER January 1, 2006
- ↑ New York Times: "Kathy L. Howard Married On L.I. to Mitchell Jacobson" July 13, 1981
- ↑ Bloomberg: "Billionaire Jacobson Emerges With Power Saws as MSC Rises" By Brendan Coffey February 20, 2013