History

Sioux Chief’s story began back in August of 1957, when the late Martin Edward (Ed) Ismert, Jr. founded and incorporated Sioux Chief Manufacturing Company. The new company got its start packaging specialty fasteners and other items geared toward residential plumbing jobs. In the early '60s, Sioux Chief began spinning copper tube closed for stub outs. This preformed copper tube saved plumbers from sweat soldering tube caps onto their copper tube for pressure tests. By 1975 a heavy emphasis on sales and new product development began when Ed's two eldest sons (Martin E. Ismert III, “Mike” and Joseph P. Ismert) purchased the corporation and took over operations.

Since then Sioux Chief has welcomed the third generation of family members to the team and has introduced a wide range of innovative products.

For the first ten years of business, Sioux Chief operated out of a 3,000 square foot, third-floor area of Ed Ismert's plumbing wholesale business in the West River Bottoms area of Kansas City, Kansas. After moving to Kansas City, Missouri, from 1967 to 1969, Sioux Chief grew into a 10,000 square foot building in Grandview, Missouri, from 1970 until 1983. In 1983, the corporation purchased its own building for the first time – a 23,000 square foot facility south of Peculiar, Missouri, where it continued to grow to over 300,000 square feet on 140 acres. Sioux Chief moved into its new company headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri in the summer of 2017. This new 600,000 square foot facility encompasses manufacturing, warehouse/distribution and office space, with room to expand even further.