TEMPLE, Texas -- On June 2, more than 200 people attended PDI's 25th anniversary lunch at their headquarters in Temple, Texas. Guests included current and former PDI employees, friends, customers and former business associates including Drayton McLane and Webb Stickney, CEO and CFO, respectively, of McLane Co. when PDI was acquired in 1991. Tribute was paid to the guests of honor, PDI's first six employees: Laura Smith, Mike Smith, Sharon Hubbard, Ron Gay, Joyce Weishuhn, and Greg Gilkerson.
During the luncheon, Greg Gilkerson recalled PDI's beginnings: "We thought PDI would last three [image-nocss] to five years and then we would all move on to something else."
After early success, PDI's growth was challenged when technology shifts made their product obsolete. "We had a choice," recalled Gilkerson, "to rebuild or fade away. We are so honored that our customers agreed to form the Software Joint Project in 1986 to build the PDI/Resource Management Series—that was when things took off. Our acquisition by McLane Co. enabled our further growth and now we have PDI/Enterprise, our third complete product generation."
Commenting on PDI's 25 years, Gilkerson expressed his appreciation: "We're blessed to have over 350 great customers, 160 dedicated employees and to be owned by McLane Co. I couldn't ask for a better working relationship to allow PDI to support this industry. And the good news is that we're just getting started—there's more to come."
PDI provides software, hardware and professional services to convenience retailers and wholesale petroleum marketers. Worldwide, more than 300 companies and more than 20,000 retail locations rely on PDI's systems for retail automation, fuel and warehouse management, business intelligence, financial reporting, and employee selection and training. PDI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of McLane.
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