Lawrenceburg sits along a bend of the Ohio River, where industry and community have long been intertwined.
With just over 5,000 residents, the town carries a strong sense of local identity. Generations of glassmakers, plastics manufacturers, contractors, and small-business owners have built livelihoods here. Proximity to Cincinnati brings regional opportunity, but Lawrenceburg maintains its own pace and pride. Business communities are tight-knit. Relationships matter. Reputation carries weight.
Trade & Industrial Supply has called this area home for more than a century.
Founded in the 1870s as E. Barrott & Son hardware store, the company evolved alongside Southeastern Indiana’s industrial base. As market needs and distribution models shifted over the decades, the business shifted with them–moving from mill supplies and tools into welding gases, equipment, and industrial products that required trucks, service infrastructure, and hands-on support. While the product mix changed, the commitment to customers did not.
Today, Trade & Industrial Supply provides industrial, beverage, medical, and propane gases to manufacturers, restaurants, contractors, dental offices, and community organizations throughout the region.
Six generations after its founding, the company remains family-owned—now led by brothers Chad and Casey Nanz.
Chad grew up in his family's business, working around the shop and picking up the industry's rhythms and customer service from an early age. After college, he chose to step away. He built his own career in the industrial gas sector, gaining experience outside the family name and developing relationships across the region. Over time, that outside experience reshaped how he viewed the family business. He saw both its strength and its unrealized potential.
Chad is easygoing but direct, comfortable discussing the minute details of business operations without losing sight of his team or the big picture. Years in the industry, along with his military service, shaped a discipline and steady leadership style. Integrity and long-term responsibility guide his decisions.
Roughly six years ago, when an opportunity emerged for him to return to his family's company—the company needed a renewed structure and direction—Chad returned. With him, came a clearer sense of financial discipline, operational accountability, and long-term planning.
"It wasn't about rewriting history," he says. "It was about building on it."
His brother Casey, who had been leading day-to-day operations, welcomed the partnership. The transition was collaborative. Responsibilities aligned naturally—Chad taking a more forward-facing leadership role while Casey focused on operations and fleet management.
One of Chad's first priorities was to bring clarity and organization to company financials.
To do so, Trade & Industrial Supply divided the business into six distinct operating divisions, each responsible for its own revenue and expenses:
These divisions allowed leadership to see exactly how each area of the business was performing. Instead of looking at one blended set of numbers, they could measure which areas were growing, which were seasonal, and where investments made the most sense.
Propane sales typically increase during winter heating months. Beverage CO2 demand rises in the summer when restaurants and outdoor venues are busiest. Industrial production follows its own cycle (largely tied to manufacturing activity). Breaking the business into defined segments gave Chad and Casey a clearer picture of how cash moved through the company across the year and how to plan accordingly.
One of T&I Supply's Propane Bobtail delivery trucks delivering gas to support a grain drying operation at harvest time.
"When you can break down and accurately assign costs correctly," Chad says, "you make better decisions."
That clarity set the groundwork for operational expansion.
Industrial gas distribution requires steel tanks, specialized trailers, thousands of refillable cylinders, and a fleet capable of delivering them safely and on-schedule. Each piece of equipment carries a significant price tag, and none of it generates revenue until it is installed, filled, and in service. On top of the physical infrastructure, distributors also face ongoing costs tied to insurance, specialized training and regulatory compliance.
Expanding the business requires purchasing more storage tanks, adding delivery capacity, and increasing inventory—investments that allow the company to serve more customers and handle larger volumes consistently.
A few of the massive bulk storage tanks used to fill smaller gas cylinders. The bulk tanks consist of argon, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
In recent years, Trade & Industrial Supply upgraded its argon capacity from 3,000 gallons to 6,000 gallons—a move that enabled the company to receive full semi-load deliveries and improve purchasing efficiency. That upgrade was financed through Civista Leasing & Finance.
Equipment financing allows Trade & Industrial to purchase what it needs while paying for it over time, using the revenue that equipment generates to cover the payments and effectively preserving cash flows.
Ryan Byrne, Vice President of Sales with Civista Leasing & Finance, worked closely with Chad during the expansion.
"They know exatly what revenue the equipment will produce," Ryan says. "They're very disciplined about projecting cash flow and understanding how each asset fits into the bigger picture."
The argon expansion was just one of several infrastructure investments supported through Civista. A second 50-ton argon tank was added to ensure security of supply which was followed by a CO2 tank upgrade, increasing service capacity for more than 2,500 restaurant customers. Nitrogen and oxygen bulk storage tank improvements are underway as part of a multi-year plan that will conclude with a fully automated palletized cylinder fill plant.
Smaller cylinders to be delivered to metal fabrication shops are filled with a mix of argon and carbon dioxide.
The company also expanded its portable cryogenics—specialized semi-trailers that transport and temporarily store liquefied gases for demolition projects, plant outages, and industrial applications requiring temperature control. That division now includes 35 trailers operating across multiple states.
Fleet assets within the division often exceed $150,000 in cost. Managing those business assets and capital responsibly requires careful financial planning and a banking partner capable of making quick and thorough decisions.
As infrastructure invenstments continued, the relationship with Civista expanded beyond individual equipment transactions.
What started as financing for individual tanks and trailers grew into a regular working relationship. Chad now shares updated financial statements and expansion plans with Ryan and the Civista team so everyone understands what investments are coming next and how the business is performing. Those conversations help ensure the campany is positioned to move forward when new equipment or funding is needed.
"Chad regularly asks where his financials need to be to support the next round of capital investment," says Ryan, whose decade-plus history in the leasing business (and specifically in the energy, fuel distribution, and downstream oil and gas industries) brings an informed perspective. "He wants to stay ahead of the growth curve."
Importantly, Industrial & Trade Supply is also able to work closely with the Leasing & Finance team at Civista to make important business decisions about how they will manage and operate their equipment fleet. Companies operating fleets of specialized, high-ticket equipment (such as tank trailers, cryogenic units, or other industrial assets) often weigh leasing versus traditional equipment financing when planning growth. Each option affects cash flow, balance sheet strategy, and long-term flexibility. Financing allows companies to build equity in assets they expect to use long term, while leasing can reduce upfront capital needs and make it easier to scale fleets as demand grows. Many operators use a mix, owning core equipment while leasing additional units to support expansion.
The crew works on installing a massive propane tank with the help of a crane.
Over time, the conversations moved beyond individual equipment purchases. Instead of talking only about the next tank or trailer, they began discussing where the business was headed and how to prepare for it. That steady back-and-forth built trust and gave both sides the confidence to continue investing in the company's growth.
As Trade & Industrial Supply's capital expenditures increased, financing helped the company purchase larger tanks and additional equipment. Managing day-to-day cash flow as the business grew required another layer of support.
With its growth, Trade & Industrial Supply needed a commercial banking partner that could provide working capital flexibility, treasury oversight, and local decision-making authority.
Through regional contacts, Chad connected with Civista's commercial banking leadership team. After reviewing Trade & Industrial Supply's financial profile and long-term plan, Civista established a full-service commercial relationship that includes:
A Commercial Line of Credit gives the company access to borrowed funds it can draw from when needed and repay as revenue is realized. In the propane business, suppliers often require payment quickly during the busy winter season, while customers may take longer to pay invoices. The line of credit helps bridge that gap so operations continue smoothly without straining cash flows.
Civista also set up Treasury Management services to streamline how money moves in and out of the business. These services allow Trade & Industrial Supply to process electronic payments at scale and include monitoring for fraudulent or suspicious activity. For a company handling a large volume of transactions, those safeguards add another layer of protection and oversight.
Civista is large enough to fund substantial equipment purchases—often approving transactions up to $900,000 without a drawn-out process. At the same time, decisions are made by bankers who work in the region and understand the local business landscape. Chad can pick up the phone and reach someone who knows his company, rather than navigating layers of corporate red tape and approval.
"Decisions about our company are made locally," Chad says. "They understand our scope and how we operate."
"We don't walk away just because a request doesn't fit neatly into a box," Kevin Canepa, Senior Vice President and Director of Sales for Civista Leasing & Finance, says. "We take the time to understand the full picture."
For a company investing $3 to 4 million annually in equipment, that approach from Civista helps support sustainable growth.
Six years ago, Trade & Industrial Supply employed 13 people. Today, it employs 35.
The company operates:
As the company has grown, so has its internal stability. Employee turnover has been minimal, and the team has expanded benefits, including more attractive vacation policies and improved insurance coverage. Casey continues to oversee day-to-day operations and the fleet, while Chad focuses on long-term planning and customer relationships. Their sister, Emily, leads the inside sales and purchasing team, guiding a growing group that supports customers behind the scenes.
The Nanz family (left to right): Casey, Emily, Barry, and Chad.
For the first time in years, the business feels steady, and systems are in place for continued growth on the past few years' trajectory.
"We now have a banking/leasing partner in Civista that gives us the financial flexibility to quickly take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves." says Chad, noting that systems are in place such that attention has shifted from catching up and maintaining to fully exploring all opportunities that support their continued long-term growth.
"With a great lending partner like Civista, we now can focus on what's next."
Trade & Industrial Supply remains deeply connected to Lawrenceburg. The company quietly supports local organizations, providing propane for community events, veterans' groups, and youth programs. They are contributions made not with public recognition in mind, but simply because it's the right thing to do.
That perspective aligns naturally with Civista's approach as a community-focused regional bank. Both organizations operate with a long-term view of the places they serve. Their partnership extends beyond transactions; it reflects a shared belief that strong businesses contribute to strong communities.
Plans of 2027 include adding more on-site gas filling capacity so trucks can be loaded out faster, investing in palletized material handling equipment that reduces heavy manual lifting for employees, improving online tools and digital infrastructure so propane customers can manage accounts more easily, and continuing to upgrade tanks and trailers.
The company is no longer focused on simply keeping pace with day-to-day demands. Leadership now has the ability to evaluate new opportunities carefully and decide which investments make the most sense for the future.
From a hardware store in the 1870s to a supplier of industrial and medical gases serving customers across multiple states, Trade & Industrial Supply has evolved across six generations.
Trade & Industrial Supply's public showroom offers a huge selection of welding and safety equipment.
With a commercial banking partner that provides dependable access to funding, supports major equipment purchases, and helps manage cash flow, the company is positioned to continue building on that legacy.
"There's nothing we can't accomplish," Chad says. "We just have to decide to do it."
Trade & Industrial Supply's progress did not happen overnight. It came from steady leadership, clear priorities, and a willingness to make hard decisions in the best interest of the company and its people. Working with a bank that understands the realities of running an equipment-heavy business in a complex logistics environment has been an important part of that equation.
For business owners balancing growth, seasonal swings in revenue, cost advantages in leasing versus asset ownership, and the challenges of fleet and equipment management, Civista Bank offers commercial banking and equipment financing built around real-world needs. Connect with a Civista advisor to start a conversation about what the next chapter of your business could look like.