Suttons North America 40Th Anniversary

The Americas has always been an important region for Suttons International, from our earliest forays into the region in the early ‘80s, to the recent opening of our large office in Holmdel, New Jersey. We are proud to announce that this year we are celebrating our 40th anniversary of Suttons International North America.

Suttons’ story in the Americas began in 1981, with the establishment of Suttons International North America. Initially all business in the region was overseen and operated by a third-party agent. However, by 1983 the business had outgrown the need for an agent and a full office was established in Edison, New Jersey to handle all operational and commercial duties to the region.

Edison, New Jersey was chosen as the location for this office for its close proximity to ports and terminals in New York and New Jersey. Our current office pin Holmdel remains close to the region to this day.

The team in New Jersey remained light and agile for a number of years, by 1998 there were roughly 10 full time office staff serving the entire north American region! However, this way of working was not to last, as later that year Suttons branched out to Houston, TX and Chicago, IL opening a dedicated office for the former area and appointing a Regional Sales Manager for the latter.

Fast forward 10 years and 2008 marked a significant year for Suttons North America, as it was the first time the New Jersey office had to relocate to house the growing team. The new office was located in Iselin, not far from the office in Edison, but large enough to accommodate the larger team which had since grown to 22 people.

In 2016 the New Jersey office once again found itself relocated, this time to the impressive and iconic building, Bell Works in Holmdel New Jersey, to match the continued growth of the team and Suttons’ ambitious growth plans.

More recently in 2020, Suttons embarked on an aggressive expansion plan of its Houston Operations to reaffirm Suttons’ commitment to the region. The region now employs a team of experienced Operators, Planners, and Commercial roles to ensure customers across the Americas continue to receive the highest levels of service.

Over the 40 years Suttons North America has grown from a single agent to a multi-location employer of a near 50 strong team.

Office locations and dates are only half the story though. It is the people who come in every day, who answer calls and log journeys, who work tirelessly to deliver fantastic service that make Suttons North America what it is today.

Over the 40 years, we have seen many members of staff come and go, the list is long and there are numerous people that could be mentioned, here is a select few mentions:  

As the longest serving member of staff for Suttons Americas, Yolanda Hillebrandt joined the business in 1994 as Import Administrator and remains in the business to this day, now serving as Administration Manager. Current CEO John Sutton joined the New Jersey team as Business Development Executive in 1998. In 2012 Tim Broadhurst, who now sits on the board of directors, joined the North America team as General Manager of North America Operations, and recently in 2014 Steve Lonsdale relocated from the UK to join the New Jersey team as Regional Director, where he remains to this day. Finally, we cannot go without mentioning the very first Suttons North America staff member Mary Kaboli, who joined the business way back in 1981.

This landmark anniversary reflects Suttons’ commitment to all regions in which we operate. We are proud of the achievements made in the region over the past 40 years and would like to thank all the customers and partners we have worked with, who have helped us reach this major milestone. Most importantly we would like to thank all the dedicated staff, who without their constant hard work and dedication, we wouldn’t be celebrating this anniversary, here’s to the next 40.