Rising to the Challenges to Exceed All Others in the Field

The Story of X•CELL

In October 1991 Jane Dong started XM International from scratch to finance her studies at Graduate School of Business of Fordham University. "XM" means exceeding her past performance in a conglomerate trading company, whose name started with a letter "M". She took the new start-up as a challenge to her past. "XM" also means exceeding all others in the industry. A late comer to the home improvement industry, the new company was committed to becoming the Best service provider to its customers.

In its early stage, XM was focused on import of metal products from China to Canada and export of forest products from the U.S. to China. Starting from 1994, after the steel quota agreement was over between the U.S. and the Chinese governments, XM got actively involved in metal product import and became one of the top three importers of nails in the U.S. and number 1 out of China the next year. XM has gained a reputation of consistent quality and reliable service over the time. The company opened two trading branches in China in 1996 to back up its operations in North America . In 1997 XM was ranked one of the 25 best privately held companies in New Jersey by Business News New Jersey . In 1998 the company acquired its first manufacturing facilities in China to have made its first step in backward integration. In order to provide more values to its customers, the company hired a Korean associate to create a more diversified product portfolio with products from both China and Korea. This strategic move repositioned the company as a full line bulk and pneumatic nail vendor to the industry. Due to industry consolidation XM lost almost 8.5 million in sales in 1998 but recovered it the same year and grew the company by 25%, retaliating the middle market. In addition, the company survived from the loss of another 12 million the year after. It replaced the lost sales the same year, opened up large retail accounts and added Taiwanese products to its product portfolio. As a result, the company hit another record of increase by 30% in 2000. In July 2000 the company started its first distribution center in Greenville, SC. This marks the beginning of XM forward integration process. X•CELL brand was launched in late 2000 to complement the company's growth plan.

Since then, XM has been adapting itself to more challenges in the changing world. Growth became the core value of the corporate culture. Product lines of X•CELL brand are known to the industry for its premium quality, competitive prices, on-time delivery and replacement warranty. Now, with its current service infrastructure of six manufacturing facilities, three distribution centers, 8 sales offices, and worldwide sourcing, the company built a national presence and services retailers, co-ops, and regional distributors. The company won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in wholesale distribution category in 2002.

Today, the whole X•CELL family is more committed than ever to becoming a multi-functioning resource to the industry. They have proven the most reliable strategic partners to its customers and vendors. The company learned from the business models other leaders set up, but also believe in its own ability of repositioning of itself from time to time in the best path for its own growth. In one word, growth, innovation and teamwork made the corner stones of this business.

X•CELL ... # 1! Known for X•CELL-ence