Owner of Selco Jeff Allen

Selco was awarded the Economic Development Achievment Award for the city of Auburn. Selco was initially founded in 1990 among five partners doing business as Distributors Clearing House. The business was located at 730 Main Street in Lewiston. The initial concept was to sell plumbing and heating supplies to both wholesale and retail customers.

Jeff Allen started there as an employee and bought into the company in 1992 as the third partner, when a few of the original owners left. Four years later, they moved to 1525 Lisbon Street, and changed their name to Selco Plumbing and Heating Supplies to more clearly define the business and attract additional customers.

Selco initially occupied only one quarter of the Lisbon Street building, but as their product lines and customer base grew, so did their footprint. Local plumbers, property owners, and handymen became regulars. As the years passed, and Jeff’s two partners retired, he became sole proprietor.

Jeff longed for the security and value of owning a building for his business. “I was always on the lookout for a commercial property that would fit all our needs: sufficient space, high traffic, and an accessible loading dock,” explains Jeff. “Nothing ever seemed to cover it all, until I looked at the Pontbriand’s facility. The City of Auburn has been excellent to deal with and very welcoming to me. Being in New Auburn now expands my capabilities so that they are limited only by my imagination.”

An expanded showroom highlights bathroom fixtures, including new vanity lines and Delta’s Peerless Faucets. Selco stocks the area’s largest selection of Pex fittings and other repair parts you can’t find elsewhere – even at the big box stores. Selco
also carries pellet stoves and parts, Rinnai room heaters, heat pump water heaters, and mini-split heat pumps.

Selco is renowned statewide for having the largest selection of classic claw-foot tub parts and accessories – popular throughout the Twin Cities and among antiques collectors.

Now in its 25th year of business, Jeff is increasing his product line once again, adding hardware such as common tools, cleaning supplies, and
key-making services, to give the neighborhood back what Pontbriand’s once offered.