Austin Steinhauser, Vice President
Nine years ago, Austin Steinhauser was sitting in a coffee shop in Houston with a laptop and a vision—one he’d followed across three companies to help build. Today, he’s Vice President of J2 Resources, helping make $40 million worth of inventory move through a state-of-the-art facility. It’s not a bad spot to be in for a finance guy from Toledo, Ohio who wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduating college.
Austin studied finance with a minor in management information systems at Miami University, which isn’t a combination you see every day in the industrial distribution space. But at Austin’s first job out of school at Ferguson, he met J2’s Co-Founder Joe Dugan, and the rest is history. Austin showed up in a full suit, fresh from the corporate recruiting circuit. Joe showed up to a hole-in-the-wall bar and asked why he was dressed like that.
That was the beginning of a working relationship that’s now almost a decade old.
A few years later, just thirty days after J2 Resources launched, Austin became employee number one.
From No Warehouse to $40+ Million in Inventory
The early days weren’t glamorous. The team rotated between coffee shops wherever they could set up for the day. There was no warehouse, no inventory, no office to report to. What did they have? The belief that the PVF supply chain had room to be done better—closer to the manufacturer, more transparent, fewer links in the chain.
Over time, inventory became the difference maker. In the early years, J2 operated without stocking product. As the company evolved, having physical inventory on the ground became the thing that made everything else possible: shorter lead times, more leverage with manufacturers, and the ability to tell a customer the product ships tomorrow instead of in eight weeks.
“Every day is a little different than the previous one — and it’s still rewarding to see the growth. Thinking about where we started and where we are now, that makes me proud.”
Still the Same Company…Just a Lot Bigger
Ask Austin what he enjoys most about working at J2 and he doesn’t reach for a polished answer. Just an honest one.
“At bigger companies, a good idea can take a long time to move. You’re a battleship. You can’t change course quickly. At J2, if someone brings a new product line or a real problem to the table, it gets heard.”
He’s also clear that the culture hasn’t drifted from what it was at the start, even as the company has scaled. Take care of the customer, be responsive, and treat your suppliers like they matter—because without them, nothing moves.
The best way Austin can describe his role is with a football analogy. He’s head coach and quarterback at the same time. Two very different jobs, but both are his. He’s not above the team, and he’s the first to pull his boots up and help when and where it’s needed.
Outside the Office with Austin
Austin and his wife recently had their first daughter, now one year old. He’ll tell you that changes your perspective on just about everything, and that free time has gotten considerably harder to come by. When he does carve some out, fitness is the outlet. He’s completed two HYROX races—a mix of running and functional fitness. Stay tuned, because more are on the calendar.
J2 is a different company than it was nine years ago—bigger inventory, more locations, a growing team. But the way Austin talks about the work, the customers, and the people around him, make it clear the foundation hasn’t moved. As J2 continues to grow, having someone who’s been there since the coffee shop days means that foundation is in good hands.