The combined history of The Belknap White Group, JJ Haines & Company, and Swiff-Train Company is the story of
hard work and dedication with family businesses in different regions.
All are known for floor covering distribution leadership. And now together, all are UCX:
Your Flooring Connection that is the Ultimate Customer Experience. Here are their stories.
Established in 1874
Frequent business trips to Baltimore, the supply hub for the region, enlightened Mr. Haines to the wholesale opportunities that abounded. And in 1874 he and his brother-in-law opened their first location in Baltimore—“Haines and Small.” Their new company offered a host of diverse products, from woodenware to wheelbarrows. Most importantly, it was here that Mr. Haines would establish the core values that have been the keys to our success: offer a wide variety of quality products and provide an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction.
Well-respected
diversified company
In 1937, Swiff-Train Company was founded by Joseph Swiff and his son-in-law Herbert Train. Initially, the business began in Corpus Christi, TX with reprocessing damaged or loose cotton, expanding after World War II into the exportation and importation of a variety of steel and agricultural products. In 1959, Swiff-Train began servicing Central and South Texas with their newly added floor covering and countertop surfacing products.
Most recently referred to as STC Floors, and now UCX, the South-Central supplier is a well-respected diversified company with deep ties internationally, nationally, and locally. It's no wonder why so many valued employees pledge decades of service to this company and choose to call STC their "family".
Four generations of
flooring excellence
Antonio Mancini began work as a construction laborer after leaving the sixth grade to help provide for his family. As the oldest of nine and the son of Italian immigrants, he worked hard to open his own hardware stores. He eventually sold these to purchase a small beverage distribution business in 1959 located in Providence, Rhode Island. Working side-by-side with his sons and daughters, he instilled a strong work ethic under the family adage, “if it is to be, it is up to me.”
The family grew this to be a regional distribution business, along with assets in real estate. In 1981, Antonio’s son Raymond Mancini, Sr., felt it was time to diversify further and bought a small flooring distribution business called Ballou Johnson Nichols, which later became The Belknap White Group, an Armstrong distributor. As his children, nieces and nephews came into the business, they began to acquire and grow organically in the flooring space, including a key acquisition of Alcco Flooring in 1997, a regional player in the Northeast. That same year, Raymond Mancini, Jr. was named president of the business, and under his leadership grew the business further with several other acquisitions. He would be the first to tell you that none of this happens alone. The UCX team has expanded to include, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest U.S., and also now includes a fourth generation of family members.
Our full history of growth
Family of Companies
Mancini Companies has a long history of operating flooring and beverage distribution businesses, particularly in the Northeast. We have grown these businesses organically by demanding excellence in execution and through strategic acquisition of distribution businesses and key brands.
