Nearly 100 Years of Industrial Supply in Lowell, Massachusetts (1927–2027)
From Frank Patrick McCartin and Margaret Walsh McCartin’s founding incorporation on June 18, 1927, through Norbert T. “Norbie” McCartin and Mary A. McCartin’s multi-trade expansion, to third-generation President David C. McCartin at 149 Congress Street.
40+ years of experience leading Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. (DBA Go Industrial Supplies) into its 1927–2027 Centennial across Electrical, Plumbing/Steam, Electronics, and Massachusetts Public Procurement.
The McCartin Multi-Trade Legacy in the Mill City
Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. traces its municipal supply roots to the 1926 Town of Tewksbury Annual Report (which records an electrical supplies warrant to F. P. McCartin) and its formal incorporation on June 18, 1927 in Lowell, Massachusetts by Frank Patrick McCartin (1886–1964) and Margaret Walsh McCartin. Born in the industrial heart of the Merrimack Valley, the company began at 181 Market Street in downtown Lowell by supplying rugged electrical apparatus, fuses, lamps, and hardware to Lowell’s textile mills, machine shops, schools, and municipal buildings.
Under second-generation leader Norbert T. “Norbie” McCartin (1929–2019)—a Keith Academy and St. Anselm College graduate who served as a U.S. Army procurement officer in Germany during the Korean War—and lifelong Secretary-Treasurer Mary A. McCartin (1917–2005), who served the firm for 55 years, the company expanded into a comprehensive multi-trade industrial supply house. Operating from historic downtown Lowell locations at 181 Market Street (Electrical & Electronics) and Western Avenue at School Street (Plumbing & Heating), the McCartin counter team built a reputation across New England as the supplier of record when a boiler room, manufacturing line, or municipal plant needed a hard-to-find part on the spot.
In June 1998, under the leadership of third-generation President David C. McCartin, the company consolidated its Electrical, Plumbing/Heating/Steam, Electronics, and In-House Pipe Threading operations into our unified facility at 149 Congress Street, Lowell, MA 01852. Today, operating as Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. (DBA Go Industrial Supplies), we combine nearly a century of institutional cross-reference memory with modern Massachusetts Statewide Contract FAC124 (#201354) and MHEC G14 (#374) / G19 (#419) public procurement capabilities.
1926–2027 Centennial Chronology
Frank Patrick McCartin (1886–1964) Incorporates Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. in Lowell
Born in Lowell in 1886 and educated in the Lowell Public Schools, Frank Patrick McCartin began supplying municipal and institutional accounts across the Merrimack Valley—documented in the 1926 Town of Tewksbury Annual Report—before officially incorporating Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on June 18, 1927 alongside Margaret Walsh McCartin.
★ Historic Electrical & Electronic HQ established at 181 Market Street in downtown Lowell, MA.
The Iconic 1947 Lowell Trade Counter & Post-War Industrial Boom
Following World War II, Frank P. McCartin and his counter crew became the go-to industrial supply lifeline for Lowell’s textile mills, parochial and public schools, St. John’s and Lowell General hospitals, and mechanical contractors throughout Northern Middlesex County.
★ Immortalized in our authentic 1947 counter crew photograph still displayed at 149 Congress Street today.
Norbert T. “Norbie” McCartin (1929–2019) & Mary A. McCartin (1917–2005)
After graduating from Keith Academy and St. Anselm College and serving as a U.S. Army procurement officer in Germany during the Korean War, Norbert T. “Norbie” McCartin joined the family firm alongside lifelong Secretary-Treasurer Mary A. McCartin (who served the company for 55 years). Under their leadership, FPM expanded from electrical and electronics into commercial plumbing, heating, steam traps, boilers, and in-house pipe fabrication with a dedicated Plumbing & Heating branch at Western Avenue at School Street.
★ Built FPM’s regional reputation for stocking 14,000+ SKUs and finding obsolete parts nobody else could identify.
Consolidation Into Our Unified 149 Congress Street Warehouse & Pipe Shop
In June 1998, third-generation President David C. McCartin consolidated the historic 181 Market Street Electrical/Electronic headquarters and the Western Avenue Plumbing/Heating branch under one roof at 149 Congress Street, Lowell, MA 01852—creating a single multi-trade counter with an in-house 4" pipe cutting and threading shop and off-street contractor loading.
★ Unified Electrical (978-454-9101), Plumbing/PVF/Steam (978-454-7606), and Electronics counters under one roof.
COMMBUYS FAC124 (#201354), MHEC G14/G19 & The 2027 Centennial Milestone
Approaching its 100th anniversary on June 18, 2027 under President David C. McCartin (40+ years of experience), Frank P. McCartin Co., Inc. holds Massachusetts Statewide Contract FAC124 (MBPO PO-23-1080-OSD03-SRC3-30757 through 2028), MHEC Cooperative Contracts G14 & G19, SDO Small Business Certification, and 2026 NHSaves Participating Commercial Lighting Distributor status.
★ 10,765+ completed facility projects • 5,000+ satisfied commercial & municipal clients • 14,000+ stocked SKUs.
Connect With Our Lowell Trade Counter
Speak directly with our Electrical ((978) 454-9101), Plumbing & Steam ((978) 454-7606), or Finance ((978) 453-1681) team.