Established during the "Dust Bowl" and "The Great Depression" by Claude Sutter and his wife Helen (Bickle) Sutter, the original company started out small, selling a limited number of automotive parts. Even with the state of the economy, their business grew and Claude Sutter moved it to Hays, Kansas. Hays offered them a more central location for sales within northwest Kansas. He was then joined by Don Wells and his wife Lyle (Bickle) Wells and this new partnership (Sutter & Wells) is where the current company received its namesake of S&W Supply.
In 1954 S&W Supply moved to the current location at 300 East 8th Street in Hays, Kansas. Throughout the coming years, seven branch retail store locations would be added to the corporation. These locations included: Colby, Hill City, Plainville, LaCrosse, Osborne, Ness City, and Russell. Besides automotive and heavy duty parts, S&W Supply also serves the industrial, agricultural, and oilfield markets.
In 1966, Warehouse Inc. was formed to serve as a wholesale automotive warehouse for the western Kansas market. In 1985 the company joined forces with Federated Auto Parts, one of the largest auto parts distribution and marketing organizations in North America. There are so many new makes and models of vehicles that the demand for parts is on a steady increase. Over S&W Supply's next 80 years, that trend will undoubtedly continue. To gain much needed space for future success, the family-owned business continues to grow with the expansion.