STL Distribution North America has roots that date back to the 1800s with ministry, publishing, and distribution. Over the past 10 years STL Distribution has experienced several mergers and name changes. With these company mergers one of the largest non-profit book distribution houses in the world has been created. The below timeline outlines three major companies that are now joined under the Biblica name as the largest non-profit Christian Distributor in the world.

1809	New York Bible Society is founded. New York Bible Society later changes its name to International Bible Society [IBS]. Primary focus is to distribute Bibles to immigrants in New York City.
1957	Send The Light first appears in literature sent from Chicago to Mexico, under the direction of George Verwer, who later establishes Operation Mobilisation [OM].
1974	Appalachian Bible Co. is founded in Johnson City, Tennessee.
1987	Appalachian Bible Co. doubles its space and distribution capacity by purchasing a larger building, moving from a primarily regional distributor to a worldwide distributor.
1992	International Bible Society [IBS] merges with Living Bibles International
1993	OM releases STL [Send The Light] to operate as a separate organization to focus on publishing and distributing Christian literature.
2001	Appalachian Bible Co. expands and opens a west coast warehouse facility.
2003	STL UK moves into the American market by acquiring OM_Literature and Great Value Books [GVB].
2005	STL US acquires Appalachian Bible Co. making it the largest Christian Distributor in North America.
2007	IBS merges with STL resulting in the largest non-profit book distribution company in the world, calling itself IBS-STL Global.
2009	IBS-STL Global unveils their new name Biblica.

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At STL Distribution, we cherish every opportunity we are given to begin a new relationship with someone who wants to advance the Christian Faith through literature. Thank you for considering us, and providing us with the opportunity to earn your business with our service offerings.

As you consider doing business with a wholesale distributor, you will be faced with questions like: which is more important- highest discount or quick replenishment that leads to higher inventory turns? Historically, highest discount buyers have been in the majority, but "just-in-time" is becoming the preferred way for more and more retailers to do business.

Once you decide to do some percentage of your business with a wholesaler, you will discover that you have several to choose from. STL Distribution is a different kind of wholesaler. In fact, our name is our mission-- Send The Light. This makes a big difference in our product selection. While other wholesalers may stock millions of products, nobody stocks more types of Bibles, Christian Books, Music, Curriculum, Church Supplies, Gifts, and Video than STL. Plus at STL you won’t find "New Age" books or books on the occult that others choose to distribute. If you want to sell only the products in demand by your Christian customers, you will find that STL Distribution carries it all, including Christ-honoring products that are published by secular companies.

We have some very talented and experienced people and systems in place to efficiently service your needs. As an Executive with over 25 years of service in the Christian Media industry, I’ve learned a lot about what is most important to Christian retailers. Our other senior executives have been serving the Christian market for over 100 years combined, and bring a wealth of experience and passion to STL. Most of us have also spent time in retailing, and we identify with the difficult issues of building a sustainable store in the face of growing competition from the internet, big box stores, and direct mailers (including publishers).

Most wholesalers will match any price available from other wholesalers. (Challenge your wholesaler to do this, since we all buy at the same price). In the end, it will be selection, service, speed, and your satisfaction that will make the difference for your store. If your store ever finds STL lacking in any of these areas, please let me know. Better still, if you ever have an idea for how we can serve you better, we’re all ears.


Glenn Bailey
President
STL Distribution North America