EXHIBIT 10.41


 


EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT


 


THIS IS AN
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (the “AGREEMENT”), dated as of 14 January 2004, by
and between Interline Brands, Inc., a New Jersey corporation (f/k/a Wilmar
Industries, Inc.) (the “COMPANY”), and James A. Spahn (the “EXECUTIVE”).


 


WHEREAS, the
Executive is currently an employee of the Company;


 


WHEREAS, the Company
considers it essential to its best interests and the best interests of its
stockholders to provide for the continued employment of the Executive by the
Company; and


 


WHEREAS, the
Executive is willing to accept and continue his employment on the terms
hereinafter set forth in this Agreement;


 


NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein and for other good
and valuable consideration and intending to be legally bound hereby, the
parties agree as follows:


 


1.                          TERM OF EMPLOYMENT. The
Executive’s term of employment with the Company under this Agreement shall
begin on the date hereof, and unless sooner terminated as hereafter provided, shall
continue for one (1) year (the “EMPLOYMENT TERM”); PROVIDED that the
Employment Term shall automatically be extended for successive one-year
periods; PROVIDED FURTHER that the Agreement may be terminable by either party upon
sixty (60) days written notice of such party’s intention to terminate.


 


2.                          POSITION.


 


(a)      The Executive shall serve as a Vice
President of the Company. In such position, the Executive shall have such
duties and authority as are customarily associated with such position and agrees
to perform such duties and functions as shall from time to time be assigned or
delegated to him by the President of the Company or his designee.


 


(b)      During the Employment Term, the Executive
will devote substantially all of his business time and best efforts to the
performance of his duties hereunder and will not engage in any other business,
profession or occupation for compensation or otherwise which would conflict
with the rendition of such services, either directly or indirectly, without the
prior written consent of the President of the Company.


 


3.                          BASE SALARY. During the
Employment Term, the Company shall pay the Executive an annual base salary (the
“BASE SALARY”) at the annual rate of $136,500, payable in regular installments
in accordance with the Company’s usual payroll practices. Such base salary may,
at the sole discretion of the President of the Company, be upwardly adjusted.


 


4.                          BONUS. With respect to each
calendar year during the Employment Term, the Executive shall be eligible to
earn an annual bonus award of up to 45% percent of the Base Salary


 

















 


(the “MAXIMUM BONUS”),
based upon bonus plans to be established and determined by the Board of
Directors of the Company (the “Board”) from time to time.


 


5.                          EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AND
PERQUISITES. During the Employment Term, the Executive shall be eligible to
participate in the Company’s employee benefit plans (including, without
limitation, its health insurance and short term and long term disability
insurance plans) on the same basis as those benefits are generally made
available to other executives of the Company. All of the benefits and
perquisites described in this Section 5 shall hereafter be referred to collectively
as the “BENEFITS”.


 


6.                          BUSINESS EXPENSES. During the
Employment Term, reasonable business expenses incurred by Executive in the
performance of his duties hereunder shall be reimbursed by the Company in
accordance with the Company’s policies on expense reimbursement, in effect from
time to time.


 


7.                          TERMINATION. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement:


 


(a)      FOR CAUSE BY THE COMPANY. The Employment
Term and the Executive’s employment hereunder may be terminated by the Company
for “Cause.” For purposes of this Agreement, “CAUSE” shall mean (i) the
Executive’s gross neglect of, or willful and continued failure to substantially
perform, his duties hereunder (other than as a result of total or partial
incapacity due to physical or mental illness); (ii) a willful act by the
Executive against the interests of the Company or which causes or is intended
to cause harm to the Company or its stockholders; (iii) the Executive’s
conviction, or plea of no contest or guilty, to a felony under the laws of the
United States or any state thereof or of a lesser offense involving dishonesty,
the theft of Company property or moral turpitude; or (iv) a material
breach of the Agreement by the Executive which is not cured by the Executive
within twenty (20) days (where the breach is curable) following written notice
to the Executive by the Company of the nature of the breach. Upon termination
of the Executive’s employment for Cause pursuant to this Section 7(a), the
Executive shall be paid any accrued and unpaid Base Salary and Benefits through
the date of termination and shall have no additional rights to any compensation
or any other benefits under the Agreement or otherwise.


 


(b)      DISABILITY OR DEATH. The Employment Term
and the Executive’s employment hereunder shall terminate upon his death or if
the Executive is unable for an aggregate of six (6) months in any twelve
(12) consecutive month period to perform his duties due to the Executive’s
physical or mental incapacity, as reasonably determined by the Board (such
incapacity is hereinafter referred to as “DISABILITY”). Upon termination of the
Executive’s employment hereunder for either Disability or death, the Executive
or his estate (as the case may be) shall be entitled to receive (i) any
accrued and unpaid Base Salary and Benefits and (ii) a bonus for the
calendar year in which termination occurs, equal to the bonus which the
Executive would have been entitled to if he had remained employed by the
Company at the end of such calendar year, multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of days in such calendar year preceding the
date of death or termination of employment and the denominator of which is 365
(a “PRO RATA BONUS”). Upon termination of the Executive’s employment due to
Disability or death pursuant to this Section 7(b), the Executive shall
have no additional rights to any compensation or any other benefits under this
Agreement. All other benefits, if any, due the Executive following his
termination for Disability or death shall be determined in accordance with the
plans, policies and practices of the Company.


 


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(c)      WITHOUT CAUSE BY THE COMPANY. The
Employment Term and the Executive’s employment hereunder may be terminated by
the Company without “Cause.” If the Executive’s employment is terminated by the
Company without “Cause” (other than by reason of Disability or death), the
Executive shall be entitled to receive (i) any accrued and unpaid Base
Salary and Benefits, (ii) continuation of the Executive’s Base Salary for
a period of twelve (12) months from the date of termination (the “SEVERANCE
PAYMENT”), (iii) continuation of the Executive’s health and dental
insurance coverage on the same basis as those benefits are generally made
available to other executives of the Company and (iv) a Pro Rata Bonus. Upon
termination of Executive’s employment by the Company without Cause pursuant to
this Section 7(c), Executive shall have no additional rights to any
compensation or any other benefits under this Agreement. All other benefits, if
any, due Executive following Executive’s termination of employment by the
Company without Cause shall be determined in accordance with the plans, policies
and practices of the Company.


 


(d)      VOLUNTARY TERMINATION BY EXECUTIVE. The
Executive shall provide the Company thirty (30) days’ advance written notice in
the event the Executive terminates his employment, other than for Good Reason
(as hereinafter defined); PROVIDED that the President may, in his sole
discretion, terminate the Executive’s employment with the Company prior to the
expiration of the thirty-day notice period. In such event and upon the
expiration of such thirty-day period (or such shorter time as the President in
his sole discretion may determine), the Executive’s employment under this
Agreement shall immediately and automatically terminate, and the Executive
shall be limited to receiving any Base Salary earned and unpaid as of the
Executive’s termination date.


 


(e)      TERMINATION FOR GOOD REASON. The Executive
may terminate his employment hereunder for “Good Reason” at any time during the
Employment Term. For purposes of the Agreement, “GOOD REASON” shall mean (i) a
material breach of the terms of this Agreement by the Company, (ii) the
Company requiring the Executive to move his primary place of employment more
than thirty-five (35) miles from the then current place of employment, if such
move materially increases his commute, or (iii) a material diminution of
the Executive’s responsibilities, PROVIDED that any of the foregoing is not
cured by the Company within twenty (20) days following receipt of written
notice by the Executive to the Company of the specific nature of the breach. No
termination for Good Reason shall be permitted unless the Company shall have
first received written notice from the Executive describing the basis of such
termination for Good Reason. A termination of the Executive’s employment for
Good Reason pursuant to this Section 7(e) shall be treated for
purposes of this Agreement as a termination by the Company without Cause and
the provisions of Section 7(c) relating to the payment of
compensation and benefits shall apply.


 


(f)      BENEFITS/RELEASE. In addition to any
amounts which may be payable following a termination of employment pursuant to
one of the paragraphs of this Section 7, the Executive or his
beneficiaries shall be entitled to receive any benefits that may be provided for
under the terms of an employee benefit plan in which the Executive is participating
at the time of termination. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement
to the contrary, the Executive acknowledges and agrees that any and all
payments, other than the payment of any accrued and unpaid Base Salary and
Benefits, to which the Executive is entitled under this Section 7 are conditioned
upon and subject to the Executive’s execution of a general waiver and release,
in such form as may be prepared by the Company’s attorneys, of all claims and
issues arising under the


 


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Employment
Agreement, except for such matters covered by provisions of this Agreement
which expressly survive the termination of this Agreement.


 


(g)      Except as provided in this Section 7,
the Company shall have no further obligation or liability under this Agreement
following a termination of employment by the Executive.


 


(h)      NOTICE OF TERMINATION. Any purported
termination of employment by the Company or by the Executive shall be
communicated by written notice of termination to the other party hereto in
accordance with Section 12(h) hereof.


 


8.                          NON-COMPETITION.


 


(a)      The Executive acknowledges and recognizes
the highly competitive nature of the businesses of the Company and its
affiliates, the valuable confidential business information in such Executive’s
possession and the customer goodwill associated with the ongoing business
practice of the Company, and accordingly agrees as follows:


 


(i)      During the Employment Term and, for a
period ending on the expiration of one year following the termination of the Executive’s
employment (the “RESTRICTED PERIOD”), the Executive will not directly or
indirectly, (i) engage in any business for the Executive’s own account
that competes with the business of the Company, (ii) enter the employ of,
or render any services to, any person engaged in any business that competes with
the business of the Company, (iii) acquire a financial interest in, or otherwise
become actively involved with, any person engaged in any business that competes
with the business of the Company, directly or indirectly, as an individual,
partner, shareholder, officer, director, principal, agent, trustee or
consultant, or (iv) interfere with business relationships (whether formed before
or after the date of this Agreement) between the Company or any of its affiliates
that are engaged in a business similar to the business of the Company (the “COMPANY
AFFILIATES”) and customers or suppliers of the Company or the Company
Affiliates.


 


(ii)     Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
this Agreement, the Executive may directly or indirectly own, solely as a passive
investment, securities of any person engaged in the business of the Company
which are publicly traded on a national or regional stock exchange or on the
over-the-counter market if the Executive (i) is not a controlling person
of, or a member of a group which controls, such person and (ii) does not,
directly or indirectly, own one percent (1%) or more of any class of securities
of such person.


 


(iii)     During the Restricted Period, and for an additional
one year after the end of the Restricted Period, the Executive will not,
directly or indirectly, (i) without the written consent of the Company, solicit
or encourage any employee of the Company or the Company Affiliates to leave the
employment of the Company or the Company Affiliates, or (ii) without the
written consent of the Company (which shall not be unreasonably withheld), hire
any such employee who has left the employment of the Company or the Company
Affiliates (other than as a result of the termination of such employment by the
Company or the Company Affiliates)


 


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within one year after
the termination of such employee’s employment with the Company or the Company
Affiliates.


 


(iv)     During the Restricted Period, the Executive
will not, directly or indirectly, solicit or encourage to cease to work with
the Company or the Company Affiliates any consultant then under contract with
the Company or the Company Affiliates.


 


(b)      It is expressly understood and agreed that
although the Executive and the Company consider the restrictions contained in
this Section 8 to be reasonable, if a final judicial determination is made
by a court of competent jurisdiction that the time or territory or any other
restriction contained in this Agreement is an unenforceable restriction against
the Executive, the provisions of this Agreement shall not be rendered void but
shall be deemed amended to apply as to such maximum time and territory and to
such maximum extent as such court may judicially determine or indicate to be enforceable.
Alternatively, if any court of competent jurisdiction finds that any
restriction contained in this Agreement is unenforceable, and such restriction
cannot be amended so as to make it enforceable, such finding shall not affect
the enforceability of any of the other restrictions contained herein.


 


9.                          CONFIDENTIALITY. The
Executive will not at any time (whether during or after his employment with the
company) disclose or use for his own benefit or purposes or the benefit or
purposes of any other person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association,
corporation or other business organization, entity or enterprise other than the
Company and any of its  subsidiaries or
affiliates, any trade secrets, information, data, or other confidential
information relating to customers, development programs, costs, marketing,
trading, investment, sales activities, promotion, credit and financial data,
manufacturing processes, financing methods, plans, or the business and affairs
of the Company generally, or of any subsidiary or affiliate of the Company,
PROVIDED that the foregoing shall not apply to information which is generally
known to the industry or the public other than as a result of the Executive’s
breach of this covenant. The Executive agrees that upon termination of his
employment with the Company for any reason, he will return to the Company immediately
all memoranda, books, papers, plans, information, letters and other data, and
all copies thereof or therefrom, in any way relating to the business of the
Company and its affiliates, except that he may retain personal notes, notebooks
and diaries. The Executive further agrees that he will not retain or use for
his account at any time any trade names, trademark or other proprietary business
designation used or owned in connection with the business of the Company or its
affiliates.


 


10.                    SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE. The
Executive acknowledges and agrees that the Company’s remedies at law for a
breach or threatened breach of any of the provisions of Section 8 or Section 9
would be inadequate and, in recognition of this fact, the Executive agrees
that, in the event of such a breach or threatened breach, in addition to any
remedies at law, the Company, without posting any bond, shall be entitled to
obtain equitable relief in the form of specific performance, temporary
restraining order, temporary or permanent injunction or any other equitable
remedy which may then be available.


 


11.                    INDEPENDENCE, SEVERABILITY
AND NON-EXCLUSIVITY. Each of the rights and remedies set forth in this
Agreement shall be independent of the others and shall be severally enforceable
and all of such rights and remedies shall be in addition to and not in lieu of
any other rights and remedies available to the Company or its affiliates under
the law or in equity. If any of the provisions contained in this Agreement,
including without limitation, the rights and


 


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remedies enumerated
herein, is hereafter construed to be invalid or unenforceable, the same shall
not affect the remainder of the covenant or covenants, or rights or remedies,
which shall be given full effect without regard to the invalid portions.


 


12.                    MISCELLANEOUS.


 


(a)      GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed
by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida without
regard to its conflicts of law doctrine.


 


(b)      ENTIRE AGREEMENT/AMENDMENTS. This
Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the
employment of the Executive by the Company. There are no restrictions,
agreements, promises, warranties, covenants or undertakings between the parties
with respect to the subject matter herein other than those expressly set forth
herein. This Agreement may not be altered, modified, or amended except by
written instrument signed by the parties hereto.


 


(c)      NO WAIVER. The failure of a party to
insist upon strict adherence to any term of this Agreement on any occasion
shall not be considered a waiver of such party’s rights or deprive such party
of the right thereafter to insist upon strict adherence to that term or any
other term of this Agreement.


 


(d)      SEVERABILITY. In the event that any one or
more of the provisions of this Agreement shall be or become invalid, illegal or
unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining
provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.


 


(e)      ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement shall not be
assignable by the Executive. This Agreement may be assigned by the Company to a
company which is a successor in interest to substantially all of the business
operations of the Company or to the financial institution(s) providing the
Company’s senior credit facility. Such assignment shall become effective when
the Company notifies the Executive of such assignment or at such later date as
may be specified in such notice. Upon such assignment, the rights and
obligations of the Company hereunder shall become the rights and obligations of
such successor company, PROVIDED that any assignee expressly assumes the
obligations, rights and privileges of this Agreement.


 


(f)      NO MITIGATION. The Executive shall not be
required to mitigate the amount of any payment provided for pursuant to this
Agreement by seeking other employment and, to the extent that the Executive
obtains or undertakes other employment, the payment will not be reduced by the
earnings of the Executive from the other employment.


 


(g)      SUCCESSORS; BINDING AGREEMENT. This
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon personal or legal
representatives, executors, administrators, successors, heirs, distributes,
devises and legatees.


 


(h)      NOTICE. For the purpose of this Agreement,
notices and all other communications provided for in the Agreement shall be in
writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered or mailed by
United States registered mail, return receipt requested,


 


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postage prepaid,
addressed, in the case of the Executive, to the Executive’s address on file
with the Company; all notices to the Company shall be directed to the attention
of the President or to such other address as either party may have furnished to
the other in writing in accordance herewith, except that notice of change of
address shall be effective only upon receipt.


 


(i)      WITHHOLDING TAXES. The Company may
withhold from any amounts payable under this Agreement such Federal, state and
local taxes as may be required to be withheld pursuant to any applicable law or
regulation.


 


(j)      COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be signed
in counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if
the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.


 


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IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
the parties hereto have duly executed this Agreement as of the day and year
first above written.


 


 


	
   

  	
  /s/ James A. Spahn

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Name:   James
  A. Spahn

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  5209 Thornridge Ct.

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Sterling Hts, MI 48314

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  INTERLINE BRANDS,
  INC.

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/ Michael J.
  Grebe

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
     Name:
  Michael J. Grebe

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
     Title:
  President and CEO

  	
   

  



 


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