Trane announced Tuesday it would begin taking orders directly from most dealers in Tennessee and Georgia as soon as Dec. 17, and phase out independent distributors fully by Dec. 26.

The light-commercial and residential products were previously handled by HD Supply’s Apex division.

Distribution in western Tennessee, handled by Woodson & Bozeman Inc., is not affected.

Georgia orders will be handled out of a dealer sales office in Atlanta, and Tennessee will be folded into an existing Louisville, Ky., office. Parts of Virginia, Kentucky and South Carolina will also be served by the Atlanta and Louisville centers.

Trane officials said the move was necessary to meet the local markets’ needs.

“As a business, we continually work to develop, expand and upgrade our distribution network to drive Trane’s key strategic initiatives,” said Louis Cook, vice president of Trane Sales. “That means choosing the best distribution model — whether independent or corporate-owned — for the specific geographic market we’re serving. In this case, we decided it was in the best interest of our business, and that of our dealers, to transition to company-owned distribution. We’re excited about directly serving the dealers in Georgia and Tennessee to drive their growth and profitability.”