diff --git a/devpi_plumber/client.py b/devpi_plumber/client.py
index 280da7a..ada7f1e 100644
--- a/devpi_plumber/client.py
+++ b/devpi_plumber/client.py
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 from io import StringIO
 from urllib.parse import urlsplit, urlunsplit, urljoin
 
+# To avoid issues with setuptools and distutils load order, always explicitly load setuptools
+# before loading the Devpi client which relies on it.
+import setuptools  # noqa F401
+
 from devpi.main import main as devpi
 from twitter.common.contextutil import mutable_sys, temporary_dir