Roden Electrical Supply And Stuart C. Irby Swap Branches In Exchange Agreement

Oct. 14, 2005
Roden Electrical Supply Co., Knoxville, Tenn., and Stuart C. Irby, Jackson, Miss., have agreed to exchange two branches in Alabama and Tennessee, in a move that would sharpen the regional focus of both companies.

Roden Electrical Supply Co., Knoxville, Tenn., and Stuart C. Irby, Jackson, Miss., have agreed to exchange two branches in Alabama and Tennessee, in a move that would sharpen the regional focus of both companies.

Roden Electrical Supply will acquire Stuart C. Irby’s industrial automation and electrical supply operations in Kingsport, Tenn., giving it access to the “Tri-Cities” region of Kingsport and Johnson City, Tenn., and Bristol, Va. As part of the agreement, Stuart C. Irby will acquire the Roden industrial operations located in Huntsville, Ala. Both companies will have the Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley area of primary responsibility (APR) for their respective branches. Roden already has the Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation APRs in Tennessee in Chattanooga, Cleveland, Knoxville, Newport, Oak Ridge and Pigeon Forge.

Said Sam McCamy III, Roden’s president, “This exchange meets the strategic needs of both companies by creating a consolidated base of resources in each territory to service customers more efficiently. Our electrical and automation operations were adjacent to the Tri-Cities area. Irby was somewhat isolated there, but had electrical and automation operations adjacent to Huntsville, in Decatur, Ala.”

“We’ve always had our eye on the Tri-Cities,” added Jeff McCamy, the company’s executive vice president. “Though we’ve grown over 12 percent per year since 1995 and more than doubled our size since 2000 by expanding southward, we always felt that Tri Cities was a strategic growth opportunity for us.”

The acquisitions are expected to be completed Oct. 28. On Oct. 31, Kingsport will open its doors as a Roden branch and Huntsville will open its doors as an Irby branch. Roden purchased the Huntsville branch from Matthews Electric in July 2003.

In related news, Sonepar USA, Berwyn, Pa., a subsidiary of the Paris-based Sonepar SA, recently agreed to acquire Stuart C. Irby, a move that would give it a significant presence in the south central United States and make it the nation’s third biggest utility distributor. With $400 million in annual sales and 35 branches, Stuart C. Irby is the industry’s 16th largest electrical distributor, according to Electrical Wholesaling magazine’s 2005 Top 200 listing.