Sonepar USA, Philadelphia, has agreed to acquire Crawford Electric Supply Co. Ltd., one of Texas’ largest independent distributors. The company also has acquired Fairview Electrical Supply Corp., Fairview, N.J., through its Cooper Electric Supply Co. business.
Crawford, also known under the CESCO name, is located in Dallas, with branches in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. CESCO was ranked the 36th largest electrical distributor in the United States in 2005, according to Electrical Wholesaling’s Top 200 listing.
Tony Burr, president of Sonepar USA, said, “CESCO will allow Sonepar USA to extend its footprint into the Texas commercial market, where strong growth conditions prevail. Craig Levering and his team will all be staying with the group and are actively involved in achieving the growth plans we have identified for the CESCO organization.”
Eric Lomas and Burke Burkhardt of HT Capital Advisors, New York, represented CESCO and initiated and orchestrated the transaction. Burkhardt said, “Under the strong leadership of Craig Levering, CESCO grew dramatically over the past 10 years and became one of the industry’s truly outstanding trophy acquisition candidates.”
CESCO marks Sonepar’s seventh acquisition in the past two years. In 2006, Sonepar built out the utility business it established with its 2005 purchase of Stuart Irby, Jackson, Miss., with the purchases of Priester Supply, Arlington, Texas, and Rigby Electric Supply Inc., (RE Supply) Rocky Mount, N.C. The company also strengthened its position in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York with its purchase of Friedman Electric Supply Co., Exeter, Pa., and entered the Milwaukee, Wis., market for the first time with its acquisition of Boggis-Johnson Electric Co.
Fairview Electrical Supply, with about six employees, is a third-generation family-owned and operated business. Fairview Electrical Supply will help Cooper Electric expand in northern New Jersey.
At press time, the company also announced that its Stuart Irby division had acquired Burmeister Electric Co., Minneapolis, and High Voltage Testing Laboratories (HVTL), Fargo, N.D.