A lot has been happening over the last year with North America’s largest electrical distributors. Let’s check out some of the highlights.
Dakota Supply Group, Plymouth, MN, is celebrating a major anniversary this year – it’s now 125-years-old. French Gerleman, one of the founding companies of Agilix Solutions, St. Louis, and Fromm Electric Supply, Reading, PA, also became members of the Century Club this year and are now 100 years old.
Cardello Lighting & Electric Supply, Pittsburgh, is now 75 years old; State Electric Supply, Huntington, WV, celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, and IEWC, New Berlin, WI, celebrated its 60th anniversary with a record sales year. Toole & Rose Supply, Carrollton, KY, celebrated its 35th anniversary; Nassau National Cable, Great Neck, NY, is now 10 years old; TEC Manufacturing & Distribution Services, Georgetown, TX, turned 20 years old; and Atlantic Coast Electric Supply, Summerville, SC, celebrated its fifth year in business by taking 200 customers on its inaugural customer incentive trip to Nashville, TN.
Along with celebrating its seventh year in business, LoneStar Electric Supply, Houston, became a member of the IMARK buying/marketing group and started a single-line partnership with ABB in Texas. The company also recently opened a branch in west Texas to service the Midland-Odessa region and the Permian region, the nation’s largest oil basin.
At Erin Enterprises, Boynton Beach, FL, Tom Heffernan celebrated 63 years in the electrical wholesaling industry — 53 of those years as president of the two companies he founded.
Schaedler YESCO Distribution, Harrisburg, PA, made several big investments and one large acquisition over the past two years. The company acquired YESCO Electrical Supply Inc., Columbiana, OH, to expand in eastern Ohio; plans to open a 90,000-sq-ft regional distribution center near Pittsburgh in 3Q 2023; opened a relocated branch in Allentown, PA; and began using its 40,000-sq-ft expanded central distribution center addition.
Inline Electric Supply Co., Huntsville, AL, is also investing in its infrastructure and will soon be opening a distribution facility that will house a centralized inventory/project warehouse storage and wire cutting and handling facility.
In Michigan, K/E Electric Supply Corp. opened a branch in Ann Arbor, MI; recently invested in a major software upgrade; and is in the design phase of a new corporate headquarters. Bell Electric Supply, Santa Clara, CA, also has some new digs, and recently moved into a new 68,000-sq-ft building in Santa Clara.
ATI Electrical Supply, Pompano Beach, FL, expanded its Florida operations to include stocking products sold over the counter and increased its inventory of hard-to-get products, and CEEUS Inc., West Columbia, SC, purchased a larger warehouse and announced expansion into other states.
Larry Swink, president of Jackson Electric Supply, Jacksonville, FL, said 2022 was a big year for his company. “We transitioned our accounting and ERP system to Epicor/Eclipse,” he wrote in his response. “This had a big impact on our processes, but a positive one. Not only have we improved our visibility and accuracy, we bridged the gap between finance, sales and operations. Our team is working with a better understanding of the total process from closing the order to the final results on the P&L.”
Hunt Electric Supply Co., Burlington, NC, is working on a new web site and is implemented bar code scanners for receiving and pulling orders; Mars Electric, Mayfield Village, OH, launched a new e-commerce platform; and Chelsea Lighting, New York, implemented a new Accumatica ERP system and named a new CEO — Mike Toolis. In other news on the digital commerce front, G&G Electric Supply, New York, will be launching an online platform by the end of Q2 2023.
Facility Solutions Group (FSG), Austin, TX, appointed new chief operating officers of all its divisions: (Lighting, Electrical, and Electrical Service), and a added chief marketing officer, chief sales officer, chief product officer and chief revenue officer. “This was a huge organizational change and shift, that will help take FSG past $1 billion in sales by centralizing our focus and effort of our business,” said Leon Mowadia, chief operating officer-Lighting & Distribution.
In Colorado, Trevor Blazer, son of Mike Blazer, co-owner of Blazer Electric Supply, Colorado Springs, CO, was named general manager.
Click here to download a spreadsheet of Electrical Wholesaling's 2023 Top 150 Electrical Distributors listing