McNaughton-McKay Acquires Assets of Kiemle-Hankins Supply Division

McNaughton-McKay Electric Co., for years one of the largest electrical distributors selling automation products and services to the automotive market, has expanded into northern Ohio with the purchase of most of the assets and operations of the Supply Division of The Kiemle-Hankins (K-H) Co.

The acquisition gives McNaughton-McKay, Madison Heights, Mich., exclusive rights to the Toledo, Ohio, area franchise for Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation company based in Milwaukee. McNaughton-McKay, Allen-Bradley's biggest distributor, already has the area of primary responsibility (APR) for Allen-Bradley in the Columbus and Findlay, Ohio, areas.

The purchase includes the inventory and equipment of all three KH Supply locations in Maumee (Toledo), Defiance and Fremont, Ohio. The transaction will not include Kiemle-Hankins' services division, which Kiemle-Hankins will continue to operate under its own name. The services division, with locations in Toledo and Dayton, Ohio, provides electrical and electro-mechanical repair services in the Midwest.

“We are pleased to have acquired a team of talented individuals, whose skills and market coverage will complement and expand our capabilities,” said David Beattie, president of McNaughton-McKay. “The Kiemle-Hankins Supply Division is an ideal fit for our company in terms of market position and geographic fit, and our combined operations will enable us to provide superior service to electrical wholesale customers in the region.”

McNaughton-McKay, with 26 branches in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina, is a dominant player in the automotive market and strong in other industrial segments as well. The company had sales of over $500 million in 2000, according to Electrical Wholesaling's annual listing of the 250 biggest electrical distributors.

McNaughton-McKay is also the largest distributor of Allen-Bradley products in the world. After a short transition period, McNaughton-McKay will change Kiemle-Hankins Supply's name to McNaughton-McKay. The branches will operate as part of McNaughton-McKay's Ohio division, which currently consists of seven locations. A. Stephen Martindale will resign his responsibilities as president of the supply division, but continue on as president and CEO of Kiemle-Hankin's repair business. Gregory Chun, general manager of McNaughton-McKay's Ohio division, will assume responsibility for the three Kiemle-Hankins branches.

The Kiemle-Hankins Supply Division, with 64 employees, is an industrial/MRO distributor with long-time ties to Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee. Kiemle-Hankins had 1999 annual sales of $38 million, according to Electrical Wholesaling's 2000 listing. Founded in 1928 as a repair business, the company moved into the supply business in the 1930s. The company became an authorized distributor for Allen-Bradley by 1939, according to Martindale.

Despite its years in the electrical wholesale business, Martindale said the company is returning to its core repair business. “These are just good strategic moves. We have been getting bigger in the repair business. It's our core business. We think the trend is toward companies needing to be large in order to provide all things that customers want in a wholesale business. It was a natural marriage with McNaughton-McKay.”

McNaughton-McKay has made several sizeable acquisitions over the years of other Allen-Bradley distributors, including EMCORP, Columbus, Ohio, in 1996, which moved McNaughton-McKay into central Ohio; Findlay Electric Supply Inc., Findlay, Ohio, and Advance Electric Supply Co. Inc., Flint, Mich., both in 1997; and Tab Electric in 1998.

The acquisition brings McNaughton-McKay's total number of employees to 930.