Sonepar and EECOL/Wesco Acquire Large Canadian Independent Distributors

Canada took center stage on the acquisition front in recent weeks with the acquisitions of two large independent electrical distributors – Robertson Electric Wholesale, Vaughan, Ontario, and Independent Electric Supply, Toronto, Ontario.
Sonepar acquired the 19-branch, 400-employee Robertson Electric Wholesale, and EECOL, a Wesco business, bought Independent Electric Supply. Robertson Electric Wholesale was founded in 1952 and was purchased by the Campbell family in 2008. The company has branches throughout the Toronto area, southern Ontario and in Ottawa; in the country’s Maritime provinces (Moncton, New Brunswick and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia); Winnipeg, Manitoba, Edmonton, Alberta and the Vancouver metropolitan area.
 “We look forward to partnering with Sonepar and the exciting opportunities it will offer our customers and associates. Our company was built on a customer-centric model, which will be strengthened with the knowledge and expertise Sonepar can provide to ensure our continued success,” said Rick Campbell, Robertson Electric Wholesale president,  in the press release.
The 40-employee Independent Electric Supply, a member of Affiliated Distributors, has been serving customers in the Toronto area market since 1921. The 105-year-old EECOL Electric Corp., has 64 locations across Canada. The company serves customers in the following industry verticals: industrial, oil & gas, manufacturing, government, mining, utility, commercial and residential construction. It’s been a been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wesco International since 2012.
“EECOL’s customer-first focus aligns perfectly with our values. This partnership represents the joining of two companies that have both been servicing the electrical market for over 100 years, bringing together a wealth of industry knowledge and resources to better serve customers,” said Bob Branscombe, president at Independent Electric Supply, in the press release.
While sales through electrical distributors in the Canadian electrical market are generally considered to be approximately 10% to 12% the size of the U.S. electrical market, many interesting similarities exist between the two. Electrical contractors reign supreme in both countries as the largest customers segment, although the energy business in western Canada is an important market for many Canadian electrical distributors and independent reps.
The Canadian economy is also highly centralized with two of the country's eastern provinces Ontario (38.8%) and Quebec (19.5%) accounting for a combined 58.4% of all Canadian gross domestic product (GDP), according to www.statcan.gc.ca.
As in the United States, mergers and acquisitions have transformed the business, with many of the same large distributors acquiring independent, family-owned electrical supply houses. While not intended to be the complete tally of all M&As in Canada over the past 30 years, Electrical Marketing’s database of distributor mergers and acquisitions lists 33 acquisitions deals (see below).
Some of the larger acquisitions include Wesco’s purchase of Brews Supply Ltd. (2011) and EECOL (2012); Rexel’s 2000 acquisition of United Westburne; CED’s purchase of Guillevin International in the 1990s; and Graybar’s purchase of Ellis & Howard Ltd. in the 1990s and Electro-Mag in 2021.
Along with its recent Robertson Electric Wholesale purchase, some of Sonepar’s larger Canadian purchases included Electrozad (2024); Aztec Electrical Supply (2022); SESCO/QUESCO (2011); and Dixon Electric (2012).