Sonepar Buys a Nice Place in the Mountains with Addition of Codale Electric Supply

Sonepar USA, Philadelphia, added a substantial new piece to its North American collection of marquee former independents with the announcement this week that it will acquire Codale Electric Supply, Salt Lake City. With $220 million in sales in 2011 and 210 people in 12 locations, Codale does more than fill in a gap in Sonepar’s map.

Sonepar USA, a subsidiary of global electrical distribution giant Sonepar, which is privately owned by a family in France and led by Marie-Christine Coisne-Roquette, chairman and CEO, has been on an acquisition spree over the past year, adding high-profile independent distributors such as Independent Electric Supply, San Carlos, Calif., and OneSource Distributors, Oceanside, Calif., to its North American operations.

Dale Holt, who founded Codale in 1975, will continue to lead the company under Sonepar ownership for at least the next five years, he told Electrical Marketing. The move to join Sonepar’s ranks was just about the only option he considered, he said.

“These guys are a really good fit for us,” Holt said. “Their model aligns with my thinking perfectly. This was the best thing I could do for my company’s long-term viability. It can’t be a bad thing to be part of the biggest distributor in the world.”

More specifically, Holt was attracted to the way Sonepar handles the companies they’ve acquired. “Buy and hold — they hold on to them, grow them, let you manage them,” he said.

Dave Gabriel, president of Sonepar North America and CEO of Sonepar USA, was enthusiastic about the deal and said, “We are pleased to welcome Dale and his management team at Codale Electric Supply to the Sonepar USA group. This strategic acquisition will further strengthen our footprint and offering throughout U.S. market.”

Prior to Codale, Sonepar’s presence in the mountain states was limited to one Hagemeyer location and one Irby location, both in Denver. Codale has grown to become a dominant player in the Intermountain West region, with a dozen locations in Utah, Nevada and Wyoming that will now become part of Sonepar.

Codale’s biggest customers are the massive copper and coal mines as well as the utilities that generate and transmit power throughout in the region, but the company has established a position in every facet of the electrical market, ranging from small residential to large commercial and heavy industrial, process industries, oil and gas, data centers and high-end hospitality along the Las Vegas strip as well, depending on the needs of the local markets.

Codale Electric Supply was ranked #33 on EW’s “Top 200” list of the largest electrical distributors, based on 2011 sales volume. The company also consistently placed in the top 20 nationwide in rankings by sales-per-employee.