Van Meter Buys Iowa’s Miller Electric

Van Meter Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, agreed to purchase Miller Electric Supply Inc., an electrical distributor with locations in Dubuque and Clinton, Iowa. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2015, the companies said.

Miller Electric Supply was founded in 1963 and provides electrical and automation supplies and services to industrial, commercial and contractor customers. Van Meter and Miller Electric both are members of buying group Affiliated Distributors as well as a number of associations, and both are authorized Rockwell Automation distributors, making for a neatly aligned acquisition in its home state for Van Meter.

The deal with larger, employee-owned Van Meter also opens up opportunities for Miller Electric’s people, said Kevin Oyen, president of Miller Electric. “This is an opportunity to join our great, local company with a larger, best-in-class distributor — a 100% employee-owned company with similar values, a progressive culture and a grand vision for the future,” said Oyen in a release. “Our industry faces new challenges and opportunities each day and I have every confidence that becoming part of Van Meter will position us for continued success.”

The acquisition of Miller Electric will expand Van Meter’s presence in Iowa to 14 locations. Van Meter has branches in Iowa City, Waterloo, Davenport, Muscatine, Burlington, Keokuk, Ottumwa, Urbandale, Des Moines, Carroll and Sioux City, as well as its Cedar Rapids headquarters.

“A key part of our growth strategy is to expand into new markets,” said Kevin Powell, president and CEO of Van Meter. “The addition of Dubuque and Clinton locations really rounds out our service territory and will create new opportunities for us in eastern Iowa as well as parts of Illinois and Wisconsin.”

“We have a long-standing relationship as peers in the electrical wholesale industry,” said Powell. “There is a mutual respect and common commitment to distribution that will ensure a smooth transition for both companies. We’re honored to play a part in Miller Electric’s succession plan.”

Van Meter is #27 among electrical distributors in the United States by sales volume, according to Electrical Wholesaling’s annual Top 200 list, with over $235 million in 2013 sales and 390 people at the time of the survey working in 13 locations in Iowa and Illinois. The company made the transition to employee ownership in 2005.