Franklin Electric Buys Griffith Electric

In a move that unites two of New Jersey’s oldest family-owned electrical distributors, Franklin Electric Co., Moorestown, N.J., acquired Griffith Electric Supply, Co. Inc., Trenton, N.J., on Jan. 4.

With the acquisition Franklin Electric now operates four additional branch locations in central and southern New Jersey and capitalize on Griffith’s relationships with electrical contractors in the commercial and residential markets  and with customers  in the government and  institutional markets. Both businesses are members of the  IMARK buying/marketing group.

Bill Walker, CEO and president of Franklin Electric, said in a post on www.njbiz.com, “The successful integration of both companies will allow us to better serve our combined customer base and expand our geographic footprint further into central and northern New Jersey.

“This is the coming together of two great companies with similar cultures,” said Griffith President Bill Goodwin in that report. “And we very much look forward to being a part of Franklin Electric.”

Franklin, a third-generation distributor of electrical supplies, was founded in 1920. Griffith Electric, founded in 1938 by the legendary Meta Griffith and her husband Bill, currently has branches in Trenton, Bridgewater, Robbinsville and Lumberton.

Both companies are ranked on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2015 Top 200 listing, with Franklin Electric at #173 with $28.1 million in 2014 sales and Griffith Electric Supply ranked at #194.