Coburn Supply Buys Bay Electric Supply
Coburn Supply Co. has acquired Bay Electric Supply Inc. property and assets located in League City, Texas.
Bay Electric Supply has been a family- owned and -operated, full-line electrical supply store since its founding in 1978. This long-standing League City location now joins the more than 60 Coburn’s branches and showrooms alongside three Coburn’s distribution centers to serve customers across the south.
“The addition of Bay Electric Supply allows Coburn’s to expand our support in the metro-Houston area,” said Patrick Maloney, president of Coburn Supply Company. “We are proud to continue to provide top-quality products and excellent service to professional and homeowner customers in east Texas.”
Coburn’s will retain all Bay Electric Supply employees and focus the location on electrical and HVAC products, offering the stellar support, service and solutions that customers expect from Coburn’s.
For more information, visit coburns.com.
Graycliff Partners Invests in Republic Companies
Graycliff Partners recently announced that it has made an investment in IMARK member Republic Companies. Based in Davenport, Iowa, Republic distributes both electrical equipment and HVAC supplies for use in residential, commercial and industrial locations.
The company serves more than 1,000 customers from five locations across Iowa and Illinois.
Founded in 1916, Republic supplies more than 40,000 different products and provides logistical support, training, technical assistance and other value-add services with a focus on customer service, delivery speed, reliability and product availability.
“Republic has established itself as a key partner to its customers, providing the products, support services and fast response times that are vital to the success of both its customers and manufacturing customers,” said Brandon Martindale, partner at Graycliff. “We’re excited to partner with the Republic team to support existing initiatives and capitalize on growth opportunities, while prioritizing the exceptional customer-oriented culture that has been the cornerstone of the company’s strong reputation for more than 100 years.”
“As a third-generation family-owned company, it was of utmost importance to find a financial partner that understood our vision and valued our legacy,” said Mark Kilmer, Republic’s CEO of 25 years. “Graycliff’s approach of providing strategic support and guidance while still maintaining Republic’s culture made them the right fit for us. They have deep experience in working and growing companies like ours and we couldn’t be more excited about our partnership.”
Republic was advised by Uplift Partners.
For more information, visit republicco.com.
Inline Electric Supply Hosts Energy Efficiency & Emerging Technologies Expo
Inline Electric Supply recently hosted its 14th annual Energy Efficiency & Emerging Technologies Expo at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The event boasts a large-scale venue where 300+ attendees and 150+ vendors and Inline employees can see new products and receive CEU credits, if needed.
The goal of the expo is to give vendors an opportunity to interact and display new products directly to the customer base. These customer interactions also strengthen the relationships between vendor representatives and the sales team at Inline. Customers enjoy being able to come and see the latest and greatest and they also get an opportunity to take part in free CEU classes offered by some vendors.
This year, the classes offered were: “How We Light Outdoor Spaces: The New Rules” from Jason Hong with Cooper Lighting, “How Good is Good Enough? Understanding LED Fixture Performance” from Michelle Sipe-Exaros with Lutron and “Human Centric Lighting” from Stephanie Cardamone with Acuity.
Keith James of Siemens has been participating in the expo since its inception in 2009.
“Inline offers us an incredible opportunity to talk with existing customers and meet new customers in one day on a large scale. We display product that is fully operational and walk the customers through any questions they may have. Our team looks forward to the expo every year,” James said.
For more information, visit inlinelectric.com.
Electric Supply of Tampa Acquires Frontier Lighting
IMARK Electrical member Electric Supply of Tampa LLC in Tampa, Florida has acquired IMARK Electrical member Frontier Lighting Inc.
in Clearwater, Florida and its other locations in Bradenton and Fort Myers, Florida.
Frontier Lighting Inc. will become branches of Electric Supply of Tampa LLC. Until further notice, all invoices should be sent directly to Frontier Lighting Inc. as it will continue to operate as a separate pay point.
For more information, visit electricsupplyinc.com.
Paul Wolf Lighting and Electric Supply Ltd. Celebrates 60 Years
Paul and Annette Wolf opened Paul Wolf Lighting on Queen Street in Toronto in 1963. They had one driver and sold lamps and ballasts.
As the business grew to offer more lighting and electrical products, it moved to 775 King St. West in Toronto. It spent 30 years at that location and continued to flourish. Many distributors tried to compete with Paul Wolf but the business had a couple of advantages—parking and the ability to source hard-to-find and obsolete products.
Paul Wolf was the type of person that worked on a handshake. He often reminded colleagues to “be fair and the rest shall fall into place.” In 1996, he decided to sell his business to some of his lifelong company employees. Fortunately, he sold the company to others who had the same mindset as him and who helped make the Paul Wolf Lighting & Electrical Supply the name brand it is in the Greater Toronto area today.
Shortly thereafter, a condo developer moved into the area and purchased the property from Paul Wolf. The business is now located at 425 Alliance Ave. in Toronto and boasts 60,000 square feet, four partners and a staff of 50.
The company’s four current owners have now run the company as long as Paul Wolf did, with three of them actually working there much longer than him. Cosimo Amato, Domenic Calabria and Scott Schooley have spent their working careers at Paul Wolf. The company is happy to celebrate 60 years in business and celebrate Amato, Calabria and Schooley for their more than 40 years of service each.
For 60 years, Paul Wolf Lighting & Electric Supply Ltd. has succeeded because of its past and present employees and dedicated customers. The business looks forward to the next 60 years of serving customers throughout the Toronto area.
For more information, visit paulwolf.com.
IMARK Canada Adds New Member in Toronto
Toronto Lighting Supply Inc. in Toronto, Ontario became a member of IMARK Canada on March 1, 2023.
Jonathan Bayer will be the principal of contact. His email address is jon@torontolightingsupply.com.
For more information, visit torontolightingsupply.com.
K/E Electric Supply Opens Fifth Location
K/E Electric Supply recently announced the grand opening of its fifth branch in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The new branch is located at 4040 Varsity Drive in Ann Arbor, MI 48108, just off I-94 highway. The branch is immediately open for business and is ready to service the local community and surrounding area with great customer service from Team K/E.
K/E Electric hosted a Grand Opening Celebration on December 15 by welcoming their customers, vendors and employees. The new branch allows Team K/E the opportunity to service their clients and contractors in the surrounding area far more efficiently than before. Available products and services at the Ann Arbor branch include colored aluminum wire and cutting capabilities. The Ann Arbor cut room can support all Team K/E locations within 24 hours via deliveries through their daily transfers.
The renovation was designed and conducted by Co-Owner Rhandi Kuchenmiester and Branch Manager Tom Murphy. The two worked together to ensure they maximized the logistics and operational efficiency of the building. The branch was designed with the intention of enhanced benefits to better accommodate the needs of customers by offering a unique personable sales experience.
For more information, visit keelectricsupplycorp.com.
ACES Holds Second Annual Manufacturer and Agency Recognition Event
Atlantic Coast Electric Supply Co. (ACES), headquartered in Summerville, South Carolina, held its second annual Circle of Distinction awards presentation on February 7 at the Lowcountry Conference Center, also located in Summerville. The purpose of this event was to annually recognize the nearly 50 selected manufacturers and manufacturer representative agencies for outstanding performance in support of ACES in 2022.
Each participant received a commemorative circle award representing their membership in the 2022 selection. There were eight best-in-class categories awarded and three major awards for overall performance. Greg Brunner, operations manager in Summerville commented, “We have learned that communication and trust with solid partners such as everyone in this room is how we will continue to move forward, continue to grow and have products available for our customers.”
Manufacturer Best-in-Class Award Recipients for 2022
- Siemens – Sales
- RAB – Supply Chain Management
- IDEAL Industries – Training and Development
- Atkore-AFC Cable Systems – New Products
- Milwaukee – Marketing
Agency Best-in-Class Award Recipients for 2022
- KMS Sales – Sales
- United Electrical Sales – Training and Development
- United Electrical Sales – Marketing
Outstanding Overall Performance Awards for 2022
- Siemens – 2022 Manufacturer of the Year
- United Electrical Sales – 2022 Agency of the Year
- Tony Wechter (Siemens) – 2022 Professional of the Year.
Casey Getz, member of the ACES leadership team, took a moment to recognize the fact that all the manufacturers and agencies represented at the event were true “Rock Stars” whether they were a best-in-class recipient or not, and a valued partner to ACES.
For more information, visit atlanticcoastelectricsupply.com.
United Electric Announces Inaugural Supplier Award Winners
United Electric Supply recently announced inaugural supplier awards for Overall Strategic Supplier and Strategic Marketing Supplier. The awards were given at United Electric’s Annual Sales Summit dinner held on March 2. The selection process was based on 2022 data, utilizing specific weighted criteria.
The award program is a way for United Electric to recognize key suppliers for their efforts in the creation and development of strategic initiatives that generate growth for both companies. Each year they provide feedback to their suppliers from their branch, sales and logistics teams on what’s working and areas for improvement.
Atkore was named Overall Strategic Supplier. “We are highly aligned with Atkore, most notably our mutual focus on our customers’ success,” said George Vorwick, president & CEO, United Electric Supply. “Our planning efforts support our strategic initiatives and are implemented with precision.”
A sample of the categories evaluated for Overall Strategic Supplier include sales growth, Net Profit Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), hit rate data and operational efficiency including on-time deliveries and shipping errors.
Schneider Electric was named Strategic Marketing Supplier. “The team at Schneider supports initiatives across our organization and sets annual goals that challenge our efforts to strategically grow,” said Becky Starkey, director of marketing, United Electric Supply. “Their digital team and Marketing Resource Center are a key differentiator in the market for distributors. Digital evolution is a journey and Schneider has proven they are willing to continually support our efforts to grow and progress.”
For more information, visit unitedelectric.com.
Warshauer Electric Supply Announces Staff Promotions
Warshauer recently announced that Tyler Thompson has been promoted to the position of sales manager and Melissa Baxter has assumed the new position of generator inside sales manager.
Thompson has shown tremendous growth and commitment since starting at Warshauer as a solar sales specialist nearly 11 years ago. He has evolved from a successful, well-rounded sales professional into a member of the management team in a “catch-all” capacity.
Thompson took the initiative to become an expert in new product lines including Infratech heaters, electric vehicle chargers and electrical supplies, all while demonstrating a positive attitude and welcoming new opportunities to grow. Fully committed 24/7, Thompson takes a lead role in kicking off almost every Warshauer Tech Continuing Education Class, endless nighttime contractor association meetings and serves as the lead liaison to the company’s students in the Warshauer Trade Introduction to Electrical Contracting training program.
In his new role, all general sales professionals will report directly to Thompson, and he will work closely with Warshauer’s Corporate Counter Sales Manager Joe Cuccurullo to support the counter sales team as well.
Baxter will oversee all facets of the company’s Generator Inside Service Department, which includes generator parts, estimates and service contracts. She joined Warshauer in 2019 and has steadily risen through the ranks. This transition presents an opportunity for both her and the Generator Inside Service Division, which has experienced tremendous growth and has become a critical division for Warshauer Electric over the past few years. Since starting with Warshauer, Baxter has demonstrated outstanding commitment to her work and guiding result-driven teams.
For more information, visit warshauer.com.
Crescent Hires Senior Director of Industrial Sales
Crescent Electric Supply recently hired Tom Fechter as senior director of industrial sales.
In this newly created role, Fechter is responsible for industrial sales growth and will enhance the company’s subject matter expertise in key markets nationwide, such as conveyance and material handling. In addition, he will focus on the continued development and reinforcement of Crescent’s standardized sales process, designed to help create more meaningful business outcomes and greater productivity for customers.
“We welcome Tom to Team Crescent,” said Edwin Ojeda, senior vice president of industrial business. “Tom has an impressive pedigree of leading industrial sales teams and partnering with customers to deliver the best possible results. Customer needs and expectations continue to evolve, and we are embracing this as an opportunity to listen more, do more and invest more, so we can serve our customers better than ever before. Tom is a proven leader, customer focused and a great addition to our organization.”
Prior to joining Crescent, Fechter demonstrated growth and success by earning positions of increasing responsibility at Werner Electric Supply Company, where he most recently held the position of vice president of industrial sales.
For more information, visit crescentelectric.com.
Winsupply Names New President
The Winsupply Inc. Board of Directors has elected Jeffrey M. Dice as president of Winsupply Inc. Dice replaces Winsupply Inc. President John McKenzie, who retired on February 28.
“For more than 18 years, Jeff Dice has been an essential, respected contributor to Winsupply’s success,” said Rick Schwartz, chairman of the board. “Jeff brings both depth and breadth of experience across all of Winsupply’s support services—plus a long list of continuous, positive results—to his new role of leading the entire Winsupply organization on its trajectory of growth.”
Dice joined Winsupply in 2004 as a regional financial officer for Winsupply Group Services—Dayton. Soon, he moved into internal audit and then into leadership roles: first for electronic data integration, and then for acquisitions as a due diligence specialist. In 2011, he was named chief financial officer for Noland Co., Winsupply’s largest acquisition to date. In 2016, he began leading more than 150 employees as senior vice president for Winsupply’s Shared and Advisory Services. As Winsupply’s chief information officer from 2018 to 2020, he restructured Winsupply’s growing IT organization.
Dice became Winsupply Equity Group president in 2020, accountable for shareholder relations, finance, risk, real estate and acquisition assessments. As president of Winsupply Inc., Dice will lead business strategy development and execution, and oversee the daily operation of the Winsupply organization.
“Over the years, Jeff’s determined leadership, financial acumen, strong relationships and strategic thinking have advanced Winsupply,” Schwartz said. “Because of his longtime experience, sustained results and ability to champion Winsupply’s philosophy, business model and key principles, he will move easily and quickly into his new role as president, providing the continuity of leadership necessary as we begin our 68th year of growth and success.”
For more information, visit winsupplyinc.com.