Kendall Electric Moves into Alabama and Tennessee With Roden Electrical Purchase

July 26, 2007
Expanding its geographic reach beyond Michigan and Indiana, Kendall Electric, Battle Creek, Mich., has purchased Roden Electrical Supply Co., Knoxville, Tenn., one of the largest independent electrical distributors in Alabama and Tennessee.

Expanding its geographic reach beyond Michigan and Indiana, Kendall Electric, Battle Creek, Mich., has purchased Roden Electrical Supply Co., Knoxville, Tenn., one of the largest independent electrical distributors in Alabama and Tennessee.

While Kendall Electric would not comment on the acquisition at presstime, several industry observers speculated that Roden was of interest to Kendall because of some key similarities between the two companies. Both companies are distributors of Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation products and are strong in the automotive market. Roden is a major Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation distributor in eastern and western Tennessee and central Alabama.

Roden Electrical Supply will operate as a subsidiary of Kendall Electric. Roden President Sam McCamy III and Executive Vice President Jeff McCamy will stay with the company, which will continue to operate under the Roden name. Sam McCamy III will become general manager of the Roden division.

Kendall Electric is a full-line electrical distributor serving the industrial, OEM and construction markets since 1930. The company has 45 locations in Indiana and Michigan and more than $400 million in sales. The 100 percent employee-owned company ranks as the nation’s 25th largest electrical distributor, according to Electrical Wholesaling magazine’s 2007 Top 200 Electrical Distributors listing.

With more than 200 employees, 12 locations and $120 million-plus in annual sales, Roden Electrical Supply ranks as the nation’s 68th largest electrical distributor, according to EW’s listing. Roden distributes electrical and automation and control products to industrial and contractor customers in the south central United States.

Roden Electrical Supply was founded in 1936 by Doug Roden and Sam McCamy Sr.

Vetus Partners, an investment banker in Cleveland, served as the lead advisor to Roden’s shareholders on the transaction.