Southwire Refining Rep Sales Force Following Alflex Acquisition

Sept. 10, 2004
Southwire Co., Carrollton, Ga., has made a number of major rep changes in the United States following its acquisition of Alflex in late July.

Southwire Co., Carrollton, Ga., has made a number of major rep changes in the United States following its acquisition of Alflex in late July. The rep changes are just about complete, according to Winn Wise, Southwire’s vice president, construction, sales and marketing.

He said Southwire has made four major rep changes in the United States:

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  • Appointing Brazill Brothers, Metuchen, N.J., to represent Southwire in New York City; New Jersey; eastern Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Maryland; and Delaware.

  • Bringing the Senator brand back to the Arizona and California markets. To do this, Southwire appointed Electric Sales Unlimited, Santa Fe Springs, Calif., to represent the Senator brand in Arizona and California. In addition, Electric Sales Unlimited will represent Southwire in Las Vegas. Southwire relies on a single-brand strategy in Las Vegas and does not use the Senator brand. Electrorep Inc., Sausalito, Calif., will continue to represent Southwire in the entire state of California.

  • Hiring Fields Electrical Sales Inc., Lebanon, Ohio, to handle three states, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia, for Southwire.

  • Appointing J.D. Martin Co. Inc., Dallas, to represent Senator in all of Texas.

Other changes include going to a single-brand strategy in upper New York state, where Leslie Osterman Associates, Syracuse, N.Y., will handle Southwire.

Although Southwire had to make difficult decisions in severing ties with several long-term agents, Wise said the company made the changes that it felt was right to be able to not only retain the Alflex business, but “also continue to grow across our entire product line.”

Wise said Southwire has always gone to market with manufacturers’ reps, and that the company will continue to use a combination of manufacturers’ reps and factory salespeople to sell the brand. About 15 independent manufacturers’ reps represent Southwire; 15 manufacturers’ reps represent Southwire’s Senator brand and about 20 factory salespeople sell Southwire. All manufacturers’ reps handling the Southwire or Senator brands also will now sell Alflex, Wise said.

Over the years, Wise said Southwire had moved away from rep warehouses except in Puerto Rico. He said rep warehouses are still uncommon for Southwire, but that the company will use reps to warehouse its products in New York City, with Brazill Brothers, and in Ohio with Fields Electrical Sales.

Electrical manufacturers’ reps now handling the Southwire and Senator brands said they were happy about their appointments but sad to end long-time relationships with other electrical manufacturers. Chris Brazill of Brazill Brothers said it’s “a little bittersweet” for his agency. “The exciting part is Southwire is a leader in the industry and we’re really pumped about that,” he said.

At the same time, Brazill acknowledged that the company had to terminate a 36-year relationship with Essex Wire and a 31-year relationship with Service Wire. Brazill Brothers also had to give up Alcan Cable and Aetna Insulated Wire in New York. Brazill Brothers has been the Alflex agent for the last three years, he said.

The addition of Southwire does not take Brazill Brothers into any new market areas, but Chris Brazill said the line would bolster its efforts “tremendously” in its existing markets.

Southwire launched the Senator brand in 1970 as a complementary product package to the Southwire line. The Senator line continues to offer the same mix of products as the Southwire brand.

Southwire’s acquisition of Alflex includes manufacturing facilities in Long Beach, Calif., and Rocky Mount, N.C. Both plants produce a variety of armored cable and flexible conduit products for residential, commercial, industrial and original equipment manufacturer markets.

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