Electrical Distributors’ New Branches Flourishing Nationwide

Until the past two weeks, 2013 acquisition activity in the electrical wholesaling industry had been slower than in recent years. But Electrical Marketing’s editors don’t remember ever seeing a surge in branch openings similar to what’s going on right now.

In the past two years, electrical distributors have opened more than 40 new locations in the United States. That number is probably on the low side because it only counts the branches that Electrical Marketing’s editors were able to confirm through direct contact with the companies or through reports in the general press. Many other distributors have chosen to quietly open branches without publicizing them.

Several of these new locations have opened in areas where the oil and natural gas business is booming. In the Bakken region of North Dakota, over the past two years, distributors have opened at least five branches. Consolidated Electrical Distributors Inc. opened branches in Williston and Dickinson, N.D.; QED and Graybar Electric Co. opened a location in Dickinson; and Crescent Electric Supply now has a branch in Sidney, Mont. In Texas, Summit Electric Supply, Graybar and Elliott Electric Supply have all opened branches to service the oil and natural gas industries, and in the Marcellus shale region of Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York other distributors have expanded their facilities.

According to Elecgtrical Marketing data, Elliott Electric Supply has opened up the most new branches since 2011, with 16 new locations. The chart on this page lists the company’s 2013 branch openings and several, not all, of its 2012 openings. Bill Elliott, the company’s CEO, says the company’s branch expansion is a big part of its annual goal of increasing its sales 15% each year. The company’s 2012 sales were up 17% and its 2011 sales were up 37%, due in part to the opening of new branches, which added 241,717 square feet of new space in their territory. From 2011-2013, the company also moved 11 branches into new locations totaling 460,899 square feet. In 2013, Elliott Electric Supply will also be moving existing branches into new facilities in Springdale, Ark.; and Amarillo, Galveston and San Antonio, Texas.

Judging from the information Electrical Marketing has received from distributors over the past three years, Graybar Electric opened up the second most branches with 12 new locations. As mentioned in more detail on page 5, most recently the company announced some changes to its operations across the Boston metropolitan area, including a new sales counter and will-call/pick-up location in Westwood, Mass.; a relocated sales office and district office; and the move of its existing operations in Tulsa, Okla., into a new facility that’s twice the size of the previous location.

For Electrical Wholesaling’s complete listing of all branch openings since 2011 check out www.ewweb.com. This database is a work in progress and we will be glad to update this information in print and online as we receive it. Send any new branch information to Jim Lucy at [email protected].