Electrical distributor buying/marketing group IMARK Group, Oxon Hills, Md., has joined forces with distributor cooperatives in two other vertical industries to create an umbrella group, United Cooperative Alliance of America. The venture joining IMARK with Blue Hawk in the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry and Embassy Group Ltd. in plumbing and pipe, valves and fittings (PVF) will seek to “enhance business practices across multiple verticals.”
“United Cooperative Alliance of America looks to help attract and retain the best membership for their respective verticals to enhance the cooperative model for the benefit of all its members as they move forward in a diverse and dynamic market,” the groups said in a joint press release.
The alliance’s mission is to enhance business practices across multiple verticals and help build upon the foundation already in place within Blue Hawk, Embassy and IMARK. All three organizations are member-owned and -governed, and share “a firm commitment of full disclosure to (their) members on all financial and directional issues of their respective organizations.”
The alliance has put together a board of advisors consisting of two board members from each organization along with the three respective presidents and/or CEOs.
The three distributor groups share a similar focus and purpose within their vertical industries. IMARK, established in 1996 as a cooperative of independent electrical distributors throughout the United States, focuses on electrical distributors serving the residential, commercial and industrial markets, with over 1,000 members with over 2,000 branch locations supported by 98 supplier partners.
Blue Hawk, based in Phoenix, was established in 2005 as a cooperative of independent HVACR distributors throughout the United States. It focuses on HVACR distributors serving the residential and commercial markets and has 224 Members with over 1,000 branch locations and the support of 109 supplier partners.
Embassy Group, Elgin, Ill., was established in 1991 as a cooperative of independent plumbing and PVF distributors throughout the United States. It focuses on distributors serving the residential, commercial and industrial markets, and has 67 members with over 500 branch locations, supported by 86 supplier partners.