Expanding its presence into the eastern half of North Carolina, State Electric Supply Co., Huntington, W.Va., has purchased Shepherd Electric Supply Co., Raleigh, N.C. The acquisition closed July 1.
State Electric Supply, with 608 employees and 34 locations in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, ranks as No. 19 in EW’s listing. Shepherd Electric Supply, with 81 employees and six locations, is ranked the nation’s No. 168th largest electrical distributor, according to Electrical Wholesaling magazine’s 2007 Top 200 Electrical Distributors listing. Shepherd Electric operates three branches in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham-Cary) as well as branches in Goldsboro, Kinston and Roanoke Rapids.
With the purchase of Shepherd, State Electric will have 40 locations in five states, including 13 in North Carolina.
“State Electric had seven locations in the central part of North Carolina,” said John Spoor, State Electric’s president and chief operations officer. “The acquisition now gives us a presence with a premier distributor and market share in what would be called eastern North Carolina. So it absolutely provides us six additional locations in markets that we were not servicing. “It’s a wonderful acquisition for State Electric,” he continued. “It is just a perfect fit culturally. Shepherd has operated for a number of years just exactly like State Electric so it’s a perfect marriage between two strong companies.”
Shepherd Electric has had three generations of the Shepherd family involved in the business over its 60-year existence. The business will continue to operate with the Shepherd name, and all employees and existing management team will remain. Dan Shepherd, former chairman, CEO and owner of Shepherd Electric, will continue as a consultant. “I have known the principals of State Electric for many years and their culture closely matches ours,” said Shepherd. “They have an excellent reputation in the industry and their business ethics are impeccable. State is active in a variety of markets and we hope to use their strength to help us expand. I think it is a ‘win-win’ situation for both companies. They will be great corporate citizens and a good addition to our local business community.”