Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED), Dallas, TX, has agreed to buy Electrical Engineering & Equipment Co. (better known as 3E), Windsor Heights, IA, in a deal that would add 365 employees and 16 locations in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to the nationwide CED footprint.
3E opened for business in 1920 and has grown primarily through organic expansion, plus some acquisitions including City Electric Supply in Iowa City in 2011 and Electric Fixture & Supply, Omaha, in 2008. The company serves the full range of electrical customer groups including electrical contractors, industrial plants, commercial entities, institutional facilities, OEMs, panel shops, utilities and government agencies. Along with electrical supply the company has generator, motor repair and custom fabrication facilities in Des Moines.
Among its primary lines 3E carries Square D/Schneider Electric, Legrand and Hubbell products. CED’s lines in the area are more of a mix.
Acquiring 3E adds eight locations to the six CED has already in Iowa’s markets, where CED operates under a mix of CED, Universal Electric Supply and Culver Hahn Electric Supply brands. In Nebraska, CED has eight locations and adds seven more from 3E. The companies’ existing facilities overlap in Des Moines, Davenport/Quad Cities and Sioux City in Iowa, as well as Omaha, Lincoln, Columbus and Norfolk in Nebraska. 3E’s location in Summerset, SD, just north of Rapid City, will be CED’s first location in South Dakota.
CED has been relatively quiet on the acquisition front over the past couple of years, since its acquisitions in 2015 of SEFCO in Jackson, MS, and Electric Motor Sales & Supply, Chattanooga, TN. 3E was ranked #36 and CED was ranked #5 on Electrical Wholesaling’s 2017 Top 200 ranking.