In a near repeat performance of 2004, the Top 200 finished 2005 with year-to-year sales up an average of 15.1 percent — 0.2 percentage points higher than 2004’s 14.9 percent gain.
CLIMBING THE CHART Several full-line electrical
distributors climbed the Top 200 ranking this year with incredible
year-to-year revenue increases of more than 30 percent. Crawford
Electric Supply Co. (CESCO), Dallas, jumped from No. 45 to No. 36; QED
Inc., Denver, landed at No. 65 after last year’s No. 79; Crum Electric
Supply Co. Inc., Casper, Wyo., leaped from No. 153 to No. 122; and
Zeller Corp., Rochester, N.Y., shot from No. 191 to No. 156.
Winlectric, Dayton, Ohio, saw the largest increase in sales — a
whopping 63 percent — that largely can be attributed to last year’s
acquisition of Noland Co., Newport News, Va. Winlectric also credits
internal growth of same-store sales, price increases and new locations
for the revenue boost, which moved the distributor from No. 36 to No.
28.
DROPPING FROM THE CHART In
addition to Noland Co., four other distributors said goodbye to their
spots on the list as a result of 2005 acquisitions. Nunn Electric
Supply, Amarillo, Texas, was purchased by Border States, Fargo, N.D.;
Stuart C. Irby, Jackson, Miss., was acquired by Sonepar USA,
Philadelphia; Cain Electrical Supply, Big Spring, Texas, joined
Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED), Westlake Village, Calif.;
and TVESCO (Tennessee Valley Electric Supply Co.), Memphis, Tenn., was
bought by Hughes Supply, Orlando, Fla. Subsequently, Home Depot,
Atlanta, acquired Hughes Supply in 2006 for an unprecedented 11.8x
EBITDA (earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).
Along with Hughes Supply, five more
distributors appearing on this year’s Top 200 list have been acquired
in 2006 and will subsequently drop from next year’s list. Richard
Worthy, former CEO of Sonepar, is on a buying spree with his newly
formed U.S. Electrical Services Inc. (USESI), Chester Springs, Pa. In
May, USESI announced it would acquire Electrical Wholesalers Inc.,
Hartford, Conn.; and Monarch Electric Co., West Caldwell, N.J. U.S.
Electrical Services is expected to announce more acquisitions this
year.
The three other Top 200 distributors acquired
so far this year were Calvert Wire & Cable Corp., Brook Park, Ohio,
which was bought by Communications Supply Corp. (CSC), Carol Stream,
Ill.; CLS, Hartford, Conn., acquired by Rexel Inc., Dallas; and
Boggis-Johnson Electric Co., Milwaukee, which was purchased by Viking
Electric Supply/Sonepar, Minneapolis.
One can only wonder how many more electrical
wholesalers will be gobbled up by the end of the year. (See the
acquisition chart on page 28 for more mergers in 2005 and 2006.)
