Cape Electrical Supply Buys Utility Distributor

Feb. 1, 2014

Continuing its aggressive acquisition strategy in the industrial, MRO and utility markets, Cape Electrical Supply, Cape Girardeau, Mo., has acquired Utility Power Inc., Decatur, Ala., a 12-year-old utility specialist that provides utility products for municipalities, electrical service cooperatives and public-owned electric utilities. Utility Power will continue to operate from the Decatur location and becomes a dedicated distributor among Cape’s existing branch and distribution network. Utility Power former owners Jim Shipp, Mike Kennedy, and Charlie Douthit will remain active with their numerous utility customers.

 “We are excited to expand our operating footprint into Alabama with the addition of Utility Power,” Cape Electrical President and CEO Kyle Thoma said in a press release announcing the acquisition. “By incorporating their talented sales team’s experience and relationships, we will continue to strengthen our customer solution package by integrating Cape’s core construction and industrial business with Utility Power’s utility presence.”

Cape Electrical Supply has worked with municipals, rural electrical co-ops and investor-owned utilities on utility projects not only in its market along the Mississippi River corridor but in Santa Clara, Calif.; Anchorage, Alaska; and Wichita, Kan. The company says on its website, “We understand pole line construction, underground applications, meter box and transformer requirements, highway safety lighting, and the many areas relative to services performed by utility providers and sub-contractors. We also have a highly specialized and experienced team when it comes to power generation facilities. During the past several years, Cape Electrical has become a key supplier on many power plant build-outs around the country.”

The company has added more than a dozen locations during the past decade to increase its presence along the Mississippi River corridor, and it’s not the first time the company acquired a utility specialist. Bob Garrett, V.P. of business development and marketing, told Electrical Marketing  newsletter in an email  that Cape Electrical Supply expanded into the utility market in 2008 when it purchased the former ESE (Electrical Sales & Engineering) business in Bowling Green, Ky. and DELMO Electric in Fisk, Mo.

 “These acquisitions provided a runway for Cape Electrical Supply (CES) to enter the utility segment within our existing and adjoining market areas,” he said. “The addition of Utility Power will only enhance our growth efforts.“We look for future expansion in both our utility and C&I business segments. Our strategy includes both organic and acquisition growth plans.”