Forty-five minutes north of Texas’ capital, Austin, sits Temple, TX. At the crossroads between I-35 and the slated I-14 to run from El Paso, TX, to Georgia, Temple has experienced a +19% increase in jobs from 2009 to 2019 and a +17% percent population increase during that timeframe, as well, according to the Temple Economic Development Corp.
“The growth happening in the Temple area is incredible,” said District Manager John Moreno, in the press release. “CES is glad we could put a branch here to help service customers to the best of our abilities.”
Not only is Temple close to major metropolitan cities, but it also sits just half an hour outside of Fort Hood Military Base, the largest active-duty armored post in the country. The CES Temple team started looking for a location in July of last year. Wanting to pick the best location possible, they signed a lease over 10 months ago and began renovations to make the branch look the absolute best.
“The coolest part of this renovation process for the team was getting to use local construction companies and contractors to help us turn it into the ideal spot,” said Branch Manager Keith Kellum in the press release. “Getting to build those relationships in the community is important to us. Tamlite provided the lighting inside the branch, and it was really cool to see things come full circle when putting the branch together.”
CES Temple is led by Kellum, an electrical industry veteran who joined the industry over three decades ago. Currently wrapping up his 32nd year in the industry, he has experience in all areas of distribution. Starting his career in New Orleans and moving to Texas, Keith is a former branch manager of another CES location.