History Graybar

1 history

1.1 history
1.2 incorporation western electric
1.3 formation of graybar
1.4 recent years

history
early history

during post-civil war reconstruction era, entrepreneur named enos barton (who had served telegrapher during war) worked western union in rochester, new york. during period, barton met george shawk, foreman of company s cleveland, ohio shop. when shop closed down, shawk bought of equipment , went business himself, making various kinds of electrical , other apparatus, including inventor s models. while on trip rochester, , barton, 26, agreed go partnership.

to raise $400 son needed share of business venture, barton s widowed mother mortgaged home.

the new firm, located @ 93 st. clair street in cleveland, grew. in may 1869, elisha gray, oberlin college professor , inventor of telegraphic equipment, bought out shawk s interest.

up until then, gray had been 1 of firm s top customers. had invented needle annunciator hotels , elevators, telautograph (a machine electrical transmission of writing), , telegraph answer-back call box. gray , barton joined forces investment of $2,500 each, gray senior partner. success of new company attracted attention of general anson stager, general superintendent of western union telegraph company. offered enter business equal partner gray , barton, providing company s headquarters moved cleveland chicago, illinois. in december 1869, company moved 162 s. water street, chicago. great great chicago fire in 1871 came within 2 blocks of small plant.

chicago, illinois building housed shops , offices of gray & barton in 1870s

the destruction caused fire resulted in greater growth gray & barton, company sold fire alarms , helped rebuild western union infrastructure in city.

incorporation western electric

graybar electric internal call system preserved @ edison , ford winter estates

after several relocations, in chicago, business incorporated western electric manufacturing company in 1872 meet capital requirements of telegraph supply business. new company closely allied elder western 3 of 5 directors western union executives. moreover, stager named president, although barton secretary/treasurer handled day-to-day affairs.

although young firm thrived in telegraph industry, not until invention of telephone alexander graham bell in 1876, , incandescent lamp thomas alva edison in 1879, western electric began gain stature large company.

part-owner gray held title of company electrician , spent days working on inventions, becoming increasingly less involved in operations of shop, , sold interest in western electric in 1875 , retired pursue independent research , teach @ oberlin college. in 1876, filed caveat u.s. patent office, announcing intention patent invention transmit vocal sounds telegraphically. gray dubbed telephone harmonic telegraph . hours earlier, however, alexander graham bell applied patent same idea, became known telephone. turned out, bell patented have never worked, while gray s idea have. western union acquired both gray s , edison s telephone patents challenge american bell telephony company (renamed at&t in 1899), led patent infringement suit , bell being named inventor of telephone. therefore bell s patent , not gray’s launched telecommunications industry.

as applications of electricity broadened, western electric not sold electric bells , batteries, telegraph keys, fire alarm boxes , hotel annunciators manufactured, many items purchased other manufacturers.

stager served president of western electric until shortly before death in 1885, , barton served president 1886 1908.

western electric company first company join in japanese joint venture foreign capital. invested in nippon electric company in 1899. western electric held 54% of nec @ time. representative in japan walter tenney carleton.

by turn of century, western electric had become main producer of telephone equipment in united states. manufactured arc lamps, lighting equipment , power apparatus, ranging small fans huge motors , generators. alongside manufacturing, distribution business continued grow, handling extensive line of electrical supplies such wire, conduit, wiring devices , pole line material.

by 1910s, company became world’s largest distributor , united states’ leading wholesaler of electrical supplies. these facts attracted investment american bell telephone company, discovered gray , barton purchase supplies , sell them telephone companies more efficiently companies acquire supplies themselves.

a chain of warehouses established across nation, , growth of distributing business continued increase through world war i , post-war period.

formation of graybar

graybar president albert l. salt (left) presents $3 million check western electric president edgar s. bloom, graybar employees’ down payment toward purchase of company in 1929.

scores of electrical supply manufacturers using company s distribution network, , business relationships formed. of these relationships, such general electric , square d company, more century old , still exist today. in 1926 separate entity established handling distribution of supplies , equipment. new entity named graybar in honor of company s founders, elisha gray , enos barton. first time major corporation had reverted original designation basis corporate name.

the graybar electric company capitalized @ $9 million , consisted of 59 distributing houses in cities across united states. graybar had become largest merchandiser of electrical supplies in world.

in 1929, graybar employees purchased company capitalized value, consisted of $3 million in cash , $6 million in cumulative preferred stock.

graybar s corporate headquarters located @ graybar building in new york city until 1982.

during 1930s, company explored many different avenues of income, including line of appliances , sewing machines under graybar brand. 1941 company s sales volume more $100 million, number of distribution houses had jumped 86, , there corresponding increase in personnel. year, remaining outstanding shares of stock purchased western electric $1 million check signed graybar president frank a. ketcham.

when country entered world war ii, graybar s ingenuity , knowledge of logistics proved of immeasurable value in providing war-needed goods. graybar became vital link between america s manufacturers , america s defense needs. defense-related business continued in postwar era, graybar again aiding military during subsequent korean war , vietnam war. overall company enjoyed strong growth in years following world war ii, momentum not checked until recession of mid-1970s, led graybar slashing workforce 20%. result, when economic conditions improved in 1980s graybar unable gear enough meet rising demand electrical products.

the corporate headquarters moved graybar building in new york city clayton, missouri in 1982.

recent years

the current graybar corporate headquarters @ graybar building, clayton, missouri.

graybar modernized infrastructure, implementing 1 of first computer-to-computer ordering systems, weak real estate market , slowdown in construction began take toll on bottom line. revenues, had approached $1.5 billion in 1980, improved $1.89 billion in 1990, fell $1.74 billion in 1991, prompting closure of regional offices , reduction in workforce. aside weak economy, becoming clear management graybar suffered internal problems; company losing market share on traditional electrical business while unable make desired progress on newer communications/data products.

business improved economy recovered in 1990s. despite sales growing $2.3 billion in 1994, management decided realign business starting in january 1995, forming 2 business groups, 1 electrical supplies , devoted increasingly important comm/data business. same year, graybar formed solutions providers alliance, teaming wholesale distributors kaman industrial technologies, wwr scientific products, , vallen corporation. accommodate aggressive new growth strategy, graybar added 45 locations, 2,400 employees, , 350 salespeople 1994 1999. improved network of warehouses, spending $144 million construct 16 major new facilities dramatically cut down on delivery time. result of these investments, company positioned take advantage of strong economy in final years of 1990s. in 1999 annual revenues topped $4.2 billion, while profits doubled during period, improving $36 million in 1995 $64 million in 1999. improvement in comm/data sector of particular importance. in 1991 accounted 17 percent of graybar sales, 1999 totaled 38 percent. graybar engaged in external growth, making several acquisitions in 1999 , 2000, largest being splane electric supply co., detroit, michigan, company $30 million in annual sales, 70 employees, , 6 locations. in 2000 graybar revenues improved $5.2 billion, while net income topped $66.2 million. support further expansion of nationwide distribution centers, instrumental company s growth, graybar placed $100 million bond offering in summer of 2001, largest financing effort in history. time 9 of 16 distribution centers started in 1997 operational , remaining 7 months away opening. once system in place, graybar able achieve long-term aim of being able ship customers within 24 hours throughout united states.

a downturn in economy, however, hurt business , forced management fine-tune company s strategy. in 2001 revenues fell $4.8 billion , business continued drop off in 2002 , 2003 $3.99 billion , $3.78 billion, respectively. had done in 1990s, graybar opted invest in infrastructure in order ready take advantage of economy when rebounded. company invested $90 million on new technology provide customers more detailed information on orders, deliveries, , payments. @ same time, encouraged 4,100 suppliers implement standardized bar code system create open, central database similar found in retail industry. in way, graybar distinguish rivals, graduating role of middleman supply chain expert capable of adding value process. once new system functional, graybar hoped able sell detailed reports both suppliers , customers in $73 billion electrical supply industry.

graybar s revenues had increased $4.1 billion in 2004, $4.3 billion in 2005, , $5 billion in 2006.

today, graybar operates network of more 260 locations throughout united states, canada , puerto rico authorized agents around world. graybar electric company, inc. engaged in distribution of electrical, communications , data networking products , provision of related supply services electrical , comm/data contractors, industrial plants, federal, state , local governments, commercial users, telephone companies , power utilities in north america. products graybar sells purchased others. products distributed company consist of wire , cable, lighting fixtures, power distribution equipment, comm/data products wide , local area networks, conduit, boxes , fittings, wiring devices, motor controls, industrial automation, lamps, industrial enclosures, tools , test equipment, station apparatus, fuses , transformers.

sales 2007 more $5.25 billion, positioning graybar @ #455 on fortune 500 listing , #55 privately held companies. january 1 june 30, 2008, graybar posted profit of $47.4 million on revenue of $2.7 billion six-month period, profit of $39.7 million, on revenue of $2.6 billion same period in 2007. in 2008 graybar named ”most admired” fortune 500 company in diversified wholesalers category. in 2008, graybar rose #439 spot on fortune 500 listing. sales 2009 $4.4 billion, positioning graybar @ #439 on fortune 500 listing , #64 on forbes list of america’s largest private companies.

in 2010, graybar had healthy revenue growth , sales rose $4.6 billion, 5.4% increase 2009. net income of $42.3 million meant 12.9% increase previous year.

graybar finished 2011 net sales of $5.37 billion, 16.4% increase compared 2010. company reported net income of $81.4 million, 93.9% previous year. graybar listed #451 on 2012 fortune 500 listing , ranked #69 on forbes america s largest private companies list in 2011.

graybar finished 2012 net sales of $5.4 billion , reported net income of $86.6 million. graybar ranked no. 465 on 2013 fortune 500 ranking of america s largest companies , ranked no.1 in diversified wholesalers industry category on 2013 fortune world s admired companies list.

in 2013, graybar finished year net sales of $5.7 billion , net income of $81.1 million. sales 2014 $6 billion, net income of $87.4 million. sales in 2015 hit record $6.1 billion, record net income of $91.1 million. in 2015, graybar acquired advantage industrial automation in duluth, georgia.

graybar independent distributor , still 1 of largest employee-owned companies in united states.