Border States Electric (BSE), a 100 percent employee-owned company, reached an agreement to purchase Shealy Electrical Wholesalers, an electrical wholesale supply leader in North and South Carolina. Shealy officially joined BSE August 1. This acquisition adds 350 employees in 17 branches. Shealy employees are now employee-owners and share in the financial success of Border States Electric, a 100 percent (employee stock ownership plan) ESOP-owned company.
“I welcome Shealy to the BSE family of employee-owners,” said Tammy Miller, CEO. “Together both organizations will become even better and will continue to focus on helping our customers succeed.”
“We spent a lot of time looking at different leadership and ownership transition options, keeping in mind what would be best for our customers, employees and supplier partners,” said Bill DeLoache, Shealy CEO. “After much consideration, we concluded that an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) best met these objectives. Border States is a great distributor and an established, top-performing ESOP company.”
“We are excited to welcome Shealy Electrical Wholesalers to our employee-owned company. Shealy is a market leader with a proven track record of sustainable growth. Their values and belief in service excellence, strong vendor relationships and the power of employee-ownership align well with our culture at Border States,” said Tammy Miller, BSE CEO.
Our Original Announcement
Shealy will continue to be led by DeLoache and Brent Spear, COO. Don Masters, former Shealy senior vice president-installer market, will become the BSE southeast region vice president. David White, Shealy’s president, will become the executive vice president for BSE. 
Shealy’s name changes slightly to Shealy Electrical Wholesalers, a division of Border States, and their 17 branches will form BSE’s new southeast region. The southeast region corporate office is in Columbia, South Carolina, with Masters at the helm.
“Like Shealy, Border States is an independent distributor and very engaged in our industry,” said White. “Our two companies share similar core values based on doing what’s right for our customers, employees, vendors and the communities where we live and work. We both possess a strong desire to grow and encourage innovation. This is a great fit.”
BSE supplies products and services to construction, industrial and utility customers. The 100 percent employee-owned company is the eighth largest electrical distributor in the U.S. as ranked by Electrical Wholesaling magazine. BSE has more than 2,200 employees and 97 branches in 18 states. Corporate headquarters are located in Fargo, N.D.
As we join forces, we become even better together. Welcome Shealy, to the Border States family of employee-owners.