Our Story

Our company was founded on June 1, 1907 by Claude W. Johnson, Sr., an early century entrepreneur who was ahead of his time. His desire was to create a service oriented, small business friendly company that offered one-stop shopping to meet the needs of Cincinnati companies that were discovering the new world of electricity and its usage. Many of the manufacturers he chose to partner with are still our marquee partners today. These quality brands, along with hundreds of others,allow our company to meet the needs of the marketplace while consistently setting new standards for innovative services.

Claude W. Johnson, Jr., our founder's son, led the company from 1946 until 1998. "Bud," as he was known to his family and friends, joined his father in the business in 1937, serving as president from 1946 to 1989 then chairman until his death in 1998.  Bud was very active in his local community and in the industry.  He served with both the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Electrical Distributors. In our family business, he was a marketing innovator, playing an active role in bringing features such as drive-in windows, on-site trade shows, mobile home product demonstrations, and customer newsletters to the electrical industry. Bud loved hosting customers, whether it be at our well known seminars and trade shows, or at tail gate parties for the Reds and Bengals.

We are now celebrating our 119th anniversary year and our third generation of family ownership and operation; members of the fourth generation have joined our team as well. With our two centrally located warehouses/counters, over three million dollars of inventory, and a staff of dedicated employees, we look forward to fulfilling your electrical business needs.

We were founded with the motto: "We stake our reputation on the brands we represent." For this reason, we align ourselves with manufacturers who are known for quality products, delivered at competitive prices. Our purpose is to provide the right solutions to our customers on the first try, every time. This holds true for all market segments, from automation products to lighting, lamps and construction products. This philosophy has enabled us to maintain long term relationships with both our customers and our vendors. Our mission remains to provide unsurpassed customer service based on our core values of Trust, Honesty, Integrity and Stewardship.

To learn more about our dedicated staff members, check out our Meet the Team page here.