Brisk Business: Stanion Wholesale Electric Services Multiple Niche Markets in Great Bend & Surrounding Areas

Even if you have never stepped foot in Stanion Wholesale Electric Co. Inc., you are most likely reaping benefits from its products every day. Whether at home or work, Stanion materials keep the electricity humming and the lights shining.

“When the electrician comes to your house to put in a new receptacle or upgrade service, he is probably using our products,” Great Bend Branch Manager Ron Harms said. “Or when the utility company needs materials to build power lines overhead or underground, they come to us.”

The company’s structure zeroes in on five main departments: utility, lighting, automation, telcom and food processing. If that last one doesn’t seem to fit in the series, think packing plants in southwest Kansas.

Assembly Line- Stanion employees Jesse Watson and Louis Trapp assemble cutout/arrestor combinations in Stanion’s expansive warehouse. It takes this pair about ten minutes to assemble between 6 and 8 of the utility combos. “These ‘combos’ are essentially large utility surge protectors,” Manager Ron Harms says. “They’re similar to the surge protectors you’d use in your home, just on a lot larger scale.”

“Each of these markets has specialized needs,” Harms said. “And they are fairly technical. Therefore, our strategy is to put the people who can concentrate on these special industries into the appropriate positions.

“For example, the utility market is significantly different than the electric system at your house,” he explained. “Higher voltage means different products for a different set of circumstances. By having our employees understand these products and how they are applied means each branch can share information.”

The Great Bend Stanion Wholesale, 3315 12th, is one of the firm’s 16 locations in Kansas; there is also one in Springfield, Mo. They cover all of Kansas and parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Nebraska. The company also sells to many other locations inside and outside the United States.

“People are surprised to learn the extent of Stanion,” Harms said. “They think this is the only location but we are located throughout the state. We consider ourselves to be a full-line distributor for contractors, and the industrial, automation, lighting and utility markets.”

In many cases, when contractors and subcontractors perform electrical work, they buy materials from Stanion.

“We serve an important function for them,” Harms commented. “We are the source for their materials to do their daily work.

“We also have a number of contractors heavily involved in the oilfield,” he added. “We sell a lot in the oilfield. It is a significant part of our business.”

Stanion’s five departments serve not only the contractor and utility markets, but they also meet the needs of commercial/industrial concerns. Locally, those industries include Great Bend Packing, Fuller Brush and Superior Essex in Hoisington. This market is also significant for Stanion.

Stanion’s Staff- Pictured are most of the employees who make up the Great Bend Stanion location’s staff. From left to right: Warehouseman and truck driver Kyle Mermis, Assistant Manager Steve Schamaun, Warehouseman Jon Dannebohm, Administrative Assistant Patsy Richards, Head Counterman Adam Ledesma, Branch Manager Ron Harms, and Counterman Brian Trudeau. Outside Salesman Alan Westfall is not pictured. Manager Ron Harms commented, “Our staff works hard to deliver the quality service that our customers have grown to expect.”

Harms noted that the Great Bend Stanion is actually two operations under one roof. One is the branch office, which has eight employees; the other is the utility operation, which has six. The service territory takes in much of central Kansas.

Mike Kaiser, Great Bend, began working for Stanion eight years ago in the warehouse. He moved up to inside sales and quotations, and is now utility director.

“Our Utility Department located in Great Bend is the utility central warehouse for all of Stanion Wholesale,” Kaiser said. “We are able to service all 17 Stanion warehouses out of one centralized location.

“Additional utility material in our Hays, Pratt and Garden City locations have broadened our ability to serve customers in a timely and efficient manner,” he added.

Larry Westfall is the corporately-employed automation specialist in Great Bend. “He is available to work on a job’s materials list and is also available to other locations,” Harms said. “Larry is out in the other branches at some point every week.”

Standing By- Stanion Wholesale Electric is one of the few companies who reserve an entire portion of their warehouse for supplies needed during emergency situations such as thunderstorms or tornadoes. “After the Greensburg tornado, we realized that we weren’t adequately prepared for emergency situations,” Manager Ron Harms says. “We reorganized a little bit so that we could dedicate an entire bay in our warehouse strictly for electrical supplies often called for during emergency weather situations. Fortunately, we’ve only had to dip into this reserve once or twice since then, but it’s important that we’re always prepared.”

The company’s Lighting Department personnel talk with customers about the appearance and environment they want to create, and then provide the appropriate products.

Its Telcom Department specializes in voice and data communications solutions by providing products for any industrial network application or group information system. This includes data communications and associated control networks. It also offers solutions for residential communications systems.

Jud and Bobbe Stanion founded Stanion Wholesale Electric Co. in 1961 when they bought an electrical repair and supply business in Pratt. They still live in Pratt and are retired, for the most part. “However,” Harms said, “Jud remains an influential man in the business.”

Bill Keller of Pratt is president and is married to Cindy, who is Jud’s daughter. “It is truly a family-held company,” Harms said.

The Great Bend location opened in 1965 on Main Street. It later moved to 3410 10th, where Stueder Contractors is now; the current location at 12th and Harrison opened in 1982.

“I came in 1993,” Harms recalled. “I worked primarily in utility-related sales at this location. During that time frame, we set up a utility specialist group and I managed that until August 2006.

Steady Business- Starting at 7:30 a.m. every week day, the staff of Stanion Wholesale Electric starts assisting their customers with their electrical needs. “We have countless customers,” Manager Ron Harms says. “We provide service to everyone from electrical contractors to utility companies. And even though we don’t officially open until 7:30, people in the community know that our dependable employees arrive early and are sometimes here waiting for us.”

“Then this branch manager position opened up,” he continued. “I thought it was time to do something different for the company and accepted the job.”

As Harms looks to the future, he notes that Stanion Wholesale is actively researching the Internet and e-commerce. The goal, he noted, is to find innovative ways of doing business that save time and money for Stanion and its customers.

To help reach these goals, Stanion plans to add capability to its website to allow customers to view their order’s status, order online, and check their accounts and inventory.

In addition, Harms notes, Stanion always looks for new markets, investments and areas for possible expansion.

The other current Kansas locations are Kansas City, Lawrence, Olathe, Manhattan, Emporia, Chanute, Salina, McPherson, Wichita, Hutchinson, Hays, Garden City, Dodge City and Liberal; the corporate office remains in Pratt.

All are networked to a main computer, which allows each branch access to the company’s system 24 hours a day and company-wide access to more than $15 million in inventory.

Custom Cutting- Stanion’s branch manager, Ron Harms, stands cutting a piece of industrial electrical wire using their custom reel cutter. “This piece of machinery allows us to quickly measure out extensive lengths of wire for contractors and utility companies,” Harms says. “It’s fairly simple to operate and really helps ensure that our customer service is quick and accurate.”

Stanion was one of the first electrical distributors to become a Green Lights Ally, Harms noted.

“As part of our status as a Green Lights Ally, we have made a commitment to upgrade the lighting in all our locations in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency standards,” he said.

In addition, as an EPA GREENLIGHTS partner, Stanion is actively involved in efforts to conserve energy by offering energy analysis and energy-efficient products.

Stanion Stats
Address: 3315 12th Street
Business Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Phone Number: 620-792-2569
Web site: www.stanion.com