Irby Circuit

Together, Irby and Priester become the 3rd largest utility distributor in the United States

Stuart C. Irby Co., a division of Sonepar USA, expands its footprint within the electric utility market by acquiring Priester Supply, effective February 27, 2006. For more than 70 years, Priester Supply has been the distributor of choice within the Southwest specializing in the supply chain material management systems for distribution, substation, and transmission equipment for electric and gas utilities. Priester’s success is built on a foundation of knowledge, dedication and commitment to its customers with one goal in mind - to provide the highest quality products and help customers enhance their utility supply chain systems. Mike Wigton, President of Stuart C. Irby Co., said, “Priester Supply and Irby are an ideal fit. We value the reputation and experience of their people and believe our combined presence in the utility market and our shared passion for serving our customers will bring additional value to the market. Together, we will expand our service offering, increase our service territory, and help our customers better utilize the resources required to manage their distribution and transmission systems.”

History of Priester Supply

Priester’s experience began in 1932 with the supply of all types of transmission and distribution material, including apparatus to power companies. In the early 1960s, Priester began their involvement in transmission material design for 345KV lines. These lines were pioneering efforts in the field of EHV transmission. Today, Priester continues its transmission line kitting service evolving after more than 30 years. They take great pride in being the first utility distributor to conceive, test, implement and continue to operate the first, most efficient and copied distributor kitting system.

Stuart C. Irby Co. in Utility

We provide a full roster of power utility products, services and solutions, all backed by one of the strongest technical support teams in the industry. Our product line covers the gamut of utility applications, including materials for power generation and distribution, power line construction, underground utilities and substations. Our Technical Products Group, consisting of highly skilled specialists, is available to help with metering applications as well as to provide technical assistance on many other products.

  • Anchors
  • Insulators
  • Arrestors
  • Lamps
  • Automatic meter-reading equipment
  • Substation automation equipment
  • Cable and conductor accessories
  • Lighting
  • Connectors and sleeves
  • Meters
  • Crossarms and braces
  • Safety equipment
  • Cutouts and switches
  • Tools
  • Fuses
  • Transformers
  • Grounding equipment
  • URD accessories
  • Hardware
  • Wire and Cable
  • Regulators and Reclosures
  • Transmission accessories

Together, we offer supply chain material management systems for distribution, substation and transmission equipment including

  • Logistics management
  • Asset management
  • Alliance contracts
  • Disaster Recovery and 24 hour emergency response
  • Storm stock
  • Supplier management/leveraging
  • IT solutions
  • Procurement
  • Process simplification
  • Total cost reduction
  • Tool repair
  • Metering and test equipment
  • AMR applications
  • Ground and jumper sets

The merging of our operations clearly demonstrates the overall commitment to growth in the Utility segment and substantially expands our Utility footprint, especially in the high growth markets of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma.

For more information, visit www.irby.com or www.sonepar-usa.com.