OmniCable: Present and Engaged in Canada

May 27, 2019

OmniCable was founded in 1977 by partners with deep experience in the US electrical marketplace. With their clear understanding of the industry, they were able to identify an opportunity for the founding of a unique company. At the time, there was a disconnect between electrical distributors and electrical wire and cable manufacturers due to a growing demand that needed to be fulfilled under strict timelines.

The nature of the industry required a wide range of product types and configurations on a “just-in-time” basis. As a result, distributors were unable to stock enough cable products to meet the demands of their customers. “Additionally, the end user was moving toward products on demand and cable was needed cut precisely to length, and often within 24 hours,” said OmniCable Chairman and CEO, Jeff Siegfried.

Siegfried explained that manufacturers were struggling to meet these demands. Manufacturing cable, cutting it to precise lengths, and delivering it to job sites was an overwhelming task. Subsequently, he said, “OmniCable identified these logistical gaps and began to invest in inventory and processing equipment to solve the problem and partner with distribution to deliver on time and efficiently.”

OmniCable’s success over the past 42 years, consistently expanding their coverage areas and adding sales teams and warehouses to fulfill the stringent industry demands, is a testament to that initial foresight.

“OmniCable empowers our industry to be successful by providing an exceptional experience through operational excellence, accuracy and precision, and a partnership approach,” said Siegfried.

Over those 42 years, OmniCable has established themselves as a premier redistributor of specialty wire and cable, electrical products, and value-added services. They operate 13 (including Toronto) facilities, managing a multi-million-dollar inventory and delivering a diverse range of products, cut-to-specific lengths next day to distributor partners.

Given the stringent industry demands, we asked Chris Bjorkman, Director of Market Development, if he could provide an example in which OmniCable was able to solve or alleviate a distributor’s problem, to which he simply replied, “How can we list what we do every day? OmniCable’s employees arrive ready to provide a solution that helps our distributor partners resolve the challenges their customers are facing.”

What were the primary factors that influenced the move into Canada?

Mr. Siegfried explained that in the past they have often been encouraged by Canadian distributors to open a Canadian facility and bring their expertise to the marketplace north of the border. Siegfried added, “Our commitment to Canada has been well thought out and researched. OmniCable has made significant investments so that we bring the same deep and diverse inventories to the market.”

“Additionally,” he continued, “we have hired talented and experienced employees in Canada to deliver the same service and care that we have provided for the past 42 years in the United States.”

With that demand, OmniCable will look to take advantage of the opportunities the Canadian market presents. Although they don’t manufacture unique products, Siegfried noted, “our services and solutions are what our Canadian distributors will gain as a tangible value that they can pass on to their customers. Our attention to detail and dedication to solving our customers’ problems are the root of our growth and success in the electrical industry.”

“We look forward to showing Canadian distributors what our employees can do for them.”

OmniCable has built its reputation in the US by selling 100% through distribution – will this hold as the model here?

Siegfried explained that the first priority of their business is to support their electrical distributor partners, “it is the reason we entered the industry 42 years ago and the backbone of our entire business effort,” he said.

“OmniCable is first and foremost a service and solutions company.  We pride ourselves on saying YES and working with our team of vendor and customer partners to exceed expectations.”

“We provide distributors with the peace of mind that we will never sell directly to their customers. In addition, distributors place a great deal of trust in our service, knowing that every single one of our team members is committed to your satisfaction and success.”

Support and partnership are woven into OmniCable’s corporate culture, “it’s why we are in business and why we love this business,” said Siegfried.

And that philosophy translates into an impressive track record their clients can count on, “OmniCable’s operational excellence delivers 99.79% on time shipping coupled with a 99.95% accuracy rate.  We have modeled our inventory to augment the inventories already carried by our distributor partners,” he said.

Can you tell us a little about the Canadian organization?

Director of Market Development, Chris Bjorkman, noted they’re certainly not short on pride with respect to their expansion into Canada. 

“Our distribution center is located in Brampton, Ontario,” he explained, “and is staffed by Canadians and filled with electrical products from Canadian manufacturers. Our distributor partners will be talking to Canadian Account Managers, and our Canadian distribution center staff will happily greet customers stopping by to pick up their orders. Knowing we needed to provide our distributors with proactive sales partners, we have enlisted the assistance of Northwinds Corp. as our Ontario agency and LT Marketing as our Quebec agency.”

“There are fantastic manufacturers in Canada that provide tremendous support to the distributors,” he continued, “there are many times that distributors are looking for electrical products that may have long lead times or minimum quantities.”

“OmniCable provides our distributor partners with the worry-free option to get those items from a partner that only sells through distribution, with no other channels to market.”

Simply put, OmniCable’s venture across the border amounts to, “A Canadian team providing Canadian products to Canadian distributors.” Along with support, partnership and long-standing expertise has been established since first identifying the industry demand for their services and solutions in 1977. Empowering one another, as the OmniCable mission statement states, to be the best vendor to their customers, the best customer to their vendors, and the best employer to their employees through innovation and collaboration.

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