The History of Copel

December 4, 2017

Copel was an organization that united 16 of Canada’s leading electrical distributors. It was during the 1969 convention of CEDA that E. Mullaly of Saint John and Jeannine Guillevin Wood of Montreal first discussed the idea of forming an organization of independent distributors. Other discussions were held and a meeting in August 1969 brought together a group of independent electrical distributors from across Canada to form a consortium that would enable them to combine resources, experience and purchasing volume to compete more effectively with national distributors.

In its time, Copel was the largest organization of its kind. Copel provided a broad range of services to its shareholders, including

• supplier programs; purchasing agreements
• financial services
• national sales agreements
• regular contact with large, multi-location industries
• marketing
• sales management training
• other services to assist shareholders in serving their customers more efficiently and effectively

For its shareholders, and for the manufacturers associated with Copel, the organization provided a valuable forum for the exchange of ideas. Through its national network of independent distributors and their 130 branches across Canada, the organization offered manufacturers of electrical products an important national link to end users. As the largest organization of its kind in Canada, Copel was dedicated to provide service at competitive prices.

All shareholders carried a complete range of products representing leading manufacturers, and were constantly augmenting them to meet the changing requirements of the marketplace; increasingly the emphasis was on electronic products.

Copel’s long-term relationships with its many suppliers reflected mutual stability, reliability and trust. mm

The shareholders of Copel were

• A&I Supply Ltd.
• R.E. Electric, a division of Chester Industrial Tool Supply Ltd.
• Daigneault Industriel Inc.
• Economy Electric Supply Limited
• Electrozad Supply Co. Ltd.
• Electrozad Supply Company (Waterloo) Ltd.
• Gerrie Electric Wholesale Limited
• Gescan, a division of Chester Industrial Tool Supply Ltd.
• Gescan, a division of Guillevin International Inc.
• Guillevin International Inc.
• Heap Nosworthy Ltd.
• B. Horsman & Son Ltd.
• Ideal Supply Company Limited
• Independent Electric Co. Ltd.
• Ward Johnson Electric Ltd.
• C. Keddy Ltd; Lumen Inc.
• McDowell Electric Ltd.

Each company was represented on the Copel Board of Directors. The needs of the organization were served by a permanent staff of six located in Montreal, and headed by Copel president Richard Taylor.

Since its founding, Copel grew and prospered; growth came through shareholder expansion and the acquisition of other distributors, but the emphasis was always on internal growth and there are no territorial restrictions.

Copel had the resources and people, inventory and services to meet every requirement. The Copel philosophy of people working together proved successful; for several years Copel outperformed the electrical wholesale industry. Participating shareholders, ranging in size from family-owned, single location, companies to firms with branches throughout several provinces, shared a commitment to professionalism.

In 1992, Copel merged with Affiliated Distributors (AD), which marked AD’s introduction to the Canadian market. Twenty years later (2012), AD merged with Independent Electrical Distributors (IED), doubling AD’s Canadian sales.