Electric Supply, Tampa, Florida, this week announced it has partnered with the private equity firm Supply Chain Equity Partners “to establish a super-regional platform for growth and expansion in electrical products distribution.” Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

ESI was founded in 1970 by George Adams Sr., whose son, George Adams Jr., is chairman of the board. The company primarily serves customers throughout Florida as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.

SCEP is the only 100% distribution-centric fund in the U.S. and is also headquartered in Tampa. SCEP’s investors include more than 40 distribution veterans, including eight former owners of Top-200 electrical wholesalers. ESI represents SCEP’s 44^th distribution investment since 2007.

“I spent over a year searching for the best investment group to help Electric Supply accelerate its growth to be an even stronger partner to its customers and vendors,” said Adams Jr. “SCEP is unique in that they are the only private equity firm in the United States that invests exclusively in distribution companies, and the majority of their investors are former owners of distribution companies that include a number of electrical wholesalers. They have an almost two decades-long history of successfully partnering with distributors like Electric Supply and we are already planning a number of growth initiatives through opening new branch locations, hiring more salespeople and partnering with like-minded distributors.”

The Adams family remains a major investor in Electric Supply and Adams Jr. will remain on the board. Harry Irwin, CEO, and the rest of the existing ESI management team will continue to lead the company.

“We are extremely excited about having more capital & resources to support greater growth which will also provide enhanced career opportunities for the existing Electric Supply team,” said Irwin. “Electric Supply is now uniquely positioned to capitalize on numerous growth opportunities focused on better serving our customers and vendors.”