Show room, circa 1924.
Greg Schaedler has been part of his family’s electric supply business for as long as he can remember.
“I started working full-time for the business 25 years ago, but really, I’ve been here since birth,” he noted with a laugh.
CEO Schaedler is the fourth generation of his family to run Schaedler Yesco Distribution, a Harrisburg-based provider of “complete connected solutions for the electrical industry” now in its 100th year of continuous operation.
Central distribution Center, 1970s.
Officially, the business was founded in Steelton in 1924 by the Schaedler Brothers, but the family is said to have been rooted in the electrical business since the late 1800s. In fact, brothers Andrew and William served as electrical contractors for construction of the state Capitol building, completed in 1906.
Today, the company boasts 29 locations throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, offering services and solutions for lighting, datacomm, automation and industrial needs. The company has seen its greatest growth since merging with Yesco—York Electrical Supply Company—in 1999, but the expansion isn’t over yet.
Last year, Schaedler Yesco acquired five new locations, including those of Clarion Electric Supply, a 53-year-old business based in northwest Pennsylvania, and it opened a new regional distribution center in Pittsburgh. As a result, it ranked 22nd of the “Top Growing Companies in PA” for 2023, according to Kim Downs, the company’s director of marketing.
Likewise, the company’s products and services have expanded with each new acquisition, according to Schaedler Yesco President Farrah Mittel.
“We’re looking at geographical expansion, new markets and new verticals all the time,” she said.
Schaedler added that the company is “always looking for expansion through acquisition and (our) existing territory,” but the firm has “no set goal” for the number of locations.
“We’re just looking for a healthy, big growth,” he said.
So, what has allowed Schaedler Yesco to operate so successfully for a century?
“Our culture is what makes us different,” Downs said. “We think of our company as a part of the community. We only succeed when our customers succeed, and we take employee satisfaction as seriously as we take our customer satisfaction.”
As a result, Schaedler Yesco, for 16 years, has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in PA.” The annual award program, run by the Best Companies Group, identifies, recognizes and honors the state’s best places of employment benefitting Pennsylvania’s workforce and businesses.
Schaedler Yesco is also active in the local community, supporting a variety of organizations ranging from local theater and cultural programs to health-based groups, scouts, sports, outreach programs, first responders and others.
In addition, it supports diversity as a member of iBelongHere, an organization providing diversity and inclusion resources for the electrical industry.
During its 100 years of operation, Schaedler Yesco has seen many changes, with technology serving as the greatest catalyst, Schaedler said.
“When we first started, we were using paper for everything,” he said.
Mittel cited the most significant change as “automation of our practices, advances in our products and services, such as going from incandescent lighting to LED, and in our processes.”
As a matter of course, Schaedler Yesco has faced its share of challenges over the years, including, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and “the aftermath of supply chain issues,” Mittel pointed out.
“We’re still dealing with labor challenges and finding people,” Schaedler said.
Nonetheless, Schaedler stated that he and the business that his family founded have stood resolute in the face of a century of trials and plan to continue with the firm’s long-time growth strategy.
“I like that every day here is unique and presents a new challenge,” he said.
For more information about Schaedler Yesco Distribution, visit www.sydist.com or call 1-800-998-1621.
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