SUMMIT BACKGROUNDER
Summit Electric Supply was created in the mid-1970s when the recently retired Victor Jury decided he'd rather work than enjoy the slow pace of traditional retirement. He had spent a long, successful career in the electrical distribution industry, and he started making plans to open his own distribution warehouse in his home of Albuquerque, N.M.
One of his first moves was to call his son, Victor Jury Jr., who was living in Florida at the time, and propose that they go into business together. Jury Jr. quickly agreed. Joining the father-son team as the third partner was David Meredith, a friend and former co-worker of Jury Sr.
The three men plotted a course to make Summit the best electrical distributor in the city of Albuquerque, and with the help of a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the first location opened on Aug. 15, 1977, at 3317 Girard Blvd. NE. The three founders, along with the first two hired Associates, planned to make Summit a success by offering nothing short of complete Customer service to each and every visitor. Efforts were made to memorize names and personally greet each Customer; the phone never rang more than three times; "no" was never an option when responding to a Customer request, etc.
Further, the same respect afforded to Customers was extended to manufacturers and fellow employees as well. "Excellence in every aspect of the business" was the goal, and the business model predicted that Customers would gravitate toward such a high level of professionalism, efficiency and friendliness.
Summit's Mission Statement
"Summit will earn the respect, confidence and loyalty of our Customers, Suppliers and Associates through leadership in Customer satisfaction, continuous improvement and being the best in all that we do. We will be consistently profitable, financially prudent and will grow in order to provide for the prosperity, well-being and long-term security of all those associated with Summit. We will utilize effective communication to create an environment of trust, teamwork and personal growth, and will encourage innovation, initiative and leadership."
The pursuit of excellence is easily described in motivational signs that hang on the walls of companies across the world, but putting such efforts into practice — time after time, day after day, in all kinds of work conditions — is another matter.
However, in the capable hands of Summit's founders, the company did indeed stick with its principles, and countless drop-in Customers soon become regular Customers. After having been in business for just 18 weeks, Summit posted a profit in its 1977 year-end earnings reports.
Having met its goal of becoming the best electrical distributor in Albuquerque, the founders were forced to amend that goal when the decision was made to open more locations. Summit's goal became being the best distributor "in every market we serve."
During its first 10 years in business, Summit opened locations in Grants and Farmington in New Mexico, and in 1987, the company entered the Texas market with a location in Dallas.
Summit enjoyed steady success and expansion during the decade, opening a new location approximately every two years. Then, with the stroke of a pen in 2002, the company literally doubled in size with the acquisition of the Warren Electric Group, which was offered to bidders through a Texas bankruptcy court.
The Warren acquisition brought Summit into new markets along the Gulf Coast, including three locations in Louisiana. Also moving under the Summit banner were scores of highly qualified Associates and an Export Division that expanded Summit's reach to the rest of the world.
Today, there are 20 Summit Service Centers in five states. Summit employs more than 500 Associates, and a national trade magazine ranks Summit in the top 30 among the thousands of electrical distributors across the nation.
Still, the original principles that made the first Service Center a success are still enforced nearly 30 years after the founders created them. Respect and honesty are still extended to Customers, Suppliers and Associates.
The only difference is that today, Summit has the means to spread its demonstrably successful philosophy even further, most notably into the communities where Summit operates Service Centers.
While the company has received many awards and distinctions through the years, perhaps the most telling was being named in 2003 as one of the few, hand-selected winners of the Ethics in Business Award.
With such a rock-solid foundation, Summit faces what's sure to be a tricky future with unparalleled confidence and integrity, and history has shown that's the precise formula for enduring prosperity. |
