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Summit Electric Supply has moved its Houston operations into a new 84,000-square-foot facility in the northwest part of the city.

The facility, at 8718 W. Little York Road, will also house Summit’s export group and regional credit group, said Cole Harrison, Houston’s service center leader.

He estimates a total of 75 associates will work at the new location that opened June 25.

Summit moved to the new northwest Houston area from a less efficient 120,000-square-foot facility in the heart of downtown. The La Porte, Texas, service center will continue its operations serving the southeast Houston area.

Summit Electric Supply has surged ahead – up 12 places in just four years — in sales rankings compiled by Electrical Wholesaling magazine.

Summit’s move, from 34^th place in 2002 to 22^nd place in 2006, puts the company among the top 25 of the magazine’s “Top 200” electrical distributors in the nation.

The rankings, published in the June 1 issue of the magazine, are based on sales volume disclosed in surveys sent to 400 companies.

“Sales revenue is the first measure, and we always get well over half of all companies on the listing to provide figures,” said Jim Lucy, chief editor of Electrical Wholesaling. If two companies are tied in sales, number of employees and branches are considered, he added.

Summit has participated in the survey since its inception in 1988 – when the company ranked 173 among then 250 top distributors. Summit leaped to 76 by 1992.

The magazine changed the listing from 250 to 200 distributors in 2003, Lucy said.

Summit Electric Supply is among the fastest growing companies in New Mexico, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly.

In its annual “Fast Trackers” list, the state’s leading business paper ranked Summit 16 among 25 large companies, based on revenue and employee growth over three years.

Headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., Summit Electric Supply operates 20 service centers in the United States, a global sales division, and a sales office in Dubai. The company, founded in 1977, employs 587 people.

Summit Electric Supply associates in El Paso rallied to help their community get through the summer’s drop in blood donations. United Blood Services called Customer Service Representative Chas Thomas, asking for help.

“They suggested having a blood drive right here,” Thomas said.

The agency sent a mobile blood unit out to the Summit Service Center at 7701 Lockheed Drive on July 19.

A dozen associates gave blood: Richard Bond, Isela Valdez, Margie Meraz, Mike Rhodes, Robert Buck, Mike Holguin, Joe Calvillo, Dan Gomez, Sam Faraone, Amalia Rosas, Laura Avalos and Jose Alvarez.

Thomas was able to get some other nearby businesses to participate as well.

“It’s one of the things we can do for our community,” he says. “People are excited about doing it again. We will try to make it a regular deal.”

United Blood Services provided posters, t-shirts, ice cream and movie tickets to help promote the drive.

Summit Electric Supply’s new sales office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is off to a strong start. Customers have increased from five to as many as 25 since the office opened Feb. 1, said Abdul Hooda, vice president of export sales.

“We are making steady progress,” he said.

Hooda, based in Houston, estimates about five companies a month in the Dubai area are either ordering or inquiring about Summit products and services.

“We are seeing more business from our established customers than we used to as well,” Hooda said. “When you are in front of a customer, they remember you.”

Pat Lopez, the Summit sales associate there, is visiting companies three times a week in Dubai and the surrounding provinces that make up the United Arab Emirates.

How is he dealing with the culture shock? What culture shock?

“Dubai is very progressive, very pro-Western, and has a good business climate,” Hooda explained. “Even though the national language is Arabic, everybody speaks English.”