Colonial Electric Supply
Colonial Electric Supply is a privately held US-based distributor of electrical products and industrial supplies — including lighting, cable, conduit, and connectors — serving trade and industrial customers. Founded in 1917, it is headquartered in King of Prussia, PA.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1917
- HeadquartersKing Of Prussia, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Colonial Electric Supply does
Colonial Electric Supply is a privately held, for-profit distributor of electrical products and industrial supplies, including lighting, cable, conduit, and connectors, serving trade and industrial customers in the United States. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, with a current workforce of 5,001 to 10,000 employees. The wide headcount relative to a single HQ city is consistent with a multi-branch distribution model typical of regional electrical wholesalers serving contractors, commercial accounts, and industrial buyers across multiple markets.
The company's functional role is as an intermediary between electrical manufacturers and end-use customers, distributing commoditized but specification-critical components on a project-by-project and recurring-supply basis. Specific pricing models, contract terms, customer segmentation, supplier brands, and channel mix are not disclosed in the available source data, and the firm's website returns only a verification/loading page rather than an e-commerce catalog or capability narrative. There is no information on subsidiaries, parent ownership, M&A history, leadership transitions, or geographic footprint beyond the King of Prussia headquarters.
Operationally, Colonial Electric Supply depends on inventory depth, branch logistics, and credit relationships with electrical contractors — the standard mechanics of the wholesale electrical distribution industry. No technology stack, proprietary platform, AI/ML capability, certification, or partnership details are present in the aggregated dataset, which means strategic, digital, and competitive positioning cannot be assessed beyond the basic distributor profile.
Colonial Electric Supply firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Colonial Electric Supply
- Website
- https://colonialelectricsupply.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1917
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Colonial Electric Supply is a privately held US-based distributor of electrical products and industrial supplies — including lighting, cable, conduit, and connectors — serving trade and industrial customers. Founded in 1917, it is headquartered in King of Prussia, PA.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Colonial Electric Supply industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electrical Products Distribution
- NAICS
- Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42384), Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4234)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Electrical Apparatus & Equipment, Wiring Supplies (5063), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electrical Supplies Retail (Wiring, Switches, Breakers, Conduit) (CRAIADAE)
Keywords
Where Colonial Electric Supply is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- King Of Prussia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Colonial Electric Supply business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Colonial Electric Supply product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Colonial Electric Supply is a wholesale distributor of electrical products and industrial supplies. Its catalog spans lighting, cable, conduit, and connectors, supplying these items to commercial, industrial, and trade customers. The company, founded in 1917 and headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, operates with a workforce of 5,001-10,000 employees to support its distribution operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lighting products Wholesale distribution of lighting products as part of the company's electrical product catalog, supplied to commercial, industrial, and trade buyers.
- Cable Wholesale distribution of electrical cable supplied to commercial, industrial, and trade customers.
- Conduit Wholesale distribution of electrical conduit supplied to commercial, industrial, and trade buyers.
- Connectors Wholesale distribution of electrical connectors supplied to commercial, industrial, and trade customers.
- Industrial supplies Wholesale distribution of industrial supplies alongside the company's electrical product catalog, sold to commercial and industrial buyers.
Companies that use Colonial Electric Supply
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Colonial Electric Supply technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Colonial Electric Supply partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Expansion highlights1 record
Colonial Electric Supply competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Graybar Electric Company: Graybar is one of the largest employee-owned electrical, communications, and data networking distributors in North America with a comparable nationwide footprint and similar product categories (lighting, wire and cable, conduit, controls). It is the closest scale and category analog to Colonial Electric Supply.
- Rexel USA: Rexel USA is a leading electrical distributor serving contractors, industrial, and commercial customers across the U.S., distributing lighting, cable, conduit, and industrial supplies. It competes head-to-head with Colonial Electric Supply in the same product categories and customer segments.
- Sonepar North America: Sonepar is a global B-to-B distributor of electrical products and related solutions, with a substantial U.S. footprint through brands such as Capital Electric, Codale Electric, and others. It is a direct competitor of Colonial Electric across electrical supply, lighting, and industrial product categories.
- Crescent Electric Supply Company: Crescent Electric is a family-owned, full-line electrical distributor with a similar multi-state Midwestern and Eastern footprint and comparable headcount scale to Colonial Electric Supply. Its product breadth in lighting, wire, and industrial supplies makes it one of the closest peer comparisons.
- Border States Electric: Border States is a 100% employee-owned electrical distributor serving construction, industrial, and utility customers across the upper Midwest, Mountain West, and Mid-Atlantic. It overlaps directly with Colonial Electric in product mix and customer base.
- Mayer Electric Supply: Mayer is a large regional electrical distributor headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, distributing lighting, wire and cable, conduit, and industrial controls. Its geographic reach and product mix are highly comparable to Colonial Electric Supply.
- Summit Electric Supply: Summit is a privately held, employee-owned electrical distributor serving commercial, industrial, and residential contractors across the U.S. Southwest. It carries the same core product lines (lighting, cable, conduit) and operates at a similar regional-scale size.
Broad incumbents
- W.W. Grainger: Grainger is a broad industrial MRO distributor with a much larger catalog and scale than Colonial Electric. It carries electrical supplies among many other categories and competes for the same end customers (facilities and maintenance buyers) but with a much broader product portfolio.
- McMaster-Carr: McMaster-Carr is a catalog-driven industrial supplies distributor carrying electrical, hardware, and maintenance products. While it overlaps on the industrial-supplies side of Colonial Electric's catalog, its model is broader, digital-first, and not category-specialized.
Emerging players
- SupplyHouse.com: SupplyHouse.com is a fast-growing, digitally native distributor of plumbing, heating, and electrical supplies serving contractors. It represents a meaningful emerging channel competitor to Colonial Electric for the same contractor customer base and electrical SKUs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Colonial Electric Supply social profiles
Digital presenceColonial Electric Supply financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Colonial Electric Supply leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Colonial Electric Supply funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Colonial Electric Supply M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Colonial Electric Supply
What does Colonial Electric Supply do?
Colonial Electric Supply is a wholesale distributor of electrical products and industrial supplies. Its catalog spans lighting, cable, conduit, and connectors, supplying these items to commercial, industrial, and trade customers. The company, founded in 1917 and headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, operates with a workforce of 5,001-10,000 employees to support its distribution operations.
When was Colonial Electric Supply founded?
Colonial Electric Supply was founded in 1917. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Colonial Electric Supply based?
Colonial Electric Supply is headquartered in King Of Prussia, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Colonial Electric Supply's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Graybar Electric Company, Rexel USA, Sonepar North America, Crescent Electric Supply Company, Border States Electric, Mayer Electric Supply and Summit Electric Supply. Broad incumbents are W.W. Grainger and McMaster-Carr. SupplyHouse.com is listed as an emerging player.
Does Colonial Electric Supply have an API?
No public API is recorded for Colonial Electric Supply.
What industry is Colonial Electric Supply in?
Colonial Electric Supply's product category is Electrical Products Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAIADAE, Electrical Supplies Retail (Wiring, Switches, Breakers, Conduit). Its NAICS code is 42384 and its SIC code is 5063.