Electric Motor Supply Company

What Electric Motor Supply Company does

Electric Motor Supply Company (EMSCO), operating since circa 1950 from Fridley, Minnesota, is a privately held dealer of new, refurbished, and obsolete industrial electrical power distribution equipment. The company sources from 100+ manufacturers — including General Electric, Westinghouse, Square D, Siemens, Cutler-Hammer, Eaton, ITE, and ABB — and operates an online catalog of more than 18,168 SKUs spanning busway and plugs, circuit breakers, switches, motor controls (including VFDs), low- and medium-voltage switchgear, transformers, fuses, motors, and generators. Its core competency is sourcing discontinued and legacy components, refurbishing and testing them, and reselling with a 1-year warranty; the company also buys surplus, demolition, and going-out-of-business equipment for its inventory pipeline.

EMSCO serves a horizontal mix of industrial facilities and manufacturers, electrical contractors, and independent electricians across the United States, reaching customers through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront, a 24-hour emergency phone hotline, and quote-based sales for higher-value items. Revenue is generated almost entirely through one-time transactional sales of individual equipment units, supplemented by a recently launched rental line and a newsletter-driven first-order discount program aimed at converting anonymous web traffic into a repeat-buyer database. Nationwide delivery is handled via UPS, with next-day air available for urgent orders. The company is led by Daniel T. Meis (President & Systems Designer) and operates with 11–50 employees from a single warehouse/distribution facility.

Name

Electric Motor Supply Company

Legal name

Electric Motor Supply Company

Website

https://emscomn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Electric Motor Supply Company (EMSCO) is a Fridley, Minnesota–based dealer of new, refurbished, and obsolete industrial electrical distribution equipment, serving electrical contractors, industrial facilities, and independent electricians across the United States via e-commerce and phone sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Electrical Equipment Distribution

NAICS

Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing (335314), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112)

SIC

Electrical Industrial Apparatus (3620), Motors & Generators (3621)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) (IMAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Motor Drive & Motion Control Electronics Manufacturing Services (VFDs, servo drives, controllers) (IMAGAGAJ), Process Control & Automation Electronics Manufacturing Services (PLCs, I/O, DCS/SCADA hardware) (IMAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Used electrical equipment
• Refurbished switchgear
• Industrial circuit breakers
• Power distribution components
• Obsolete electrical parts

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Ripley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Inventory, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: EMSCO generates revenue primarily through the one-time sale of used, refurbished, and new electrical equipment including transformers, circuit breakers, switches, motor controls, busway/plugs, and switchgear. Sales occur through both online transactions and phone-based quoting. Equipment is sold as individual units with transaction-based pricing.
2. Equipment Purchasing: EMSCO also buys electrical equipment from buildings scheduled for demolition, surplus components not eligible for manufacturers' return, and businesses going out of business. This creates a secondary revenue stream through the acquisition and resale of recovered equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Electric Motor Supply Company (EMSCO) is a dealer of used, refurbished, and obsolete industrial electrical power distribution equipment. The company sources, tests, and sells transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, motor controls, switches, bus plugs, fuses, motors, and generators from 100+ manufacturers, offering a one-year warranty on refurbished units, a 24-hour emergency hotline, and nationwide shipping from its Fridley, MN warehouse.

Product overview

Electric Motor Supply Company (EMSCO) is a dealer of used, obsolete, and refurbished industrial electrical power distribution equipment. The company offers a single unified product portfolio consisting of multiple product categories: Busway & Plugs (including Bus Plugs, Bus Duct/Busway, and Tap Boxes), Circuit Breakers (Molded & Insulated Case, Air, Vacuum, and Motor Circuit Protectors), Switches (Panelboard, Pressure Contact, Safety, and Transfer Switches), Motor Control (MCC Buckets & Structure, Starters, and Variable-Frequency Drives), Switchgear (Low and Medium Voltage), Transformers (Low Voltage, Medium Voltage, and Auto-Transformers), Fuses, Motors, and Generators. EMSCO stocks over 18,168 products online with additional inventory at their Fridley, MN warehouse, sourcing from manufacturers including General Electric, ABB, Siemens, Square D, Westinghouse, and many others. All refurbished equipment is tested and backed by a 1-year warranty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Busway & Plugs Electrical power distribution components including Bus Plugs, Bus Duct/Busway, and Tap Boxes & Accessories used in industrial power distribution systems. Sold as new, refurbished, or obsolete units from manufacturers including GE, Westinghouse, Square D, Siemens, Cutler-Hammer, and others.
• Circuit Breakers Protection devices including Molded & Insulated Case Circuit Breakers, Air Circuit Breakers, Vacuum Circuit Breakers, and Motor Circuit Protectors for safeguarding electrical systems in industrial and commercial facilities. Used and refurbished units are tested with reports before sale.
• Switches Electrical switching equipment including Panelboard Switches, Pressure Contact Switches, Safety Switches, and Transfer Switches for power control applications. Available in new and refurbished condition for industrial buyers.
• Motor Control Motor control equipment including MCC Buckets & Structure, Starters, and Variable-Frequency Drives (VFD) for industrial motor management. Supplied as new or refurbished units from leading manufacturers.
• Switchgear Power distribution equipment including Low Voltage Switchgear and Medium Voltage Switchgear for electrical distribution and protection. Available as refurbished and obsolete units with 1-year warranty.
• Transformers Voltage conversion equipment including Low Voltage Transformers, Medium Voltage Transformers, and Auto-Transformers sourced from brands like General Electric and ABB, backed by a 1-year warranty.
• Fuses Overcurrent protection devices for electrical circuits, stocked in new and refurbished condition.
• Motors Electric motors for industrial applications, supplied as new or refurbished units.
• Generators Power generation equipment for industrial use, offered in new and refurbished condition.
• Equipment Rental Rental of used and refurbished industrial electrical power distribution equipment (transformers, switchgear, motor controls, etc.) for short-term project and emergency needs.
• Equipment Purchasing Service EMSCO purchases electrical equipment from buildings scheduled for demolition, surplus components not eligible for manufacturer returns, and businesses going out of business. Provides a liquidation channel for used industrial electrical assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Same-day quotations for urgent equipment requests
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Schneider Electric: Schneider Electric is a broad incumbent — a global OEM of energy management and industrial electrical equipment (Square D, Telemecanique brands). It competes with EMSCO at the OEM level and through digital/connected equipment platforms that accelerate migration away from legacy parts.
• Rexel: Rexel is a broad incumbent — a global electrical distribution group serving contractors and industrial customers with new equipment from leading OEMs. Overlaps with EMSCO on distribution but lacks a refurbished-equipment specialty.
• ABB: ABB is a broad incumbent — a global OEM of power and automation equipment including transformers, switchgear, and motor controls. ABB competes with EMSCO indirectly as an OEM and through its service/refurbishment offerings that can displace independent refurbishers in enterprise accounts.
• Eaton: Eaton is a broad incumbent — an OEM of switchgear, motor controls, transformers, and circuit breakers that increasingly offers factory-certified remanufacturing and service programs. It competes with EMSCO as both a primary supplier of new equipment and a growing entrant into certified refurbishment.
• Graybar: Graybar is a broad incumbent — one of the largest US electrical, lighting, and data communications distributors. It overlaps with EMSCO on electrical distribution equipment but operates at vastly greater scale, broader product scope, and with a national branch network rather than a refurbished-equipment focus.
• WESCO International: WESCO is a broad incumbent — a Fortune 500 electrical and communications distributor offering new electrical products, services, and supply chain solutions. It competes indirectly with EMSCO on contractor/industrial supply but does not focus on the refurbished/obsolete niche.
• Sonepar: Sonepar is a broad incumbent — a global B2B electrical distributor with independent family-owned operations across the US. It is comparable to EMSCO's customer base (electrical contractors) but operates at massive scale with new OEM products, not refurbishment.

Direct peers

• Surplus Sales of Nebraska: Surplus Sales is a direct peer — it buys and resells surplus, used, and obsolete industrial electrical equipment (transformers, breakers, switchgear) and competes with EMSCO in the same niche of legacy/obsolete industrial electrical components.
• RESA Power: RESA Power is a direct peer — it provides electrical testing, remanufacturing, and life-extension services for transformers, switchgear, and circuit breakers, overlapping head-to-head with EMSCO's refurbishment and resale model across the same customer base of industrial facilities and utilities.
• Bay Power: Bay Power is a direct peer — a dealer of new, used, and refurbished transformers and electrical equipment serving industrial and utility buyers, with a comparable product catalog and rapid-quote/rapid-ship service model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EMSCOMN
• Facebookfacebook.com/ElectricMotorSupplyCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/electric-motor-supply-emsco-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Electric Motor Supply Company