Bunell & Associates

What Bunell & Associates does

Bunell & Associates, Inc. is a privately held manufacturer's sales representative agency founded in 1976 and headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The company operates as an intermediary between manufacturers of industrial, commercial, and hazardous electrical and safety products and end customers across a nine-state Midwestern U.S. territory covering Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwest Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota, Western Missouri, and Nebraska. Revenue is generated through commissions and fees paid by the manufacturing principals that Bunell represents, rather than through direct product sales or pricing control.

The company's product portfolio spans four core categories: industrial electrical products (enclosures, wiring devices, power distribution components), commercial electrical products (for construction applications), hazardous electrical products (for regulated/explosive environments), and safety products (LED luminaires, plugs, receptacles, specialty components). These products are applied across ten end markets, including commercial/industrial construction, process automation and control, food and beverage processing (NSF/USDA-certified), water/wastewater, power generation, data centers, renewable energy, pulp and paper, material handling, and automotive manufacturing. There is no proprietary technology platform; the company's value proposition rests on application-engineering expertise and customer relationships rather than software or IP.

The go-to-market motion is built on a split inside/outside sales structure of approximately 20 named associates, each assigned to a defined sub-territory (e.g., Greater Milwaukee, Chicago/North Suburbs, Iowa/Nebraska). Distribution is relationship-driven, with a limited digital footprint consisting of a Wix-hosted website, a LinkedIn company page, and a Facebook page. Ownership and leadership are founder/management-controlled: Mike Doland serves as President/CEO and Bryan Stephans as Principal/VP, with no disclosed external investment, private equity, or venture capital backing. The firm is a mature, operationally stable sales agency with no documented acquisitions, funding events, or product launches in the source material.

Name

Bunell & Associates

Legal name

Bunell & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://bunell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bunell & Associates is a privately held manufacturer's sales representative agency, founded in 1976 and based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, representing manufacturers of industrial, commercial, and hazardous electrical and safety products to end customers across nine Midwestern U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Manufacturer's Representative/Sales Agency: Revenue generated as a manufacturer's sales representative providing product recommendations and application solutions. The company earns commissions or fees from the manufacturers they represent for sales within their assigned territory.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Bunell & Associates is a manufacturer's sales representative providing product recommendations and application solutions to the industrial, commercial, and hazardous electrical industry. The firm represents manufacturers of electrical and safety products, connecting them with end customers across nine Midwestern U.S. states through territory-based outside and inside sales teams. Its portfolio spans industrial electrical products, commercial electrical products, hazardous-location electrical products, and safety products.

Product overview

Bunell & Associates is a manufacturer's sales representative company providing product recommendations and application solutions to the industrial, commercial, and hazardous electrical industry. The company operates as a single unified offering focused on sales representation and distribution of industrial, commercial, and hazardous electrical and safety products. Their product portfolio spans four main categories: Industrial Electrical Products, Commercial Electrical Products, Hazardous Electrical Products, and Safety Products. They serve various markets including commercial construction, process automation, food and beverage processing, water/wastewater, power generation, data centers, renewable energy, pulp and paper, material handling, and automotive sectors. The company operates across Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana (NW), Iowa, Kansas, Michigan (UP), Minnesota, Missouri (W), and Nebraska territories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Electrical Products Representation Sales representation and application solutions for industrial electrical products including enclosures, wiring devices, and power distribution components, offered to industrial customers in the Midwest U.S.
• Commercial Electrical Products Representation Electrical products and safety solutions for commercial construction applications, delivered via manufacturer's sales representation across the firm's Midwest territory.
• Hazardous Electrical Products Representation Specialized electrical products designed for hazardous locations that meet safety regulations, delivered via manufacturer's sales representation to industrial and commercial customers.
• Safety Products Representation Safety products including LED luminaires, plugs, receptacles, and specialty components for industrial applications, offered via manufacturer's sales representation.

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Electrical and Safety Product ManufacturerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBunell & Associates serves as a manufacturer's sales representative for industrial, commercial and hazardous electrical and safety product manufacturers. The company represents multiple manufacturers, providing product recommendations and application solutions to customers in their territory (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana NW, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan UP, Minnesota, Missouri W, and Nebraska). The company has PDFs available for download listing manufacturers represented in each territory (WI/MI, IL/IN, and IA/NE/KS/MO/MN).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Graybar: Graybar is one of North America's largest employee-owned distributors of electrical, communications, and data networking products. It serves the same industrial, commercial, and hazardous-location customer base that Bunell supports, but as a broad-line distributor with national reach rather than a regional sales agency.
• WESCO International: WESCO International is a publicly traded Fortune 500 electrical, communications, and utility distribution and supply chain services company. While much larger and broader than Bunell, both firms serve industrial and commercial customers with electrical and safety products across overlapping end markets.
• CED (Consolidated Electrical Distributors): CED is one of the largest electrical distributors in the U.S. with hundreds of locations nationwide. It serves similar industrial, commercial, and contractor customers as Bunell, though as a multi-branch distributor rather than a sales agency.
• Sonepar: Sonepar is an independent, family-owned global electrical distributor with significant U.S. operations. It overlaps with Bunell in serving industrial, commercial, and hazardous-location customers, though as a broad distributor rather than a commission-based manufacturer's rep.
• Rexel: Rexel is a global electrical distribution group operating in dozens of countries with extensive U.S. presence through Rexel USA. It competes with Bunell for electrical product placement with industrial and commercial customers, albeit at much larger scale and with broader product portfolios.

Direct peers

• Mel Foster Company: Mel Foster Company is an Upper Midwest industrial sales agency representing manufacturers of electrical, automation, and safety products — a direct peer to Bunell in business model, territory, and product category, though focused on automation-heavy verticals.
• Rumsey Electric Company: Rumsey Electric is a regional electrical distributor and manufacturer's representative serving the Mid-Atlantic with industrial and hazardous-location electrical products. It most closely mirrors Bunell's combined rep-and-distribution model and customer focus on safety-rated electrical equipment.

Regional players

• McNaughton-McKay Electric Company: McNaughton-McKay is a regional electrical distributor serving the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S. with industrial, contractor, and commercial customer focus — directly comparable to Bunell in territory, customer mix, and product category.
• Van Meter Inc. Van Meter is an employee-owned electrical distributor headquartered in Iowa serving industrial, commercial, and utility customers across the Midwest — closely mirroring Bunell's Iowa-based territory and customer verticals.
• Border States Electric: Border States Electric is a 100% employee-owned regional electrical distributor headquartered in North Dakota with deep Midwest and Upper Midwest coverage. Its geographic and customer overlap with Bunell (industrial contractors, utilities, data centers) makes it a comparable regional incumbent.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bunellassoc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bunell-&-associates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

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 Bunell & Associates