Chicago Sales Agency

What Chicago Sales Agency does

Chicago Sales Agency (CSA) is a manufacturers' representative firm serving the electrical industry across Illinois and Northwest Indiana, founded in March 2017 by Michael Mahoney and headquartered in Hillside, Illinois. The firm operates as an outsourced sales channel for 19 electrical equipment manufacturers, connecting them with electrical distributors, contractors, and end-users in the territory. Its represented portfolio spans conduit and fittings (Atkore Allied Tube & Conduit, Allied PVC Coated, Allied Fittings), cable systems (AFC Cable Systems, Priority Wire & Cable, CME Wire and Cable), cable management (Cope Cable Tray, Power-Strut, Unistrut, Superior Tray), specialty products (Champion Fiberglass, ACS/Uni-Fab, ESA Fabrication), lighting (ESL Vision, Phoenix Lighting), and building solutions (Panasonic, King Electric, OEC Americas, Erickson Electrical Equipment).

The firm's core operating model is commission-based sales representation: CSA's outside account representatives and inside sales personnel generate quotes, process orders, and provide technical support for the manufacturer lines they carry, earning transaction commissions on resulting distributor and contractor sales. There is no proprietary software platform; the technology stack consists of a company website featuring team profiles, a line card, project galleries, and contact information. The team of approximately ten includes a Principal, Sales Manager, Inside Sales Manager, multiple Account Representatives, and Inside Sales personnel, most with 20-37 years of electrical industry experience.

CSA is a privately held, founder-owned company with no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, subsidiaries, or parent entities. Geographic scope is strictly domestic and limited to Illinois and Northwest Indiana, with no global footprint or stated expansion plans. Project references span healthcare (Rush Hospital), retail (Walgreens), technology (Salesforce Tower), and data center (Elk Grove Village Data Center, CHI 04 Data Center) end-uses, though these are installation references rather than direct customers. Membership in the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) provides industry affiliation and professional development access.

Name

Chicago Sales Agency

Legal name

Chicago Sales Agency

Website

https://chicagosalesagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chicago Sales Agency is a manufacturers' representative firm founded in 2017 that represents 19 electrical equipment manufacturers, selling conduit, cable, lighting, and related products to distributors and contractors in Illinois and Northwest Indiana on a commission basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillside

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

Revenue model

1. Commission-based Sales Representation: As a manufacturers' representative agency, Chicago Sales Agency earns commissions on sales of electrical products from the manufacturers they represent to distributors and contractors in their territory.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Chicago Sales Agency is a manufacturers' representative firm serving the electrical industry in Illinois and Northwest Indiana since 2017. The agency represents a portfolio of 19 leading electrical manufacturers, providing outside account representative coverage, inside sales quoting, order processing, and technical support to electrical distributors and contractors purchasing conduit, cable, cable management, lighting, and related electrical products.

Product overview

Chicago Sales Agency (CSA) is a manufacturers' representative firm serving the electrical industry in Illinois and Northwest Indiana since 2017. Rather than offering a unified software platform, CSA provides sales representation and distribution services for a portfolio of 19 electrical equipment and component manufacturers. The represented product lines span multiple categories including cable systems (AFC Cable Systems, Priority Wire & Cable, CME Wire and Cable), conduit and fittings (Allied Tube & Conduit, Allied PVC Coated, Atkore Allied Fittings), cable management (Cope Cable Tray, Power-Strut, Unistrut, Superior Tray), specialty products (Champion Fiberglass, ACS/Uni-Fab, ESA Fabrication), lighting (ESL Vision, Phoenix Lighting), and building solutions (Panasonic, King Electric, OEC Americas, Erickson Electrical Equipment). CSA connects these manufacturers with electrical distributors, contractors, and industrial customers through a team of sales professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AFC Cable Systems MC/AC Cable, MC Luminary, aluminum and steel flex, liquidtight conduit, whips, and prefabricated wiring systems for electrical distribution, offered through Chicago Sales Agency's representation of Atkore.
• Allied Tube & Conduit EMT, IMC, Rigid, and Aluminum Conduit, Kwik-Fit, Kwik Compression, Super Kwik Couple fittings, PVC Conduit & Fittings, and ECN products for commercial and industrial electrical installations.
• Champion Fiberglass Fiberglass reinforced thermoset epoxy resin conduit, fittings, elbows, strut, conduit bodies, bridge hangers, accessories, and high temperature phenolic resin conduit, including data center applications.
• Priority Wire & Cable Aluminum building wire, aluminum MC, utility wire, portable cord, low voltage category cable, circuit MC, and specialty cable products for electrical distribution.
• CME Wire and Cable Building wire including copper THHN/THWN-2, TFFN, XHHW-2, NM-B, UF-B, Bare Copper SEU; aluminum THHN & XHHW-2; overhead and URD cables; armor clad MC products.
• Cope Cable Tray Ladder and I-Beam cable tray, Eagle Kwik-Tech wire basket, and fiberglass cable tray for cable management in industrial applications.
• Power-Strut Channels, fittings, accessories, electrical raceway components, and the Aickinstrut family of fiberglass products for structural support and cable routing.
• Unistrut Channels, fittings, Unistrut Defender, and accessories for structural framing and support applications.
• Atkore Allied Fittings Universal Super Fittings, liquidtight, flex-AC-MC fittings, conduit bodies, and covers for electrical installations.
• ACS/Uni-Fab Underfloor systems, prefabricated device assemblies, and raised floor wiring solutions for commercial and industrial electrical installations.
• ESL Vision LED indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures for commercial and industrial applications.
• Phoenix Lighting High performance LED lighting for harsh environments including Class 1 Div 1 and Class 1 Div 2 heavy-duty floodlights, high bays, and linear fixtures; made in Milwaukee, WI.
• King Electric Smart heating solutions including wall heaters, baseboard heaters, commercial heaters, and thermostats.
• Panasonic Ventilation Indoor air quality solutions and ventilation products for commercial and residential applications.
• Superior Tray Systems Cable bus systems with flexible connectivity and routing for data center focused applications.
• ESA Fabrication (Shark Cart, Spool Boss) Material handling and storage solutions for the electrical industry, including Shark Cart and Spool Boss brands that streamline production, increase workplace safety, and reduce costs for contractors and distributors.
• OEC Americas UL-listed lugs and neutral bars; family-owned manufacturer since 1974 with thousands of in-house manufactured SKUs focused on quality and innovation.
• Erickson Electrical Equipment Co. CT cabinets, CT and disconnect combinations, modular metering, ground detectors, termination boxes, and service heads.
• Manufacturers' Representation Services Sales representation services including outside field sales coverage by account representatives and inside sales quoting, order processing, RMA handling, billing, technical support, and customer follow-up for a portfolio of 19 electrical manufacturers in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

Named customers5 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago Sales Agency is a proud member of NEMRA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association, providing industry representation and professional development for manufacturers' representative agencies in the electrical industry.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Eaton Corporation: Global power management manufacturer with a large electrical Americas business selling wiring, connectors, and enclosures. Comparable as a manufacturer whose rep-agency distribution model parallels how CSA takes products to market.
• Hubbell Incorporated: U.S. electrical products manufacturer covering lighting, wiring, connectors, and utility products. Comparable as a manufacturer principal that uses independent rep agencies to reach the same distributor and contractor channel CSA covers.
• Schneider Electric: Global electrical products and industrial automation manufacturer. Comparable as a manufacturer principal whose square D and other product lines flow through NEMRA-style rep agencies into the same distributor and contractor channel CSA serves.
• Atkore International: Manufacturer of electrical raceway, cable, and safety products whose brands (Allied Tube & Conduit, AFC Cable Systems, Cope, Power-Strut, Unistrut, Allied Fittings) form the bulk of CSA's line card. Comparable as the upstream principal whose commission economics drive CSA's revenue.

Regional players

• Crescent Electric Supply Company: Fifth-generation electrical distributor serving Midwest customers. Comparable because it sells the same electrical apparatus, lighting, and wire/cable products to contractors and industrial accounts overlapping CSA's Illinois/NW Indiana territory.
• Border States Electric Supply: Employee-owned electrical distributor headquartered in the Upper Midwest serving contractor and industrial customers. Comparable because it competes for the same contractor/distributor relationships in the regional Midwest market CSA serves.

Broad incumbents

• Rexel USA: Global electrical distributor serving contractors and industrial customers across North America. Comparable because it sells similar electrical apparatus, wiring, and lighting products to the same distributor/contractor customer base that CSA supports on the rep side.
• Graybar: Largest employee-owned U.S. electrical, communications, and data networking products distributor. Comparable because it supplies the same distributor and contractor accounts for conduit, wire, lighting, and data center infrastructure that CSA represents.
• Sonepar USA: Global electrical distributor with a large U.S. footprint serving commercial, industrial, and contractor customers. Comparable as a competing channel for moving electrical products into the same Chicagoland distributors and contractors CSA calls on.
• W.W. Grainger: Broad-line industrial MRO distributor carrying electrical, lighting, and facility products to commercial and industrial buyers. Comparable as a broader incumbent touching the same end customers on parts of CSA's portfolio, though with a far wider product set.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicagosalesagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Chicago Sales Agency