Crawford Electric Opens New Location In New Braunfels
New branch to serve customers in the Texas tri-county area between San Antonio and Austin

Dallas, Texas, September 19, 2008 – Crawford Electric Supply, a subsidiary of Sonepar USA, announced the opening of its New Braunfels location, the electrical distributor’s 8th location overall and 7th in the state of Texas.

The New Braunfels location is a newly constructed 25,000 square-foot facility, with a 4,000 square-foot office and full service counter area. In addition to an efficiently laid out office and warehouse, Crawford incorporated many “green” initiatives throughout the new facility, including a tilt wall/cement building with a double insulated roof, the highest rated Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) air conditioning and heating units and T-5 fluorescent highbays lighting up the warehouse. In addition, the New Braunfels location includes motion sensors throughout the office areas, and double-paned energy efficient windows and doors. The T-5 fluorescent highbays will produce an annual energy savings of $6,150, and Crawford forecasts a 25% savings on overall utility costs for the facility.

These environmentally-responsible solutions complement Sonepar USA’s sustainability program called BLUEWAY, which is focused on educating customers about eco-friendly products that use less energy and fewer natural resources.

"We have been serving contractors in the New Braunfels area for some time now,” said Craig Levering, CEO of Crawford Electric Supply. “This new facility will allow us to supply those customers in a more convenient location. Plus, our state-of-the-art design and energy-efficient operations clearly demonstrates Crawford’s dedication to environmentally responsible business practices. Crawford continues to do ‘Whatever it Takes’ to deliver quality products and services to our customers.”

The New Braunfels facility is conveniently located ¾ mile off IH35 at 2434 Goodwin Lane Suite A, and is managed by Jimmy Obuch.

About Crawford Electric Supply
Crawford Electric Supply, also known as CESCO, joined Sonepar USA in January 2007. Founded in 1986, Crawford has grown dramatically over the years. The company was ranked 27th among the largest electrical and lighting distributors in the U.S. for 2006, by Electrical Wholesale Magazine. Crawford is headquartered in Dallas, Texas with branches in Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, College Station, Austin, Texas and recently New Orleans, Louisiana and New Braunfels, Texas.

About Sonepar USA
Sonepar USA is made up of the finest electrical supply distributors in the United States. The company has 4,400 associates in 11 companies operating more than 240 branches in 32 states. In 2007, Sonepar USA achieved $2.9 billion (estimated) in revenue. It is a member of the Sonepar group - the world's largest privately held electrical distributor. Worldwide, Sonepar employs over 25,250 employees, with 1,450 branch locations and 2007 annual sales of $15.3 billion.