OneSource Distributors, an electrical distribution company based in Oceanside, California, recently received a Mark of Excellence Award from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) for its performance during San Diego's 2007 fires. It was presented at the utility company's 2007 firestorm supplier recognition event held on December 5, 2007.

"OneSource was a critical part of our supply chain and instrumental in the restoration of service to our customers. They did an outstanding job under very challenging circumstances," said Michael R. Niggli, chief operating officer of SDG&E.

"As one of our major suppliers, OneSource Distributors was instrumental in helping us respond to and recover from the devastating 2007 firestorms. Their whatever it takes attitude and ability to execute in an emergency were critical to the restoration of service to our customers," Niggli said.

According to Michael Clark, general manager and vice president of the utility division at OneSource Distributors, the fires posed great challenges. "We had trucks coming in and out 24 hours a day. The first couple of days were chaotic, but we quickly got into our rhythm. Four employees worked double shifts (24 hours a day) for 12 days straight and really put in extra effort. We had cots set up here so they could take breaks and sleep. In addition, 16 other people worked single shifts," he said.

In addition, OneSource made its facilities available as command centers for crews working to restore service to SDG&E customers. OneSource worked with more than 50 different manufacturers to provide nearly 800 different stock items and approximately 1.7 million pieces of material, according to Niggli.

"Our people felt a lot of compassion for those that were displaced in the community. Our primary goal was to take care of our customer, but it also gave us a better understanding of what our community was going through. Many of our people were displaced, too," said Clark.

OneSource has built its utility division within the past 5 years. "Utilities are our largest, fastest-growing segment and also the most demanding," said OneSource Distributors President Robert Zamarripa. In early 2003 OneSource purchased Orange Coast Electric Supply Inc. in Irvine, California. This allowed OneSource to further grow geographically and provided an opportunity to enter the utility market since Orange Coast had a contract with a large publicly owned utility. Since then, OneSource has continued to work with industrial maintenance and repair operations (MRO), institutional and commercial MRO, electrical contractors, and original equipment manufacturers in addition to utility customers. OneSource Distributors' total sales in 2007 grew to $249 million.

About OneSource Distributors: OneSource Distributors is a privately owned distributor of electrical, utility and automation products based in Oceanside, California. OneSource has been headquartered in San Diego County for 25 years. It has 11 locations and currently employs 315 with locations in California, Nevada, Arizona and Baja California. The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified. ISO 9001 is an international standard for quality management systems.

Mon Feb 18 15:21:00 CST 2008