Columbia Electric
Columbia Electric is, and has been, a leading wholesale electrical supply distributor in Southeastern Massachusetts since 1932. Our four convenient locations are ideally suited to service the local industry quickly and effectively.
At Columbia Electric we know the value of customer service! Over the years we have shaped our company to fit the needs of our customers, offering a wide range of quality products, and continued training to guarantee them the service and technical support they've come to know and depend on.
We cater to the commercial,
industrial, and residential electrician by always staying
informed and up to date with new technology, new products, and
changes in the way they do business. Our reputation for
knowledge and our large inventory is unmatched in our area!
Today...After 70 years, we have a lot of stories to tell. The best one is happening right now. Over the last year and half, we have been adding carefully selected members to our team to enhance the service and knowledge level that Columbia has been known for since 1932. We are confident in our team to support your electrical needs from switchgear and lighting packages to packages of
ty-wraps and wirenuts.
We Deliver:Product:
We are aligned with only the best quality of vendor products available in the market today and we have it on the shelves. Stocking the items you need with access to the special order products that are hard to come by.
Service: Switchgear and
lighting departments, established deliver routes, flexibility
for emergency deliveries, and after hours emergency response,
contract r trainings, product demonstrations and many
more...
Knowledge: With over 70 years
in business, we have a collective knowledge that is
unsurpassed in the industry. That knowledge continues to grow
with out dedication to training for our entire team.
History
The city of Brockton is a major urban community south of Boston with a rich industrial history. Brockton was the shoe-manufacturing center of the region from the late 18th century through the 1950's. In the Civil War, it was claimed that half of the Union Army wore boots made in Brockton and at the height of the show industry in 1929, more than 30,000 people were employed by shoe
manufacturers in a city which dominated the world footwear market until after World War II.
 The city was the site of pioneering in electrical power in 1883 when the third electrical
power station in the country was opened under the supervision of Thomas Edison. In 1884, Edison returned to witness the opening of the City Theater, the first in the world to be lighted from a central power station. The city was also the site of the first fire station to be electrically operated. Brockton was also first in electric-powered streetcars and introduced a widely copied municipal system of inland sewage disposal in 1893. Brockton didn't stop there when it came to leading the pack.
 In the 1920's, there was a contract from the south shore that would take lists from other local contractors on his way in to Boston for supplies. He realized the power of buying in bulk and the need for supplies in the ever-growing south shore and could foresee a lucrative business. His name was Nicholas Papani, and this was where his legacy began...
It as in 1932 that Columbia Electric Supply, Inc. was born. According to Mr. Papani's beloved daughter, Dorothy, the name was chosen for its symbolism of power, after the S.S. Columbia. It was this power and love of America that drove Nicholas V. Papani, an
Italian immigrant coming to this country with nothing but a vision, to build his family.
Columbia Electric Supply occupied one
half of a building, owned by the First Baptist Church at
217-219 Warren Avenue. It was here, a few months after the
move was complete, that Robert L. Palmer was appointed manager
of Columbia Electric Supply. The company thrived for many
years alone in this location until the addition of the Taunton
branch in 1978.
 It wasn't until 1990 that
Columbia would embark on yet another adventure in moving to
its current Brockton location at 22 Station Avenue. The
building, an old Stride Rite shoe factory, had been used for
storage as a central warehouse. Mr. Palmer was very proud of the old children's shoe factory and the
history it held. He made it a point to preserve as much
of the original features of the building as possible during
the renovations. It was renovated during the summer of 1990
and the move was made in December of 1990.
 The Fall River
Branch was introduced in the summer of 1992.
Over a decade later, in June 2007, Columbia moved it's Taunton Branch to 250 Revolutionary Drive in East Taunton. And then later in the Fall of 2007, Columbia added a fourth branch location – Columbia’s newest location – 474 Dorchester Ave in South Boston!!!
|
