For nearly 25 years, Hill Electric has been a proud partner of Border States, a prominent construction, industrial, and utility market supplier located in Greenville. We had the privilege of speaking with Border States Account Manager, Joe Carroll, about their partnership with Hill Electric and some of the ways we work together to provide quality and innovative solutions for every project.
Can you expand on how you became connected with Hill Electric?
Mike Davis (CEO, Hill Electric) and I were formerly employed by Cameron & Barkley, a wholesale electrical distributor. While at Cameron & Barkley, Mike worked tirelessly to develop and grow a relationship with Hill Electric. Mike later moved to Hill Electric but left a great team of professionals in place at Cameron & Barkley. I was fortunate to join that group following Mike’s departure. I later moved to Shealy Electrical Wholesalers, now Border States Electric.
How many years have you been a supplier to HEC? Is there a particular product that you specialize in or service?
As memory serves, our partnership began in 1999 providing distribution equipment, lighting, raceway, conductors, and much more.
Why does Border States value partnering with Hill Electric as a supplier?
Hill Electric employs a professional and knowledgeable staff of caring individuals who perform well as a team. The company works diligently to train and equip their employees with the goal that each employee may find a home-away-from-home from which to retire. We tend to think that we mirror that level of professionalism, knowledge, caring, teamwork, and employee development.
Hill Electric finds success in developing and maintaining long-term relationships. We also value long-term relationships much more than short-term contracts.
Tell us about your experience partnering with Hill Electric on the project at Michelin during the 2022 holiday shutdown?
Conductor installation in an industrial setting often proves to be cumbersome and tedious. With assistance from Will Highland of Southwire (who afforded calculations related to potential ‘pinch points’) and forward thinking by David Wolke of Hill Electric (who developed and implemented a flawless installation procedure) this complex ‘pull’ was carried out in a timely and efficient manner without incident or disruption.
According to Southwire Field Sales Rep, William Highland, “Pulling 15KV 3 conductor in tray cable is an immense challenge in itself. When there are six tray runs at 1,800 feet, the cable is armored, and each reel weighs over 10,000 pounds, it makes the challenge even more daunting. With proper planning, coordination, well-engineered pulling calculations, properly spaced out in-line feeders and an exceptional workforce, this job was able to be completed without a hiccup.” David Wolke, Hill Electric Vice President, added,“The medium voltage feeder pull completed over the 2022 holidays was an extremely complicated installation. Working with the customer and our partners, we were able to work through the obstacles prior to the pull. With our partners, we were able to smoothly complete the installation and minimize the downtime for our customer.”
Hill Electric greatly values their relationship with Border States over the last 20+ years. Trey Thomas, Hill Electric President and CEO, explained, “Having a great relationship with your supplier is an integral part of performing the job in a timely and cost-effectively. At Hill Electric, we value our relationship with Border States over the last 20+ years. When a project is on a tight timeline or an urgent need in the middle of the night, it’s vital to have a trusted partner like Border States.”
For Hill Electric, building and maintaining a strong relationship with a trusted supplier like Border States is essential to delivering projects on time and within budget. As we look back on over 20 years of partnership, we value the expertise, professionalism, and commitment that Border States brings to every project. Whether we’re facing tight timelines or unexpected challenges, we know that we can rely on Border States to be a reliable partner and help us find innovative solutions to complex problems.
