Amping it up

By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

N 1987, LEE DEROSE, ELECTRICIAN and owner of Yesco Electrical Supply, left a good-paying job at General Motors' Lordstown complex, placed startup expenses of $5,000 on a credit card and took a chance on starting a new business.

"It was during a recession. There was one [electrical supply company] on every corner," DeRose said.

His initial product line consisted of PVC pipe, steel conduit and wire. "That's as basic as you can get in our industry."

Almost two decades later, Yesco offers more than 165,000 items from more than 400 manufacturers, and DeRose oversees a multimillion-dollar enterprise with six stores that serve 12 counties in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Along with locations in Youngstown and Columbiana, Yesco's Pennsylvania stores include one in New Castle, one in Ellwood City and two in New Brighton.

By acquiring other companies, Yesco has doubled its staff to 60 in recent years.

The company also does national and international business through its Web site and was chosen to supply electrical products for the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown.

Of the dozen local companies in operation when Yesco began, only four, including Yesco, remain today.

Reason for success

The keys to his success, said DeRose, are quality engineered products, customer service, knowledgeable sales staff and a vision of the bigger picture.

The company's present inventory includes the basics — pipe, wire, light bulbs as well as complex generation systems, high-voltage equipment, motor control products, computer equipment and fire systems.

The company's low-voltage line, including sound and camera systems, is "what's really taking off now," he said.

DeRose admits to a lifelong interest in mastering and using the latest technology. "If it's complicated, I want it," he said.

In the early 1980s, that desire led him to apply for and be accepted into a four-year, state-approved apprenticeship offered at the Lordstown plant in the electrical trade.

DeRose completed the program and remained with GM for an additional year before taking a 90-day leave of absence to pursue his dream.

"I always wanted to own a business and I came from an industrial background, so I had a working knowledge of the materials," DeRose said.

Starting out

At the time, he was 24 years old, single and living at home, which he said afforded him the opportunity to make the move.

His first store location was a smaller shop at 531 Marshall St.

"I was the delivery guy, the sales staff and the accountant," DeRose said of those early days.

In the beginning, Yesco doubled its sales volume every year and soon outgrew its original shop. In 1990, Yesco moved down the street to 648 Marshall St., now its main sales office.

When DeRose needed to expand again in 1996, the lack of available land on Marshall Street led him to buy a five-acre Columbiana property, which became Yesco's corporate headquarters and a smaller sales branch.

A Youngstown native, DeRose said he had to overcome his reluctance to set up business outside of the city. Moving to Columbiana, however, "was a negative that turned into a plus. It taught me how to run branches."

What's important

Throughout his business growth, DeRose said he has stressed ethics, values, accuracy, teamwork and continuing education.

"You magnify your talents through the people you hire. Our employees help our company grow because they enjoy the working atmosphere," said DeRose, who has never laid off an employee.

To maintain competitive pricing on his products, DeRose is part of IMARK GROUP Inc., a member-owned marketing group made up of 184 independently owned electrical distributors throughout the United States. In addition to purchasing power, IMARK offers training on all aspects of the industry.

"My philosophy is we have to replace everybody some day, even me. So we better have somebody behind me who can take over," the owner said.

Noting that Yesco is a young company which has grown through three recessions, DeRose expects continued growth. He said the products he sells are all staged for growth. "We don't buy anything with limits."

Yesco sells to industrial, commercial and retail customers. DeRose said his company's two largest growth areas locally come from the health care industry and schools.