Southwire to Realign Business Toward Strategic Growth

CARROLLTON, Ga., — In support of the company's five-year strategic plan and in an effort to grow sustainably and profitably, Southwire announced that it will reorganize its executive leadership and business structure. Through this new alignment, Southwire is placing an increased emphasis on its core wire and cable business and looking at opportunities to focus more intently on areas like metals management, modernization, research and development, and systems optimization, all while remaining a premier employer and best serving the needs of its customers.

"Our long-term strategic vision to build upon our core and look for opportunities in adjacent and transformational spaces remains solid," said Rich Stinson, Southwire's CEO. "As we grow, it is important that we focus on the success of our wire and cable business first and spend the majority of our short-term efforts executing upon on our core growth strategies and operational initiatives like modernization and systems optimization."

In line with this commitment, Norman Adkins will now serve as the company's executive vice president and chief commercial officer — wire and cable. Underneath this unification of wire and cable, the company will center its efforts to best serve customers through its expansive product breadth and drive growth, service and profitability within key channels — including utility, residential & commercial, Industrial & OEM, International and Canada.

Adkins has more than two decades of experience with the company, leading marketing, sales and business initiatives across wire and cable teams in areas such as international, utility, OEM and retail and electrical distribution, most recently serving as EVP and President of Southwire's Construction Systems & Solutions Group.

"I've spent most of my 20+ years gaining insight into all areas of Southwire's business. The thing I'm most excited about is that we have the best people and products in the industry," said Adkins. "As we move forward as ONE Southwire, our focus will be on simplicity, speed and coordination."

While Adkins places an intent focus on the wire and cable business, Brandon Moss will be promoted to executive vice president of tools, components & assembled products. Under Moss's leadership, Southwire will continue to leverage the success of its existing and recently acquired tools, components & assembled products businesses to deliver value, drive profitability and further support its core wire and cable business.

Moss joined Southwire in 2007 as part of the retail sales team and was a key contributor to the launch, growth and development of the company's tools & equipment business. This segment of Southwire's product offering has grown, both organically and through acquisition, since 2012 to now include a wide variety of hand tools, contractor equipment, assembled solutions, connectors, lighting products and more. In 2018, the company completed two acquisitions, Garvin and ProBuilt, further supporting its commitment to growth in this space.

Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS

"Aligning with our corporate strategy, we will focus on profitably growing our core tools, components and assembled products business," said Moss. "Over the last five years, we have built a strong tools team and product offering. We will now grow our existing solutions, maximize our ability to accelerate our growth and work to best meet the needs of our customers."

Additionally, as one of the leading consumers of copper and aluminum in the world, the company is strengthening its approach to metals management and the vital impact it has on the business. With this in mind, Charlie Murrah will now serve as Southwire's executive vice president of metals and will place a renewed emphasis on how the company participates in the metals market.

Murrah began his career with Southwire in 1984 as an industrial engineer in the Carrollton Utility Products Plant. He subsequently held numerous engineering and management positions in Southwire's energy cable and copper operations, serving most recently as the company's executive vice president and president of Southwire's Power Systems & Solutions Group.

"In my career, I've seen, first-hand, how metals can support our quest to be world class, and I've also seen the reverse - how they can compromise the foundation of the business," said Murrah. "I'm excited about bringing both a producer's and a consumer's perspective to this role and see opportunity as we enhance our cadence and disciplines around metals management."

Additionally, the company will place further emphasis on its operations teams, focusing on strategic initiatives including safety, systems optimization and investments in modernization, strengthening its core and supporting the company's growth objectives.

All executive transitions will be effective on Jan. 15. With these transitions, leaders are assessing their team structures and working to identify and address any opportunities, redundancies or overlap that may result from the new organization, which will include a restructure in the company's salaried management workforce.

"I, along with the rest of our leadership team, look forward to how these changes will position us to best support Southwire's strategic growth and allow us to remain a leader, both in our industry and as a great place to work," said Stinson. "Moving into our new structure, it will require our ONE Southwire culture of empowerment, trust, consistency and inclusion to execute upon and reach the plans we have set for our future, and I believe we have the right team in place to achieve these goals."

Publication date: 1/9/2019

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!