KC-based Western Extralite is sold

Western Extralite, a 76-year-old Kansas City family-run electrical wholesale supplier, has been acquired by Border States Electric of Fargo, N.D.

The purchase, announced Tuesday, is expected to be completed on Oct. 1. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Border States is ranked as the eighth-largest electrical distributor in the U.S. by Electrical Wholesaling magazine.

Western Extralite, headquartered at 1470 Liberty St., is run by the third generation of the Isenberg family. It has 250 employees and 19 locations in Kansas and Missouri. The company’s name will undergo a slight change to Western Extralite, a division of Border States.

Once the acquisition is completed, Border States will have more than 1,900 employees and 82 branches in 16 states. The combined organization will also generate annual sales of more than $1.6 billion.

Border States plans to move a regional office and two employees currently in Lubbock, Texas, to Kansas City.

Both companies are employee owned.

“Western Extralite employees will become employee-owners” of Border States, said Tammy Miller, the company’s chief executive officer.

Western Extralite was founded in 1938 by Ludwig Isenberg and his wife, Anne Isenberg, one year after they came to the United States from Europe, according to the company’s website. Their son, Ernest, and his wife, Vera, assumed leadership of the firm in the 1950s.

The company is led by the third generation, Tom Isenberg, who is president, and John Isenberg, vice president of government sales. The two will continue to work at the company following the sale, the announcement said.

“Three years ago, we started a journey to transition Western Extralite to an employee-owned company,” said John Isenberg. “Joining forces with Border States accelerates this effort while ensuring our customers will continue to be served with excellence.”

Western Extralite has grown from distributing one product, the Extralite lamp, to stocking more than 13,000 products. The name “Extralite” was derived from the extra light the silvered reflector bulb emitted, according to the company’s website.

Border States, founded in 1952 in Grand Forks, N.D., supplies products and services to construction, industrial and utility customers.

This story was originally published September 9, 2014 at 2:07 PM with the headline "KC-based Western Extralite is sold."