OAKVILLE, ON, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Spark Power Group
Inc. (TSX: SPG, SPG.WT), parent company to Spark Power Corp.
("Spark Power" or the "Company"), a leading independent provider of
integrated power solutions to industrial, commercial, and
institutional customers across North
America, today announced key elements of its U.S. Expansion
strategy, focused on further diversifying its business outside of
its core Canadian markets and supporting longer-term growth.
"Today, approximately 90% of Spark Power's revenue is generated
in Canada with the bulk of that
coming from Ontario," said
Jason Sparaga, co-founder and co-CEO
of Spark Power Corp. "As part of our longer-term growth strategy,
we are looking to grow and diversify revenue in new markets across
North America but recognize that
the U.S. represents a significant expansion opportunity for Spark.
We recently established a corporate head office, added U.S. focused
personnel, to supplement the expertise we already have at the
senior management and board level, and hired a third-party market
research firm to identify regions of interest and initial focus.
Longer term, we expect the U.S. market to account for an
increasingly larger share of total corporate revenue."
In 2018, Spark Power advanced its U.S. strategy by:
- opening its first location in Minnesota under the Northwind brand, focused
on Renewables Operation and Maintenance; and
- acquiring the California
operations of New Electric, including branches in Fresno and Fremont, establishing a presence in the
Western U.S.
Spark has now established its new U.S. Corporate Head Office in
Raleigh, NC. The facility
will also be home to a new operating branch offering high and low
voltage technical services in the region. Under the
leadership of a recently hired branch manager, operational ramp-up
is actively underway and business development activities are being
conducted from the location.
"We chose Raleigh as the
location for our U.S. Corporate Head Office because of its
reputation for welcoming innovation, proximity to an established
and growing industrial, commercial, and institutional base, the
presence of key OEM's in the area, and its central location on the
eastern seaboard," said Richard
Jackson, COO of Spark Power. "We view Raleigh as the ideal gateway to begin
accessing a broader array of opportunities across the southeastern
U.S. including both regular technical service work, as well as
storm recovery initiatives."
To support its U.S. growth strategy, Spark Power has hired
Mark Lyons as its U.S. Vice
President & General Manager leading its Technical Services
platform. Mark is an experienced leader with more than 25
years of U.S operational management experience in the electrical
industry. Mark joins Spark having worked with equipment
manufacturers and service providers with operations in the U.S.
including Eaton Corp., Moeller Electric, and Rockwell Automation
(Sprecher+Schuh). Having full P&L responsibility, Mark
will focus on the orderly rollout of new branches, key market
identification, acquisition opportunities, and organic growth
opportunities with existing customers.
As part of the original New Electric Canadian transaction in
January 2017, Spark Power acquired
New Electric's proprietary back-office operating platform and
continues to employ a branch model that centralizes core business
functions at the head office level. The Company intends to increase
its presence in the U.S. market through a combination of new branch
openings and acquisitions. Spark Power has a number of Canadian
industrial, commercial, and institutional customers that also have
facilities in the U.S. and intends to prioritize openings in
regions where there are opportunities to expand existing
relationships and begin servicing these customers in new
jurisdictions.
As an example, in mid-2018, existing Toronto-based customer FGF Brands ("FGF")
acquired a new facility in San Antonio,
TX with the goal of bringing its track record of quality and
innovation in the baked goods space to the U.S. Building on a
successful relationship in the Ontario market, Spark is exploring supporting
FGF's electrical solutions needs in this new market. Spark expects
that FGF would serve as an anchor customer in the central
Texas region as the Company builds
out a New Electric branch. Spark has already begun the process of
securing industrial-commercial space for the proposed branch and is
in the process of hiring a Branch Manager.
"FGF leverages advanced manufacturing technology to bring
wholesome and high-quality foods to market with speed and scale,
and we needed a power solutions partner that could keep pace," said
Tejus Ajmera, co-founder of FGF Brands. "Spark Power has been a
trusted provider to FGF in Canada
offering integrated solutions for our low, medium and high-voltage
power infrastructure as well as engineering, process and automation
expertise. With this entry into the Texas market, Spark is now able to support us
across multiple geographies, proving themselves to be true partners
with FGF."
About Spark Power Corp.
Spark Power Corp. (TSX: SPG,
SPG.WT) is a leading independent provider of integrated power
solutions to industrial, commercial and institutional customers
across North America. Spark Power's 750+ employees help
deliver powerful solutions that reduce costs, make the environment
a priority and empower our 6,500 + customers to transition to the
grid of the future. Learn more at www.sparkpowercorp.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the
meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect Spark Power's
current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking
statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate",
"project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate"
and other similar expressions. These statements are based on Spark
Power's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and
include, without limitation, statements regarding the future
success of Spark Power's long-term growth strategy and execution
thereof and, in particular, it's United
States growth strategy business development and execution
thereof by Messrs. Sparaga and Jackson.
The forward-looking statements in this news release are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the
results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers,
therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such
forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking
statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except
as expressly required by applicable law, Spark Power assumes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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SOURCE Spark Power Group Inc.