Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com January 25, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 From W. Hartford, Legrand switches on its $1B brands By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com L egrand North America, the Connecticut maker of a raft of mechanical and digi- tal household and commercial lighting and power switches and controllers/sensors, is coming off a busy 2015 for acquisitions. The U.S. arm of French lighting- and energy- system-controls manufacturer Legrand S.A. and parent of Wiremold, whose West Hartford roots date back more than a century, before Christ- mas closed its purchase of QMotion, a Florida maker of motorized window shades. Last June, Legrand North America bought a New Jersey company whose products monitor and manage energy consumption in data centers. Prudent deals like those, plus organic sales growth from its consumer catalog of more than 170,000 items, since 2013 have profitably propelled Legrand North America's annual sales above $1 billion, ranking as the parent's largest market, according to Presi- dent/CEO John Selldorff. "Legrand is probably one of the most prof- itable companies in our industry,'' Selldorff said. Through nine months of 2015, Legrand's North American sales rose 32 percent from a year earlier, officials said. As a division, the unit's annual profits are not disclosed but officials peg its operating profit margin at a healthy 16.6 percent to 17.8 percent. His division's challenge now, Selldorff says, is managing not just its sales growth, but educating interior-designers, contractors and end consumers as to all the innovative brands Legrand offers. Meantime, Legrand is, Selldorff said, forti- fying its ties as one of West Hartford's biggest employers and taxpayers, with an annual $2 mil- lion capital plan for this year and next, to install a fuel cell to power its headquarters and Wiremold production campus in the town's Elmwood sec- tion, and for ongoing office and plant improve- ments/renovations. It also is eager to expand parking for its 500 or so workers. The company says it has 20 job openings in West Hartford. Nationwide, spokeswoman Beth Welch says Legrand North America employs 2,900 people in 37 offices, manufacturing and distribution facilities, mostly in the U.S. and Canada. Eighty of those employees are based in Legrand's Data Communications Division in New London. Raising brand awareness Legrand's products, while not exactly roll- ing off consumers' lips, increasingly are incor- porated into lighting, video/audio and climate control-energy monitoring systems in homes and businesses, Selldorff said. "It's part of the evolution of the residen- tial home space,'' he said, "where people want more functionality in their homes. Homeown- ers want systems that make it more comfort- able to work out of their homes.'' Residential components and systems make up a quarter of Legrand North America's annual sales volume, with commercial/industrial sales comprising the rest, Selldorff said. Since joining Legrand in 2001, Selldorff said he has watched its catalog of 95 separate prod- uct lines swell more than 2 ½ times through innovation and re-introduction of new or exist- ing products, or through acquisitions. Legrand often takes on other brands, he said, whose previous owners either didn't want, or lacked the financial and technical means, to revise or update their products to meet changing consumer needs and tastes. "We go into spaces that many historically well-regarded companies have left,'' Selldorff said. "We like to say we transform the spaces where people live and work.'' As a result, he said, "We get fair value for what we sell.'' In turn, that affords Legrand capital to invest in more or newer products, Selldorff said. But Legrand North America's biggest and continuing challenge, Selldorff said, is building consumer awareness about its products. Much of its hardware is anonymous to end users, who rely on interior designers and building and renovation contractors to choose which of Legrand's products and systems to employ. "If you ask the average person on the street what's available [from Legrand], they don't know," Selldorff said. The company in recent years, he said, has tried TV advertising, with limited success, to spread word about its wide roster of brands and product selections. Often, he said, magazines and online publica- tions centered on home- and office-design and Continued Pop-out power outlet from Legrand's Adorne line. Legrand workers Chet Sacharko (left) and Johnston Cox pack a Legrand Wiremold custom raceway job for delivery. P H O T O S | C O N T R I B U T E D www.kelsercorp.com 111 Roberts St, Suite D East Hartford, CT 06108 860 610 2200 Technology that speaks the language of your business.

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