PDI growing as it fuels equipment to data centers
Power Distribution Inc. sees growing opportunities as more companies gravitate to the cloud for data storage or expand their data centers.
The equipment that goes into and powers those data centers is made by the Henrico County-based company.
"They are turning to (Power Distribution) for efficient power management solutions to support their increased data storage and retrieval needs," said Rob Sweaney, the company's president.
The company has seen explosive growth in recent years fueled, in part, by the expansion of data centers.
From 2007 to 2010, Power Distribution had a three-year growth rate of 300 percent.
It was listed on Inc. 5000's list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies in 2010 and 2011. The company ranked No. 300 on Deloitte's list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in North America.
The company is expected to generate about $156 million in sales this year.
About 50 percent of the company's business is focused on the data-center market.
Luke Norris, chief executive of the cloud services company Peak Colo in Denver, sees Power Distribution as a "leader in data-center power management and power distribution."
"Their new product is great for enterprise and medium business co-location (rented data center space) providers such as myself," he said.
The increasing need for equipment for data centers caused the company to open a second plant in Henrico in January to manufacture transformers used at the centers.
Power Distribution has a proven track record with its customers, Sweaney said.
"In this business, you can't have any failures," Sweaney said. "We have developed most of the products sold in the industry today."
Jon Shank, a partner of commercial real estate development firm Pelio & Associates in Saratoga, Calif., uses a data-center module from Power Distribution.
"Before we engaged with (Power Distribution), we had heard good things about them," he said. "I have found them to be proactive and creative in their solutions."
In 1978, Rail Bearing Service Inc., which sold and serviced bearings and related parts for rail cars and other equipment, created Power Distribution.
"They were looking for a way to invest their money, and they looked at the computer industry and started (Power Distribution). They made a lot of the products that are standard in data centers today," Sweaney said.
A decade later, Frank Genovese, now president of The Rothbury Corp., a Chesterfield County-based investment company, bought Power Distribution. He added Richard Combs as his partner in 1994.
The two sold the company in 2007 to Bertram Growth Capital, a venture-capital group in California.
Power Distribution was sold two months ago to Smiths Interconnect, a division of United Kingdom-based global technology business Smiths Group PLC, for $235 million.
Besides providing equipment to data centers, the company also makes transformers and power controls for alternative energy. About 21 percent of its business is devoted to alternative energy.
It entered that market in 2008 by buying Marelco Power in Michigan and Onyx Power in Costa Mesa, Calif. Both manufacturers offer a wide range of customized power solutions for data centers as well as wind, solar and other alternative-energy applications.
The company's remaining business is focused on industrial and original equipment manufacturer sales.
Power Distribution sells its products to large banks, credit institutions and large software companies.
"We are the primary supplier to a lot of big names," Sweaney said.
Copyright Richmond Times-Dispatch. Used by permission.
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