GLEN ALLEN, VA – City Electric Supply is proud to announce that the CES Richmond North branch has teamed up with Shockoe Solar for their latest solar project – Herod Seeds. The CES store was able to not only beat some serious competitors for their biggest solar project to date, they also were able to supply everything needed for the project thanks to some assistance from REC Solar. “CES has a great partnership with them, and they make an incredible-looking product,” said CES Richmond North Outside Sales Representative Jason Joyner. “Not only do their modules look really good, but, REC has one of the highest efficiencies in their watt class and one of the best warranties in the industry.
The project was very exciting and special to the branch because, according to Joyner, typically landing panels is no walk in the park. “I always quote everything, but solar modules especially have not typically been easy to land for CES in the past as CES didn’t highly participate in the space. Thanks to our new RES division, it is now possible for CES to participate and compete in this market,” explained Joyner. “There are a lot of different sources and manufacturers for solar modules, and of course everyone’s looking for the best price, best efficiency, and best availability.”
Landing the project wasn’t the only challenge, though — they still had to figure out the project and determine the building material. “It takes time to figure everything out before diving in, but that comes with the territory. That’s how you get the job done well,” said Joyner. “And you know, we still turned it around in about six months.”
A contributing factor to securing the project in addition to helping throughout the process is City Electric Supply’s Renewable Energies division. “Like I mentioned before, there are plenty of different makes and models of modules, and Rob Smith from the RES team was involved in vetting many manufacturers and only partnering CES with some of the best in the industry,” said Joyner. “His decade plus of experience in the market on the contractor side has built a network that he relies heavily on every day to build and support this space for CES and its customers. He was right beside me the whole time, making sure everything was correct. He’s been a huge help. Huge.”
And while the team was excited to land a massive project like Herod Seeds, Joyner also enjoyed working with Bernie Stanley, the owner of Shokoe Solar, and the rest of Stanley’s team. “It sounds cliché, but we really just hit it off. I love working with them. The guys, the personalities. Everyone’s nice, great to work with and learn from. I’ve always enjoyed working with them, and I don’t see that ending anytime soon,” said Joyner.
Excited about their excellent relationship and what it will bring in the future, Joyner and his team are fully focused on the future. “My mindset is always, ‘What’s next? Let’s go,’” admitted Joyner. “Don’t get me wrong, any time you can make something that big happen at a branch that hasn’t really done anything like it before is definitely exciting, and I’m really happy with how this turned out, but I’m also ready to see what other opportunities are still to come.”
And it’s safe to say the opportunities coming will live up to the anticipation. “There are already some big things in the works,” added Joyner. “We’re now working on Overbrook, a big development in Richmond, and I’m happy to say there’s even more on the horizon for us.”
Joyner is the first to say that none of it would be possible without his team – District Manager Sam Morse, Branch Manager Ed Bolka, Operations Manager Paul “PJ” Harman, Inside/Counter Sales Representative Mike Redmond, and Driver Mark Brown. With such a skilled group of people, CES Richmond has an exciting future ahead.
City Electric Supply (CES) is a family-owned electrical wholesale distributor headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
