Service Wire Co. is working with Habitat for Humanity to fulfill their vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Since 1988, Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam has been helping provide people with safe and affordable homes. To date, they have constructed 171 homes with the support of an extensive network of volunteers, contributors and full-time employees. Service Wire is proud to be among those contributors.
In 2015, Ron Gibson, Service Wire’s Purchasing & Logistics Manager, represented Service Wire as a volunteer on a Habitat build with a group of local industry leaders. Afterward, Louis Weisberg, President of Service Wire, increased the Company’s support by donating wire the company had manufactured. Since then, when a build begins, Habitat for Humanity contacts Service Wire for their wire needs.
“Once we get the request, it’s a group effort. Everyone pitches in to help make it happen,” says Ron. “Engineering determines the wire needed, sales does the paperwork, distribution sends the wire and the credit office and accounting take care of the donation.”
Most recently, Service Wire donated wire for three homes in Kanawha County, West Virginia, about 25 miles from their Culloden facility. Constructed on 50 acres of donated property, there are 12 houses – some completed with families moved in and some under construction.
While Service Wire doesn’t typically sell to the residential market, they donated Service Entrance (SER) cable, which connects the mast pole to the meter base to the breaker box. They also donated Tray Cable to hook up the breaker boxes to the heat pump and/or furnace, as well as to the hot water tanks in the houses.
Derek Jones, Service Wire Sales Representative, was involved in the donation. Last week, he made a trip to the site where the wire was being installed. There, he met Bill (Tiny) Hernshaw, Construction Supervisor for Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam. Tiny (as he prefers to be called) has been overseeing the construction of homes for Habitat for 18 years. His 100th house is next door to the house where Derek was seeing the wire installed.
Tiny told Derek “We are so blessed for these donations. The quality of the wire Service Wire donates is far superior to what we could afford to buy, which would be aluminum. Copper Wire is the best!”
Tiny introduced Derek to Bill Frame and Mike Abernathy, who were working to install the wire. Both are retired, but maintain their Master Electrician Certifications so they can donate their time, working alongside other volunteers.
Derek knew that donating this wire was charitable thing for the Company to do, but said that actually seeing the wire put to use in homes for families was an eye-opening experience. “By donating this wire, Service Wire is helping others to build a community. That makes me feel good about working for this organization.”
To expand on the partnership, Service Wire is currently organizing a volunteer effort for employees to work together at a build site.
Service Wire is an independently owned business and has been since 1968. Their nationwide network of distributors and advanced distribution capabilities enables then to meet the often-complex needs of clients throughout North American and the world.
