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In 2007, David Rosenstein and Steve Abrams purchased Classic Electric Supply of Buffalo Grove, Ill. The two were attracted to the company not for what it was, but for the business they knew it could become. Rosenstein and Abrams saw the opportunity to offer a unique set of services designed to save clients labor and energy while reducing costs in the supply chain.

The partners changed the company name to Connexion and soon began providing contractors with electrical and lighting equipment, as well as datacom products. In addition, Connexion immediately began working on an energy platform that helps businesses reduce the usage of electrical power.

After only four years in operation, Connexion has experienced substantial success. The company operates with a unique business model, which has enabled the organization to grow, even in times of economic shrinkage.

Smart Work

Connexion entered the marketplace in 2007 when the worldwide financial market was imploding. During the economic crisis, the company’s upper management made sure the business stayed nimble to ride out the downturn.

“We started out lean and developed ways to maintain and grow the company,” notes Kyle Hanson, vice president of project sales for Connexion. “That was a great lesson to have learned early in the process. Because of our experiences in the beginning, we don’t just work hard, we work smart.”

The core business of Connexion is to sell lighting and electrical supplies to commercial electrical contractors throughout the Chicago area. However, the company also operates an energy business in which it helps clients upgrade their facilities and become more energy efficient. As Hanson explains, Connexion offers a turnkey solution.

“We go into a business and do a feasibility study and an energy audit of a client’s office building, warehouse or manufacturing facility,” he says. “We run various tests and observe how the building is managed. Based on what we learn, we compile an analysis and develop a report that outlines all of the ways in which the client’s building should be run to make it more energy efficient.”

In an example of Connexion’s capabilities, the company worked for a private, Chicago-based business with a manufacturing facility, a warehouse and an office in the front of the structure. “It’s a 500,000-square-foot facility, and there are different tasks taking place within each space,” Hanson notes. “We had to go in and see what was happening in each area of the operation in order to assess the overall energy usage.”

As Hanson explains, after Connexion provided a detailed analysis of the building’s energy operation, the client chose a $300,000 energy upgrade program engineered by Connexion. “Because of the changes made to the business, the client saw a payback for their investment in just two years,” he adds.

According to Steve Abrams, partner and COO of Connexion, the value-engineering service performed by Connexion is an example of the company’s evolution from just four years ago. “We’ve increased our services in that we’ve moved away from just being able to provide a customer with a light bulb, a lighting fixture or a piece of conduit,” he says. “We design and engineer projects so that a client’s desired energy results can be achieved in a more cost-effective manner.”

Customer-Focused 

It’s difficult to have a successful business without satisfied customers. Thus, Connexion is dedicated to making sure its customers are well taken care of.

“We are constantly pushing the service envelope,” Abrams adds. “One of our key focuses is that we try to view the world through the eyes of our customer. We try to see if there are opportunities to help them increase their profitability or enter new markets.”

According to Hanson, Connexion invests heavily in technology to benefit the customer. For example, a significant part of Connexion’s business is project management, which has been automated with the use of advanced technology.

“Running large lighting and switchgear projects can be enhanced with project management software,” Hanson explains. “This technology assists us in managing the project, and it helps our customers know what’s going on with the job. The technology provides for a proactive process with the client – we’re able to give answers before they even ask the questions.”

Taking a proactive approach is at the core of Connexion’s business model. “We’ve become very good in the energy market in terms of working with customers to view their energy systems – lighting in particular – as a potential source of an opportunity to have a return on investment as opposed to just a fixed cost of utilities,” Abrams notes. “We are very focused on how to make our customers more money.”

Like Family

As Abrams explains, Connexion is not a family run company. It’s a company that runs like a family. Most of the organization’s 45 employees have been with the founding partners for more than 10 years. “We’re all a part of each other’s lives. We’ve watched each other’s children grow and get married,” Abram says. “It’s been a great experience having these types of relationships with our employees.”

Hanson attributes much of Connexion’s success to its employees and their loyalty over the years. “When the downturn happened, everyone pitched in to do their part in order to make sure we maintained operation,” he says. “We looked at many different options on what to do in order to ensure our cost structure was correct. Everyone took part in furlough days to keep costs down, and we were able to keep our entire team during the whole ordeal.”

The efforts made by everyone at Connexion during the economic downturn certainly set the course for the company’s future. “We are a mid-sized company and we’ve had increased market share for the past four years,” Abrams notes. “It’s a tough market. It’s been difficult, but we’ve been able to grow as a result of our employees and associates. In the past three years, the Chicago market has regressed, but Connexion has gained.”