Current expands partnership with FRM

Perhaps you remember the playing card game called 52 Pickup (and if you don’t, here’s a link to remind you.) With lighting agents having a minimum of 52 lines, it seems like they are updating their linecard regularly.

And sometimes they need to update their linecard, and manufacturers need to update their agency linecard, due to agency consolidation.

That is what drove the latest lighting agency / lighting manufacturer realignment.

According to the press release below, Current strengthened / consolidated its relationship with FRM Lighting and Controls, bringing the GE lamp portion of the business under the FRM Lighting and Controls umbrella.

Current expands partnership with FRM to represent its GE Lamp Brand in Southeastern U.S.

Per the press release …

“Current has chosen to expand its partnership with FRM Lighting and Controls to represent the GE lamps brand portfolio in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee (except Memphis), and counties in Southern Virginia effective August 1, 2024.

FRM already represents Current’s HLI Brand fixtures in South Carolina and the Miami, Florida area. They currently represent GLI Brand Fixtures in Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

“FRM has been a stalwart in the southeastern United States’ electrical industry for over 50 years and they have built a reputation for excellence and reliability,” Current VP of Outdoor & Specialty Tom Boyle said. “With all that expertise, FRM continues to lead the way in providing innovative electrical solutions and unparalleled customer service, and we are delighted to be working with them to offer our GE lamps line of products.”

“We are looking forward to expanding this partnership with FRM and are eager to continue our close collaboration,” Current Chief Commercial Officer Chip Taylor said. “FRM’s history in the electrical industry combined with Current’s legacy of GE lamps enable a best-in-class experience for our valued customers in the southeastern states.”

Current and FRM share a commitment for excellence and continuous innovation within the commercial and industrial lighting industry.

“FRM is honored to have the opportunity to represent Current for GE lamps and ballasts as part of our expanding relationship with Current in the Southeast,” FRM Managing Partner Mark Fink said. “With the combined efforts of our traditional FRM C&I sales team and our FRM Lighting & Controls sales team, we will strive to give our customers a best-in-class experience. We are thankful for the trust that Current has put in our organization, and we are ready to get to work.”

“We believe in Current’s vision and leadership,” Bell & McCoy Executive Vice President Rob Duncan said. “This is a huge step in growing the FRM/Bell & McCoy partnership with Current. Our customers will benefit from the traditional FRM sales team’s prowess at distribution, partnered with the Lighting and Controls sales team’s ability to create demand from specifiers and contractors.”

FRM Lighting and Controls is a division of FRM, which expanded significantly via its merger with Bell and McCoy last year.

While FRM Lighting and Controls already had GLI and HLI fixture components in a number of its territories, it does not in some. This was the same for the lamp portion of the business. Some of this consolidation was due to timing in a territory where FRM did not have the lamp line. Other elements were moving from a direct sales model to an agency model and another element was an agency change. Further, the Bell and McCoy division has a number of territories where they support Current.

Current treats Bell and McCoy and FRM Lighting and Controls as separate agencies from a contractual viewpoint, however, as Chip Taylor commented at the recent LightX show, a regional event put on by the two agencies that attracted over 1400 people, “”We see Bell & McCoy and FRM Lighting & Controls as key partners that can effectively deliver our products, solutions, and applications across their customer base. Ultimately, it’s all about the customer and how best to serve them in the market.”

Inside.Lighting’s Al Uszynski attended LightX, moderated a panel discussion and recently shared some thoughts on the event. (And, as an aside, with agents running events such as this and drawing large crowds, and presumably all of their manufacturers, what does this due to an event like LightFair?)

Thoughts

• Check out the link to the LightX conference as multiple panelists share thoughts about lighting agency consolidation. Spoiler alert – it’s the future.
• And if the future is lighting agency consolidation (and interestingly, there have been no Acuity or Cooper Lighting agents merge yet), expect either “mega / regional agencies” or more agencies becoming truly full line, meaning that there is an electrical supply element and a lighting element. Further down the line, do not be surprised if the utility reps come under the same umbrella for visionary agencies. Or perhaps the A/V market. Think “whatever type of electrical material the ‘customer’ needs.”
  • Note: Consolidation is not the only path to the future as Prysmian’s recent rep agency changes highlight. The key is a strong agency that is able to serve its customer (the manufacturer.)

Your thoughts on …

• Viability of LightFair if agencies continue to have regional shows that are supported by manufacturers? Is there a need? Would you attend?
• If you attended LightX, your impressions?
• If you are a manufacturer, do you desire your regional / national agency to be “all in” or are you willing to take the “best available player” in each market? (and please answer anonymously or email me and I’ll genericize it for you … all off the record!)