By James E. Casto
HQ 43 | WINTER 2002
“I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world,” says Art Weisberg, founder and chairman of State Electric Supply Co., a Huntington-based company with more than 600 employees at more than two dozen locations in five states.
But you don’t build a business as successful as State Electric by relying on Lady Luck. Doing so demands intelligence, ambition, determination and hard work. Lots of hard work.
Art Weisberg learned at a very early age what hard work was all about. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 6, 1924, he lost his father when he was only two years old, and his mother had to struggle to support the family through the Great Depression years. As soon as he was old enough, young Weisberg pitched in to help. He shined shoes, sold newspapers and did whatever odd jobs he could.
His interest in electricity and mechanical things took root early. At age six, he decided to wire an electric lamp — and in the process managed to short out the entire electrical system in the family’s apartment.
Unperturbed, Weisberg continued to tinker and eventually, after a World War II stint with the Army in Europe, earned a degree in electrical engineering from New York’s City College. Degree in hand, he landed a job with General Electric in Philadelphia and later with an electrical contractor at a steel mill in New Haven, W.Va.
While he enjoyed electrical engineering, Weisberg found himself increasingly drawn to the idea of starting his own business.
In 1952, with a bankroll of $2,500, he took the plunge. He quit his job and started a small electrical supply business, selling items off the back of a truck to small momand-pop grocery stores and hardware stores throughout southern West Virginia.
Once the business was up and going, Weisberg, his wife Joan and brother Fred opened a modest storefront location in St. Albans, W.Va.
The St. Albans store would prove to be the first of 26 locations in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky. Today, the company has more than 700,000 square feet of warehouse space housing more than 48,000 electrical, electronic, wire and cable items. To get those items to customers, the company operates a delivery fleet of 245 vehicles. Keeping those customers happy has been the key to State Electric’s success, says Weisberg.
“Beyond quality products and competitive prices, the thing that separates our company from others is service. We believe that making an extra effort to provide customers with what they need, when they need it, will keep them happy and keep them coming back.”
State Electric stands at the core of Weisberg’s mini empire, but he always has a number of irons in the fire. Son Louis is the president of Service Wire Co., an independent subsidiary in Culloden, W.Va. (Sons Seth and Charlie, daughter Martha and son-in-law Mark also work in the family business.) Over the years, Weisberg has bought and sold a number of companies, some in the Huntington area, others far afield. In recent years, he’s been involved in business ventures in Houston, Tex., and Phoenix, Ariz..
Weisberg recalls one instance where he and some partners bought a faltering out-of-state business and moved it to Huntington. They offered the job of running it to an executive who had lost his job when a local plant downsized. They told him that if he could turn the business around they would give it to him. “All he wanted to know was how many hours a week he would have to work,” says Weisberg, still shaking his head in disbelief years later.
Although nearing age 80, Weisberg says he has no idea how many hours he works each week. He doesn’t bother to keep track. Although he’s relinquished many of the company’s day-today responsibilities to others, he says he has no intention of retiring. Working, he says, is what keeps him young. “For me, every day is something new.”
In recent years, Weisberg has spent much of his time sharing the fruits of his success with others. Friends and associates say it’s impossible to estimate how much money Art and Joan Weisberg give to charities or employees in need each year.
“I’d feel guilty living in Huntington all this time and not giving something back to the community,” says Weisberg.
He and his wife have been especially generous with Marshall University, establishing a scholarship fund and endowing a professorship in software engineering. The Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington’s Federated Jewish Charities and other organizations have also been aided by the Weisbergs.
In an effort to help employees advance, State Electric has a program whereby it reimburses those employees who take job-related courses or training. For instance, if an employee wants to take course work from the National Association of Electrical Distributors, the company initially splits the cost of the course with the employee. But when the employee successfully completes the course, the company then pays them twice what they paid in tuition.
Art Weisberg has amassed a wall full of honors recognizing his business leadership and his support of the community. He’s been honored as West Virginia’s “Master Entrepreneur of the Year” and received the Huntington Area Development Council’s Business Appreciation Award. In 1995, he was named by The Herald-Dispatch as its “Citizen of the Year” and selected by the City of Huntington Foundation for its “Wall of Fame” at the Huntington Civic Arena.
The imaginative entrepreneur’s advice for others: “Don’t hide. Push ahead. Because the future is so much fun when you push ahead.”
