By Max Friar
Calder Capital, LLC, is extremely proud to announce the successful sale of C&S Electric Service of Grand Haven, MI, to Custer, Inc., of Grand Rapids, MI. Established over 30 years ago, C&S Electric is a profitable, well-established commercial and industrial electrical contracting business  specializing in private negotiated design/build, installation and service work for well-established customers throughout Michigan.
- At the Closing Table. Pictured from left to right: Patrick Corbett (C&S), Jerry Shear (C&S), Andrew Longcore (C&S Counsel), Dave Custer (Custer), Brad Laackman (Custer), Gregg Richardson (Custer)
For over 30 years, Custer, Inc. has gained a reputation as one of the Midwest’s leading Steelcase distributors. While the acquisition of a commercial electrical contractor may come as a surprise to those that know Custer solely as an office furniture company, Custer has been rapidly expanding other divisions of its business including design services, architectural products, workplace technology, Healthworks, general contracting/interior design and build-out. In order to best deal with increasing demand for its construction services, Custer acquired C&S to bring commercial electrical design/build and contracting expertise in-house.
- Patrick Corbett, Dave Custer & Jerry Shear – The Foundation of a New Partnership!
Jerry Shear and Patrick Corbett, founders and active owners of C&S Electric, said of the transaction, “Having owned our company since 1980, we were naturally very concerned about the continuity of our legacy, our employees, our customers and our eventual retirement. We cannot emphasize enough the integrity and honesty of the Custer management in helping us through this process with confidence. Custer has proven a fair, honest and reliable transition partner. We look forward to working with Custer to make the transition as beneficial as possible for their fine company.”
Brad Laackman, Director of Construction for Custer stated, “We are extremely pleased to strengthen our service offering with the addition of the C&S Electric team. Like Custer, C&S is family-owned business that takes pride in delivering quality services, which makes C&S an excellent strategic and cultural fit.”
- Dave Custer puts the finishing touches on the transaction by hand-delivering the checks!
Jerry Shear and Patrick Corbett plan to continue to actively work for Custer. In addition to the two founders, Custer is excited about adding a crew of six electricians as well as dozens of C&S customers to its business.
All parties agree that this acquisition was primarily possible due to a common core of customer and employee-centric values.