LOCK HAVEN-The Tri-M Group, LLC, which bought Hanna Electric on Feb. 1, 2012, is a veritable one-stop shopping for electrical solutions, Tom Musser, chairman and majority owner of Tri-M said yesterday at a subcommittee meeting for the Clinton County Natural Gas Task Force.
While Jim Hanna, manager of Hanna Electric, emphasized that they will continue to offer quality services to their current customer base, Tri-M's ownership and variety of electrical services and expertise will expand their services not only to that customer base, but to the natural gas companies' expanding needs, as well.
Put simply, they will offer power, controls and communication to the gas companies. They'll offer various teams, including a high-voltage team that can build services for pump and compressor stations; a network service team that will empower wireless abilities; and an industrial team.
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Elizabeth Regan - The Express
The Tri-M Group, LLC, spoke yesterday at a subcommittee meeting for the Clinton County Natural Gas Task Force. From left, Tri-M Director of Business Development Paul Langan, Tri-M chairman and owner Tom Musser, Hanna Electric/Tri-M Business Development Executive Rich Musser, and Hanna Electric manager Jim Hanna.
"We offer a total service, (including) the power wiring of equipment needed in the gas industry," Hanna said.
"Anything they need, we have it, even down to security," Musser said. They also have maintenance teams for each category, said Rich Musser, business development executive for Hanna Electric/Tri-M.
They've already worked with XTO Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, and Trican in the area, fixing a damaged fiber-optic line at XTO.
Rather than hire out to different contractors to do the various aspects of the job, Tri-M has the capability to simplify that process by offering those services under one umbrella business.
"We can handle all their electrical needs," Rich Musser said. "We have state of the art technology."
Hanna concurred.
"We're using all our forces instead of hiring multiple contractors," Hanna said.
Tom Musser noted that the area's communications infrastructure is lacking and needs to be "beefed up" due to the increasing communications needs of the gas companies, which will only grow with time. In order to do so, more fiber-optic lines for high-speed communication are necessary.
"We'd put (the fiber-optic lines) up all over Lock Haven," he said.
They're excited at the prospect of working with the infrastructure the gas companies require, and bringing their efficiency to the job, Rich Musser said.
Before Tri-M bought Hanna Electric, they first looked at the culture in which they would participate.
"We look at the culture of the entity first, then the financial (aspect). If the culture doesn't fit, it's a dead issue," Tom Musser said.
Hanna Electric was a good fit because of their philosophy and business offerings, he added.
Paul Langan, director of business development, Tri-M, also explained more motivations behind the purchase.
"It was a tactical purchase, to be in this market and be part of the overall growth," Langan said.
But most important is building long-term relationships, Langan said.
"We want customers to know we're looking out for (them) and will deliver solutions over the long term....We don't sacrifice a long-term relationship for a short-term profit," he said.
They also clarified they won't just cater to the gas companies.
"We aren't just here for the the gas companies," Hanna said.
Indeed, some of their best customers are in the health care industries, Langan said.
Making the move to offer services to gas companies, however, has followed Tri-M's history of diversification.
When Tom Musser started the company in 1964, it began as a small electrical company. By 1979, they began to diversity geographically and technologically and today, they are a large building automation company.
"Because of our diversification trend, we decided to follow the Marcellus Shale trend," he said.
The automation systems control the environment in a building, including the HVAC system, right down to the security system.
They offer solar installations and the computer that controls the system is able to tell the level of usage and demand.
For example, if a thundercloud blocks the sun, the automation system will dim the lights and do what is necessary to save on the power reserves, Tom Musser explained.
Solar without this type of automation system is "useless," according to Tom, meaning it would use more electricity if the system was unregulated in that way.
With the technology of automation, they are able to remotely adjust the temperature, and an alarm alerts them when a part goes bad, Tom said.
Potentially, the automation system could pay for itself after three years, he said.
Tri-M, headquartered in Kennett Square, Pa., (with locations also in Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland) offers:
r Electrical construction
r Medium high voltage
r Facility automation
r Renewable energy
r Network services
r Security & life safety
r Electrical testing
