North America's largest lighting sales agency, SESCO Lighting, Inc. has acquired Architectural Lighting and Design (AL+D), an independent lighting sales company in Pensacola, Florida.

After the merger, AL+D (which will henceforth be known as SESCO Pensacola) will have a new sales territory stretching from Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, and then east to Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, and Panama City, Florida. And SESCO Pensacola is projecting sales to exceed $6.5 million over the next six months.

SESCO's move into Pensacola began in late 2011, and was precipitated by its Board of Directors decision that it was necessary for the company to better-accommodate the growing sales load of SESCO Tallahassee, strengthen its market presence in the NW Gulf Coast region, and continue SESCO’s trend toward growth and dominance of the Florida lighting sales industry. Additionally, as a company that prides itself in providing "lighting for a greener tomorrow,”™ SESCO views working in the NW Gulf Coast as a unique opportunity to introduce a new level of environmental conscientiousness to electrical construction in an area where careless construction practices threaten to collapse some of America's most beautiful ecosystems.
 
In order to facilitate a smooth and successful ownership transition, SESCO has kept all of AL+D's previous principals (Buddy Vance, Steve Vance, and Hank Lawton) on board, as well as seven other employees. According to Mike Segal, SESCO Board Chairman, "One of the biggest mistakes we could possibly make would be to completely overhaul AL+D. They didn't get our attention because they were a failing company--they got our attention because they were a successful company. What we're looking to do is move in, take what’s already in place, and improve it so we can do better."

Some of the major lines SESCO Pensacola currently has on its linecard include Beghelli, Beta Calco, Cree, Crestron, D/C/O Phillips, Finelite, GARDCO/EMCO Philips, H.E. Williams, Insight, and Luminaire. The office will be headed by Buddy Vance, formerly President of AL+D and one of the most knowledgeable lighting representatives in Florida. "I think having SESCO LCD [Lighting Controls Division] and SESCO NRG [Energy Group] to support our lighting sales is going to make a huge difference between what SESCO Pensacola can provide and what our competitors can," says Vance. "LEDs are the future and we've got what it takes to provide the best LED lighting solutions and lighting controls on the market. In fact, between what AL+D already had in place and what SESCO as a company has to offer, I think SESCO Pensacola will be able to provide the best of everything."