By Marc Strohwig, Marketing Specialist
Heard about Southwest Electric’s acquisition or involved in one of your own? Let’s talk about what that entails and how to share the good news without disrupting business.
Earlier this year, Southwest Electric joined SGB-SMIT Group, one of the world’s leading transformer manufacturers. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey and opens the door to new possibilities for our customers, employees, and the future. In addition to reinforcing our values and commitments, we are gaining access to wider global expertise, expanded resources, and the opportunity to provide even better, more innovative solutions. These are beneficial changes, but it does mean change, which can be unsettling to some, regardless of the topic at hand. So, how do we share the exciting news while maintaining the confidence and trust we’ve built with employees and customers? By focusing on continuity, value, and vision.
Continuity:
When you hear about an acquisition or major company change, a common concern you and many others have is whether the brand you know and trust will remain the same. This is where continuity plays a key role in the acquisition strategy. At Southwest Electric Co., ensuring continuity and earning your confidence remains at the heart of our story—even as we begin a new chapter as part of the SGB-SMIT Group.
As a customer, you want to know that the promises we made yesterday will still hold true tomorrow. That means emphasizing that the service quality, reliability, and relationships you have come to expect will not only remain intact but will serve as the foundation for any future enhancements. Continuity doesn’t mean resisting change—it means carrying forward the aspects of our brand that you value most, while carefully integrating improvements that build on that trust.
For companies navigating their own acquisition, continuity is about more than messaging – it’s about action. Be sure to have a clear plan that involves early, transparent communication. Acknowledging concerns from the start, while having your customer-facing teams discuss the future openly, helps reinforce the consistency in interactions your customers will need early on. This approach safeguards loyalty, strengthens long-term relationships, and creates space for new opportunities made possible by the acquisition. By focusing on reassurance through continuity first, companies can successfully build confidence and ease customer uncertainty, ultimately setting the stage for growth that feels both stable and exciting.
Value:
An acquisition has the potential to bring a wealth of new opportunities in the form of expanded facilities, broader expertise, and increased resources.
While scaling operations is important for long-term success, growth can only resonate when it translates into tangible benefits for you as the customer. For you, growth can show up in the form of shorter lead times, more product options, greater global access, and stronger company wide support. It isn’t just about a company expanding, it is about creating a smoother, stronger, and more rewarding journey for you and your business’s relationship with us.
Companies going through an acquisition must remember that the key is to frame growth outward and to your present your improvements through a customer focused lens. Far too often, companies highlight terms like “expansion” and “scaling” in ways that sound inward-focused. For customers, that can signal a shift away from personalized service or hint at added complexity. To help you feel at ease, companies must consistently frame growth in terms of how it is advantageous to customer’s business needs. At Southwest Electric, we do this by showcasing broader product offerings, greater geographic reach, enhanced support teams, and stronger innovation pipelines. For example, expanded facilities allow us to cut lead times, while access to global expertise gives you innovative solutions to unique challenges.
Growth becomes meaningful for you when you see that it improves your experience—whether that’s through faster service, more options, or greater peace of mind. Delivering this kind of value proves that growth is not just about a company getting bigger, but about making the customer journey smoother, stronger, and more rewarding.
Vision:
An acquisition is more than a financial transaction—it is a blending of people, culture, and purpose. For you and our employees alike, reassurance comes when you see that both organizations share a commitment to the same principles. Without that alignment, growth risks feeling transactional instead of transformational!
In the customer experience, one effective way to emphasize alignment is through storytelling. Sharing real examples of how the SGB-SMIT Group demonstrates values like reliability, innovation, and customer-first thinking helps you see the cultural similarities in action. Visuals also matter—joint branding, side-by-side comparisons of company missions, and unified messaging reinforce the idea that this is a partnership, not a takeover.
On the company side, alignment starts internally. Taking the time to compare your business goals, values, and customer commitment and then emphasizing where they overlap will create a strong foundation for customer reassurance moving forward. Providing examples of case studies, employee spotlights, and customer success stories can help to solidify in your employees and customers minds the benefit of the acquisition by seeing the similarities in action. At Southwest Electric, we highlight how our values align closely with those of the SGB-SMIT Group. As a company, demonstrating that a partnership strengthens and reinforces brand identity is crucial to our customer base’s peace of mind.
For customers, this means the service you trust is not only preserved but enhanced through added resources and expertise. Effectively communicating that the brand you know is staying true to its promises is a powerful driver of your confidence and continuity.
What Customers Should Expect:
For customers, embarking on an acquisition is an exciting milestone, but maintaining your trust requires transparent communication about the changes ahead. You should expect open dialogue, clarity about what is staying the same, and visibility into what improvements are coming. When we clearly explain that the values, service quality, and relationships you rely on remain unchanged—while also highlighting added benefits such as expanded offerings or stronger support—you gain confidence that the acquisition is strengthening your experience, not disrupting it.
For companies, this is a strong reminder that your customer base has expectations that are not suddenly put on hold during an acquisition. Being able to present your customers clear and consistent updates while creating an open dialogue will result in them feeling confident about the path forward.
Conclusion:
Acquisitions represent both change and opportunity, and the way a company navigates them defines how customers and employees alike will respond. By emphasizing continuity, communicating transparently, and aligning values with vision, organizations can transform uncertainty into confidence.
At Southwest Electric Co., our partnership with the SGB-SMIT Group reinforces our commitment to the principles you trust while empowering us with new resources to serve you even better. While having expanded capabilities, we still offer the same quality transformers, switchgear, motors, and field services you have come to know and trust. Growth is most meaningful when it enhances your experience—and by staying true to our foundation while embracing the possibilities ahead, we ensure that this new chapter is one of strength, stability, and shared success.
Reach out us at info@swelectric.com or request a quote below to find out what our expanded capabilities and unmatched service can do for you!
Visit the Links below to find out more about each of our services!
Switchgear | Arc Flash Mitigation | Southwest Electric Company
Transformers | Manufacturing & Service | Southwest Electric Co.
Industrial Motors | Southwest Electric Co. | Large Electric Motor Repair
Field Services | Electrical Testing & Maintenance | Southwest Electric Co.