Hughes-Peters

Hughes-Peters was first formed as a partnership in 1921 by John Hughes and Henry Peters—to distribute electrical construction materials and supplies to small municipalities in central Ohio for the installation of their electrical wiring systems. In 1923, they incorporated the company, but shortly thereafter Henry Peters retired.

Over the next 65 years, the company changed ownership several times. Along with the ownership changes, the company added new operations to the organization. As the electronic appliance industry grew, the company became a retail dealer of radios, hi-fis and televisions. Other ventures included retail sales of records and albums, HVAC systems, along with electronic components to hobbyist and repair shops.

During the era of the late 50s and early 60s the company’s electronic component sales grew while the record and appliance sales met heavy competition from other newly formed retailers. The company took a new direction and focused 100% on the distribution of electronic components that even included mobile retail outlets. Hughes-Peters would cover most of Ohio and sell electronic components to the repair shops from the back of a truck. During the 70s and beyond, as more and more electronic devices appeared, the company supplied the needs of their customer with the most recent state-of-the-art components. Our customer base became more manufacturers of electronic devices. Today, we supply a broad customer base.

Although the Hughes-Peters name is rich in history, we believe today’s moniker and substantial growth has been forged over the past decade. In September 1999, the company changed ownership for the final time. Mike Okel, Mike Smith and Donna Hensley took over the ownership of the company with a focus on being “The biggest little distributor in the Midwest.”

In 2002, the company moved into the Dayton, Ohio facility where the corporate office is currently located.

In 2007, two acquisitions added locations in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas. The company will continue to market electronic components to OEMs and contract manufacturers. In addition, the company will grow its value-added business and become a full-service supplier to our customers. Our focus will be to meet the needs of our customer that the larger electronic distributors fail to meet.