GCD Educates Contractors and End Users to Find Solutions

About GCD

GCD is a rep firm based in Georgia with a territory that also includes Florida, Alabama, N. Mississippi, and Tennessee. They’ve served thousands of distributor and end-user customers over seventy years, and have represented Champion Fiberglass (RTRC) conduit for two years. Their construction focus spans the commercial and heavy industrial sectors including hospitals, data centers and power plants.

The company enjoys a strong culture of value-added sales including spending time with contractors to drive solutions. Partners include Jake Cockrell in Florida, Nate Decker in Georgia and Alabama, and Mike Dopkowski in Tennessee.

The Partnership with Champion Fiberglass

The GCD team describes the relationship with Champion Fiberglass as very good. Jake Cockrell appreciates the trusting relationship, accessibility and responsiveness. “They allow us to make decisions and support us in every direction. There’s never been a time that they were too busy to respond,” he adds.

This is a sentiment shared by others as Michael Dopkowski adds, “The inside and outside teams are great and always quick to respond with helpful information.”

Additionally, “Champion has enabled us to sell strategically to add value. I appreciate their entrepreneurial nature and the way we are rewarded to spend time on the product,” says Nate Decker.

Finding Solutions Through Education

GCD focuses on an educational sale to find solutions. Explains Nate Decker, “We want to offer ideas that make contractors’ lives easier, faster, or better. Part of that includes getting Champion Fiberglass added to specs.”

But first it involves changing minds, because many contractors and engineers are naturally resistant to try something new. Adds Decker, “We position the sale as a valued engineered solution. We are saving customers a lot of time, labor and costs. On top of that, the solution is safer, faster and easier to install.”

Project Outcomes

In their tenure with Champion Fiberglass, GCD has seen much success. Florida’s market is commercial in nature and built around the service industry and retiree population. Projects include hotels, hospitals, bridge work and theme parks such as Universal Studios.

Successful jobs there include a large tunnel project that was transitioned from PVC to fiberglass electrical conduit to take advantage of shorter lead times and lower prices. Plus, the conduit’s easy installation was a factor to win this project.

Additionally, GCD has experienced positive results using fiberglass elbows instead of galvanized elbows. “Not only are we saving money for the contractors here, the end-user is getting a better conduit system,” Cockrell adds.

In Georgia and Alabama, projects include data centers, power plants and hospitals. Specifically, successful outcomes were achieved in Alabama for a heavy industrial project retrofitting coal-powered power plants for natural gas. Rigid elbows were considered for this project, but GCD was successful in educating the contractor so that they were confident in using fiberglass electrical conduit for the entire project.

This project also included the use of GCD’s new manufacturing company to build and assemble duct banks. This new facility builds duct bank spacers to hold buried conduit. Sections are prefabricated and assembled with the conduit in their facility then delivered to the project site ready for installation. Champion Fiberglass conduit has been a part of this initiative.

GCD and Champion Fiberglass Work Toward Continued Success

Since representing Champion Fiberglass, GCD has gotten up to speed quickly with favorable outcomes in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, N. Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Says VP of Sales & Marketing Scott Patchan, “GCD has seen some real success in the two years they’ve been with working with us. They bring professionalism and expertise in working on many types of projects. Like Champion Fiberglass, they are focused on working with all parties involved to find solutions for customers.”

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