PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — When Co-Vice President of TAMCO Frank McShane joined the Tamlite Emergency Division in 1990, he wasn’t expecting the new position to turn into a 30-year career.
“It was an interesting start,” McShane reflected. “Here I was starting a brand-new job at 26, our second had just arrived a few weeks earlier. I didn’t know this would be the start of the rest of my career.”
McShane first joined the Tamlite Emergency Division to provide emergency lighting support for sales teams and branches that included quoting, design installation, drawings, and commissioning. And in just a few short years, he began climbing the ranks. In 1996, he became the Factory Manager at Tamlite Emergency operations in the UK and oversaw its daily operations. Nine years later, in 2005, the late CEO and Founder of City Electric Supply, Tom Mackie, presented McShane with a vision of his own that would ultimately change the family’s lives forever — build upon the Tamlite brand in the United States, an operation that was already a few years old at the time. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
“It was early January in 2005 and I put my name forward about expanding Tamlite into the U.S,” McShane said. “I had a call with Mackie on a Thursday morning, and before I knew it, I was traveling from the UK to West Palm Beach, to Tampa, and to Port St. Lucie to get a feel for what Tamlite would be in America.”
Tom Mackie and McShane met up to discuss the plan for the expansion at the end of January.
“He said, ‘Frank, look, here’s what’s going on. I need you to build me something that’s meaningful and going to stand the test of time,’” McShane recalled. “Mr. Mackie had a very clear vision of what he expected to happen with Tamlite in the US — quality products, establish ourselves and our reputation. They were visions that sounded simple, but they were big.”
“After January of 2005, the next three months were a lot,” McShane explained. “It was like being handed the keys to the castle. The next thing I know I’m back in the UK, working on selling the house, telling the kids we’re going to be moving 4,000 miles away to the U.S.,” he said.
It was the first time in McShane’s career that someone passed a vision down to him. Not only did it have an immediate impact, but it made him invested in making Tom Mackie’s vision come true.
“Before that moment, I always felt I could do something bigger,” McShane said. “After talking with Tom Mackie, I just felt empowered. He had so much faith that you could do something, the last thing you ever wanted to do was fail the great man.”
When reflecting on his 30-year career and TAMCO’s incredible growth the past 15 years, he said the opportunity has never been easy.
“There are going to be moments you struggle and moments of great success. As long as you know that, you will be successful in the long run because it gives you the courage to push forward,” he said.
And McShane’s hard work and commitment sure paid off. Today, TAMCO houses all six of its brands under a 411,000 square-foot facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida. And what began as a manufacturing operation 15 years ago is now a distribution, manufacturing, and warehousing center. According to McShane, the amount of success he’s been able to achieve throughout his career is impossible to summarize in a few words, but he, attributes much of it to luck as many other VPs at City Electric Supply have said before.
“Right people, right place, right time,” he added. “When you see these visions turn into something real, it gives you hope, fulfillment, and understanding about what life is about. I’m blessed and certainly lucky to have experienced so many of these things in the 30 years I’ve been with the company. It takes a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, but it’s never given. It’s earned.”
With 30 years under his belt, and plenty more still ahead, he shares some advice for those looking to grow their own careers with City Electric Supply.
“The first one is to work hard,” he started. “Second one is to listen and learn. The third is to always be passionate about what you’re doing and always do your best. Just do what’s right in that moment in time and make sure it’s the best thing you can do. It’s not one thing that will get you or make you successful. It’s a combination of things. Don’t ever lose excitement about that.”
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