Hughes, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, signed a definitive purchase contract July 19. The deal will put the 73-year-old, family-founded and operated company into a strategic national market share position as the country's major utility firms gear up for projected 20-year growth periods, according to the trade press.

"As part of our ongoing growth strategy, the acquisition of Utiliserve is an excellent strategic fit, both geographically and through complementary vendor relationships," Hughes CEO/chairman David H. Hughes says in a prepared statement. "Our financial strength will also allow us to accelerate the growth of our combined businesses through the use of utility alliance contracts and other value-added services."

In Downtown Orlando, Hughes has started construction on a $30 million, 195,440-sf, five-story world headquarters building on West Church Street at Division Avenue.

In Central Florida, Accord Industries of Winter Park, FL, a national manufacturer of poles for a wide customer base, is seeing a strong surge of new business.

"We had a lull for about two months but new contracts in the past 60 days are keeping us very busy trying to fill those orders on schedule," Accord's production manager Scott Vordeburg tells GlobeSt.com.

Utiliserve expects to generate total 2002 sales of $230 million by Dec. 31, according to the statement from Hughes. The 47-year-old Texas supplier service public and municipal utility districts, rural electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities in 15 states in the Central, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Utiliserve's majority shareholder is Code Hennessy and Simmons, a Chicago-based private investment firm which acquired Utiliserve in 1997.

Hughes' common stock traded July 19 at $35.02, up nine cents on volume of 195,000. The stock's 52-week high-low is $46.96 and $17.75 per share. The company has 23.9 million shares outstanding.