Our Story
In the midst of the 1982 recession, Joe Bolen found himself laid off with no hiring opportunities available and six young mouths to feed. He believed that he could make a living by starting a small electrical distributorship targeting the controls market - and with the blessing of his wife Marlene, they put the house up for collateral to pursue the American dream. Using the garage as the warehouse and dining room as the office, the creation of Bolen's Control House became reality and the hard journey began - with all six kids eventually contributing to the business. After some trials and tribulations, the business moved from the house to a small rented office/warehouse space. By 1988, the rented space was at capacity, so they bought land and built their first location. The early 1990's provided for other opportunities outside of electrical distribution; the beginning of value-add services and UL508a panel assembly. This was followed by PLC and VFD programming and support.
In 2001, a second location in Burley Idaho was opened to support the mid and eastern part of the state. In 2002, Joe retired leaving Marlene and five of the six children to make a go of it. The UL508a panel shop started to gain traction and in 2011 a new warehouse was constructed to provide a larger area for production, the first of three production areas. In 2015, the original office was expanded to allow for additional personnel, a meeting room, and a break room. In August of 2016 we lost our patriarchy, but he had witnessed a continual growth in all aspects of the business. His insight and sense of humor are still greatly missed, but his foundation of family and business live on.
Currently Bolen's Control House employs over 30 talented individuals and is still growing. We look forward to our future story and working with you in the future.
Our Business
Bolen's Control House is a solutions-based distributor of leading manufacturers within the industrial automation and controls market. Not only do we provide off-the-shelf solutions for many applications, we also provide technical services in engineering, integration, and UL508a Panel capabilities. Our ability to understand the real-world issues our customers face combined with our technical product knowledge and field experiences allows us to provide cost-effective leading-edge solutions. Whether it is a replacement part, a manufacturing production issue, or a new concept or design, Bolen's can help. As a technologies-based company driven by a pioneering spirit which is strengthened by the ability to be independent and innovative, Bolen's Control House has a history of delivering customer specific solutions across Idaho and the surrounding area.
Our Vision
Bolen's Control House strives to earn our customer's business through providing knowledge, value, quality and solutions-based support. Partnering with our customers and manufacturers provides insight to the industry challenges and needs which allows for the best possible service and solutions throughout Idaho and the surrounding area.
Our Integrity
Bolen's Control House is proud to be driven by strong moral values and honesty in business. Our intent is to exceed expectations - and if it's not right we will get it resolved.
