Wired for Success

Celebrating Over 75 Yearsof Electrical Energy

By Diane M. Calabrese

In the early 1880s, electricity became aviable alternative to steam. By the 1930s, 25million U.S. customers relied on the grid toilluminate lights and to power an increasingarray of appliances. Even the developmentof the internal combustion engine provedjust a supplement — not a threat — toelectricity’s domain.

The electric industry was poised for rapid growth in the 1930s. So was Parsons Electric, which began in 1927 as a motor rewind shop. More than 75 years after its inception, Parsons has become one of the premier electrical and communications service providers in the Midwest. That transformation ranks as one of the most significant achievements across the company’s entire history, says Joel Moryn, President of Parsons Electric. (Moryn joined Parsons 23 years ago as an intern.)

But recent changes are also noteworthy. Under Moryn’s leadership, revenues have doubled and service offerings to customers have diversified as the company has grown. More than 600 employees now work for Parsons. A 65- vehicle fleet gives the maintenance team easy access to customers in the Twin Cities area. Besides its Minneapolis headquarters, Parsons has offices in St. Paul and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company’s geographic reach and technological expertise complement each other in a competitive industry.

As Parsons has changed, so has the nature of its work. “Projects are now done faster and [are] more competitive than in the past,” says David Nielsen, a Vice President with Parsons Electric for five years. “Customers are more educated and demanding every day,” he explains. And the tools and materials used in the field have genuinely “revolutionized the industry.”

Yet what is most exciting, says Nielsen, is that even though customers’ technological wish lists continue to grow, Parsons Electric can accommodate them. “We use the best tools available and select the best people in the industry for our team,” notes Dave Karsky, Vice President of Parsons Electric. (Karsky started with the company 17 years ago as a Project Manager.) Karsky also cites Parsons’ ability to take the long-term view and its commitment to customers as critical success factors.

Another element in the success formula is the management team. “Parsons is exceptionally well managed,” says Nielsen. “That puts the company on a firm foundation for the future and enables the field representatives to routinely provide on-time service and competitive pricing.”

Despite the rapid technological advances at the end of the 20th century, no one can firmly predict what will happen next, except change. In 1827, 100 years before the launch of Parsons Electric, Joseph Henry demonstrated the benefit of insulation to moving an electric current across wire.

Parsons Electric makes staying current with the rapid technological changes in the industry its number-one priority because someone, somewhere, has already developed the next best thing for the electric industry.

With its state-of-the-art facilities, which include prefabrication space and large staging warehouses, Parsons Electric is poised to seize the future and keep moving forward with abundant energy.