ABC ELECTRIC BATTLES RISING COSTS
USING TIME, MATERIALS EFFICIENTLY Federal government
officials have touted the idea of robust economic growth with low
inflation, but John and Bill Whitmer of ABC Electric Co. in Lincoln aren’t
buying it. The electrical contractor has seen sharp rises in its cost of
doing business, requiring more efficiency than ever.
“They can talk all they want about very little inflation, but our conduit
prices are almost triple what they were a year and a half ago,” said Bill
Whitmer, former president and current special projects manager. “The
copper cable prices are up two and a half times. Add to that rising fuel,
insurance and safety costs. To be competitive, we really have to watch
carefully how we buy.”
Rising material prices are attributed to the industrial boom in the Far
East. Regardless of prices, however, ABC is still committed to making its
purchases benefit the Nebraska economy.
“There’s a whole bunch of suppliers here in Lincoln,” said John Whitmer,
president. “We make a point of buying locally.”
Bill Whitmer pointed to a major project at Quebecor Printing’s Lincoln
plant as a model of operating efficiently in a high-cost environment.
ABC Electric installed a 4,000 amp primary service and a 2,000 amp 480
volt service; fed three presses, a 500-ton chiller and a 300-horsepower
dust collector; and wired the binding and the stitching machines, all in
about six weeks. “There was very little downtime,” Bill said. “We
had a tight bidding process and very efficient mechanics working on it.”
“I don’t think there were more than 10 or 12 guys working out there at any
one time,” John said. “It’s all about efficient use of time and
material,” Bill said. “If we do a good, competitive job that works
excellently for our customers, they’ll be successful and we’ll be
successful.”
ABC Electric was started in 1932 by John Whitmer’s great-grandfather,
Arthur B. Whitmer. First located downtown, the company has been
headquartered at 1012 N. 25th St. since 1958.
The company does residential, commercial and industrial work, wiring for
data and telecommunications, and municipal traffic signal and street
lighting projects. The staff of 45 includes electricians, estimators,
service personnel, street crews and office support. Bill Whitmer
stepped down as president and handed over control of the company to his
son, John, three years ago. Today he works mostly as an estimator.
ABC’s main market area is the Lincoln metro. Growth has averaged 5 to 10
percent a year, although Bill Whitmer stressed that the industry is very
cyclical. To weather the ups and downs, ABC has emphasized diversity.
“We’re pretty balanced,” Bill said. “We do a lot of service work, even
including a washer or dryer receptacle in a home, or security lighting. No
job is too large or too small.” John Whitmer said the company does
especially well with big projects. “The industrial market is
something we’re doing that a lot of people aren’t,” he said. “We’ve done
big plants like Quebecor, Kawasaki and Nebraska Printing. A growing part
of the business is wiring for data communications. That’s probably the
biggest thing electrical contractors are doing that they weren’t 10 years
ago.”
ABC is continually acquiring new and better equipment, and John Whitmer is
also concerned with developing human resources. John works with the joint
apprenticeship and training committee of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Local 265 to train qualified personnel for the future.
“It’s five years of on-the-job training every day,” he said. “There’s also
three hours of classes two nights a week for about eight months out of
every year. It’s a pretty thorough program.” Whitmer said the longevity of
qualified employees is a plus for the company.
“One of our service managers, Dave Rigg, has been here 40 years,” he said.
“Our chief estimator, Bob Kallenbach, has been here almost 30 years.”
Now 39, John started working part time for the company at 15. After
graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1988 with a degree
in construction management, he started full time. He and his wife, Kristi,
have two daughters, Grace and Abigail, who are 6 and 3. At 68, Bill
Whitmer said he wants to keep working but knows who’s running the company.
“I’ll work as long as John wants me around,” he said.
Bill and Mae Whitmer also have a married daughter, Lori Wennstedt, who is
on the company’s board. The entire extended family enjoys spending time
together on a family-owned farm near Malcolm.
ABC Electric supports organizations including United Way, Boy Scouts of
America, the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation, Junior Achievement and St.
Paul United Methodist Church. The company has tried to be a good
neighbor to the Clinton and Malone neighborhoods by maintaining a
well-screened and maintained lot.
No plans are on the drawing board for future expansion, but John Whitmer
isn’t looking for rapid growth.
“I’d like the company to grow steadily, pretty much the way we’ve been
going,” he said, “and as we grow, we also want to continue to improve on
our service.”
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