Initially founded in Rome, GA in 1910, White Electrical has expanded to 6 branches across the Southeast. White entered the Jacksonville market in 1961 when it purchased Stinson Electric. The company employs over 300 workers, most of whom are IBEW/NECA-trained electricians.

Nourse, like White itself, is well-qualified. He brings nearly three decades of experience as both electrician and project manager, beginning his career at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, where he worked and received skills training courtesy of his IBEW apprenticeship.

Right now, as he chats with IBEW 177 Business Manager Russell Harper about the various opportunities emerging in the Jacksonville area, Nourse is relaxed and confident. He knows that success is founded in repeat business – 80% of all White’s new business comes from customer referrals – and if he implements similar programs, and hires qualified workers, it’s going to work in Jacksonville. Harper’s role, and the IBEW’s, is to make sure he gets the highest-trained electricians for the diverse types of projects White Electrical undertakes.

Still, Nourse faces the challenge of  growing market share in the Jacksonville area by ensuring that local businesses know who White is. He needs to prove, on the ground and in the field, that the solutions brought to industrial and large-scale commercial customers through-out the Southeast are going to continue to work here in Jacksonville.

To its advantage, White Electrical is working with many of Jacksonville’s largest businesses already. The firm’s client list includes the most recognizable brands and names of the Southeast, including Georgia-Pacific, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Southern Company, Hormel foods, Publix and many others.

In addition, the company counts among its partners the nearby Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), which is betting on year-round Florida sunshine to provide cleaner, greener power and long-term savings to its Jacksonville customers. (The JEA remains one of the last truly public utilities in the Southeast, if not the United States.)

Nourse cites the company’s expertise in commercial, manufacturing, and industrial  electrical work, in addition to its sharper focus on renewable energy and sustainable, green buildings, as services it seeks to grow and provide in Jacksonville.

To underscore the point, White Electrical CEO Gary Clodfelter identifies the three key, simple ingredients of White’s success as: “Performance, Schedule, and Relationships.”  

In a recent interview Clodfelter stated, “if you know the cost to complete the work and know how long the project will take to finish, [the customer] will want to see you again.”

Knowing potential project pitfalls is one thing; successfully navigating them to consistently deliver jobs on time and under budget, another. This is Nourse’s mission. And as he attempts to grow the company in the Jacksonville market, he has several advantages.

Like other successful electrical firms, White relies upon and employs significant economies of scale. “Pre-fab installation” is one technique used by White to reduce costs for project owners and general contractors. Nourse says this also allows new buildings, particularly larger structures, to become operational more quickly.

According to Nourse,“where we provide higher value, we pass those savings to the general contractors and owners, and anyone who needs electricians on those types of projects.” According to IBEW 177 Business Manager Harper, this creates a competitive advantage for IBEW-affiliated firms who bid Jacksonville electrical work in an increasingly competitive environment. The more projects secured by White and other contractors, the more work for the Local’s members.

White’s production process is best exemplified by complex, large-scale industrial projects such as the FAA extension of Jacksonville International Airport, which includes two new concourses.

Key to success on these types of jobs, says Nourse, is the highly-skilled and continuously-retrained electricians of IBEW 177. According to Nourse, this expands his firm’s opportunities, as White is confident that for any type of electrical contracting “we’re going to have a team capable of exceeding customer expectations.” The skills that Nourse and his team of IBEW electricians will bring to the market in Jacksonville is quantifiable : “project managers and electricians, individually, average over 20 years’ experience in electrical construction.”

In addition, Nourse says the IBEW’s flexibility has helped the firm win several projects, including the FAA work cited above. IBEW Local 177 Business Manger Harper views it as essential to the IBEW’s mission that it not only advance the careers and livelihoods of its members, but also to promote the electrical work performed by its affiliated electrical contractors. Harper is blunt about the need to do this :  “Without the contractors,” he says, “there’s no work, so it has to be a collaborative effort.”

According to both Nourse and Harper, it’s customers who contract for electrical work in Jacksonville who are the ultimate beneficiaries of their respective flexibility.

In the case of the job at the Jacksonville Airport, the flexibility in the relationship carried over into the field, where the electricians must demonstrate value each workday.

A complete description of the project is on the company’s site. The article describes the compounding challenges faced by White’s electricians on the FAA Jacksonville International Airport job, including the addition of more than $2 million in additional change orders, ongoing coordination between the 6 specified systems sub-contractors had to take place on a daily basis, all while having to maintain the original project schedule.*

An added benefit of honing its production/implementation process, says Nourse, is that White Electrical is able to devote greater resources to training and skills enhancement. Similar to its fellow IBEW 177 signatory contractors, White swears by worker safety, considering it a requirement of “top performance,” coming “above all else.” The company’s passion and commitment to safe job sites means White retains top, new electrical talent, and ensures the highest-skilled electricians stay in the field, bringing their collective experience to each job.

Nourse acknowledges the physical danger inherent in electrical work, and cites White’s exemplary safety record, measured by work incident rates well under the national average.

According to Nourse, having electricians in the field with specific safety training will “always reduce the risk of accident.” In addition, he says, emphasizing safety “translates into further cost-savings to general contractors and owners,” in the form of lower insurance premiums, and  reduced costs associated with job-site injuries.

The challenge is that an absolute commitment to worker safety must take place in an environment of complex electrical work and the requirement to bring jobs in “on time and under budget.” This is where “experience really comes into play,” says Nourse

While White manages and executes  large industrial projects through out the Southeast, Nourse also wants to provide value via commercial electrical work in the Jacksonville area. Business Manager Harper names the area’s hotels, banks, hospitals, office buildings, and retail outlets as potential beneficiaries of the White Electrical team.

In each instance, companies may call on White for everything from basic electrical repairs to major renovations, including electrical design and installation. And like the IBEW, White Electrical is committed to facilitating America’s transformation in the 21st Century to new sources of energy, including Photo-Voltaic, Solar Thermal, Wind.

Jacksonville business customers seeking to achieve cost-savings in the areas of alternative energy, energy efficiency, solar and photovoltaic installation, as well commercial, industrial and voice/data work, are encouraged to contact White Electrical Jacksonville Branch Manager Larry Nourse directly.

Nourse encourages Jacksonville developers, construction and project managers, and general contractors, to view the company’s full project profiles online at White-Electrical.com

*Source: The Electrical Worker June 2009

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Jeff Filippo promoted to Vice President of White Electrical

White Electrical Construction Company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with a Branch Office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jeff Filippo to Vice President.

The company’s President, Gary Clodfelter sent out the following announcement last month.

“I am pleased to announce that Jeff Filippo is the new Vice President of White Electrical Construction Company. Our Board of Directors made it official on March 25, 2010. Over the next six months Jeff will transition from Branch Manager of our Chattanooga office to his new duties as Vice President.”

In July 2003 Filippo moved from Raleigh, NC to Chattanooga, TN to manage the White Electrical Branch office. After the continued success of this assignment, Filippo is now joining the White Electrical Corporate Staff to lead the six Branch Offices that operate in the Southeastern U.S.

As the new Vice President of this 100 year old company, Filippo is excited to be managing the operations and execution of the construction process in all of the Branch Offices that White Electrical owns. “I am eager to help the company continue its growth strategy as we sharpen our operational skills in each Branch” Filippo says. He also states “Our reputation as a relationship centered company allows us to provide continuous, long term service to some of the most valued clients in the Southeastern United States and I hope to increase these principles throughout the company.”

White Electrical Construction Co. is the premier source for electrical contracting in the Southeast. Founded in 1910, the company specializes in electrical construction and renovation of industrial and manufacturing plants, equipment installation, and voice-data-video design and installation. White Electrical also provides service work in commercial facilities such as hotels, banks, hospitals, office buildings, and retail outlets.

Some of White Electrical’s recent customers include Alabama Power, CertainTeed, Coca-Cola, Coastland Mall, Gatorade, Dalton Utilities, General Electric, Georgia Power, Gulfstream, ILUKA Resources, International Paper, Invensys Systems, Jacksonville Airport Authority, Jacksonville Electric Authority, MacDill AFB, MeadWestVaco, Mercedes, Olin Chemical Corporation, PepsiCo, Progress Energy, Publix, Seminole Electric Cooperative, Smurfit Stone Container, Southern Natural Gas, Tropicana, US Steel, Verizon Communications and Wal-Mart

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White Electrical Construction Company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with a Branch Office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Owen to Branch Manager of the Chattanooga office.

The company’s President, Gary Clodfelter sent out the following announcement last month.

“I am pleased to announce that Michael Owen has been promoted to Branch Manager. Michael will immediately take over the management of daily operations in our Chattanooga Branch Office”.

Michael began his electrical industry career in 1987 as an apprentice at Duncan Electric in Chattanooga, TN. When White Electrical purchased Duncan Electric in 2000 Michael was promoted to Service Manager and then to Project Manager. As an employee at White Electrical, Michael has excelled in his previous positions and is the only two time winner of White Electrical’s Project Manager of the Year award. Michael knows the electrical industry and his leadership skills are well suited for the position of Branch Manager. Michael is respected by his peers and will lead the Chattanooga team with integrity in his new position.

White Electrical Construction Co. is the premier source for electrical contracting in the Southeast. Founded in 1910, the company specializes in electrical construction and renovation of industrial and manufacturing plants, equipment installation, and voice-data-video design and installation. White Electrical also provides service work in commercial facilities such as hotels, banks, hospitals, office buildings, and retail outlets.

Some of White Electrical’s recent customers include Volkswagen Group of America, EPB, Coca-Cola, Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN, Norfolk Southern, Dalton Utilities, General Electric, Georgia Power, Gulfstream, ILUKA Resources, International Paper, Invensys Systems, Arnold AFB, MeadWestVaco, Mercedes, Olin Chemical Corporation, PepsiCo, Progress Energy, Publix, , Smurfit Stone Container, Southern Natural Gas, Tropicana, US Steel, Verizon Communications and Wal-Mart.

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