Innovative Electrical Contractor with a Legacy of Performance

In 1910, a company was formed in Rome, GA that would become White Electrical Construction Company. In January 1913, the Columbus, Georgia office was opened to serve the nine cotton mills along the Chattahoochee River. This office also started working at Fort Benning in 1918 which became the largest infantry school in the world.

From 1910 to the 40’s the Company wired over two hundred cotton mills throughout the south. The Company also worked as far north as Danville, Virginia in the five Dan River Mills during this time.

Starting in 1929, White Electrical Construction Company worked at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company plant in Gadsden, Alabama. The company was continually active in this plant for over 20 years. At the time this plant was the most modern of its type in the south.

On Christmas Day in 1929, the Fox Theatre opened in Atlanta. The building was originally designed to be the headquarters for the Shriners in Atlanta. The picture of the crew of electricians was taken by the entrance to the stage area.

The General Motors Chevrolet-Fisher Body Plant was completed in the late 30’s in Atlanta. This would be the first of many automotive projects for the Company which continues to this day.

On July 30, 1941, Mr. Ralph Walker, the original business partner of Mr. White passed away. Mr. Walker invented the Walker-Duct Floor System and had also been awarded the James H. McGraw Award for his leadership in the industry from the National Electrical Contractors Association.

In March of 1948, Mr. Rem DuBose, the son-in-law of Mr. White, joined White Electrical to start the second generation of leadership. Rem DuBose was a recent engineering graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

White Electrical wired the Sunshine Biscuit Company plant in Columbus, Georgia in the late 50’s. This 400,000 square foot facility with three electrically controlled ovens was one of the largest facilities of this type in the country. The work in the food and beverage industry continues to this day.

Fifty sticks of dynamite tore a hole through the side of ‘The Temple’ as illustrated in the movie ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ on October 12, 1958. White Electrical Construction Company was the original electrical contractor in 1931 and rewired the building after the bombing in 1958.

On June 6, 1961, Mr. K.D. White passed away due to leukemia. With a career spanning nearly fifty years, Mr. White and his business associates helped bring the world-changing influences of electricity to the south.

White Electrical joined the electrical construction peer group, Federated Electrical Contractors (FEC). With its fiftieth anniversary in 2012, FEC has become the oldest and largest construction peer group in the country.

Plant Harllee Branch Steam Plant near Milledgeville, Georgia was completed. Work at the steam plant continued off and on through the 1990’s with a large cooling tower project being completed in 2000. White Electrical has enjoyed a long working history with power generation clients for over 40 years.

The downtown Atlanta Hilton opened. The thirty-five story 1300 room hotel along with its twenty story office tower was the largest hotel in the southeast at the time. The property also had 100,000 square feet of retail space along with a 1,150 car parking garage.

White Electrical was awarded one its largest contracts to complete the electrical distribution, instrumentation, controls, lighting, fire alarm, lightning protection, fiber optic cabling, and testing for Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen FGD Scrubbers, Unit 3 & 4 and Ball Mill. White Electrical was able to complete the 36 month on schedule with over 287,000 man hours worked without a recordable accident.

White Electrical becomes a 100% employee owned Company, completing the ownership transition process that was started in 2000.  This is a significant event in the company history and establishes the third transition of ownership. Mr. White’s family legacy will continue to live through the dedicated efforts of the employee-owners.

This year marked the 100th anniversary of White Electrical since the opening of the Rome, Georgia office.  White Electrical helped to bring electricity to the South over 100 years ago and we are creating the legacy for the next 100 years.  Our strategic partnerships and exceptionally well trained staff allow us to look beyond the ordinary to provide our services for Solar, Wind, Fiber Optics/Data, and Instrumentation clients as well.