• Posted: September 20, 2023
• 50 years, better careers, better construction, Bloomingdale, commercial real estate, Dennis Dougherty, Illinois, Kyle Kashius, National Electrical Contractors’ Association’s (NECA), Preferred Electric, qualified electrical contractor, renewable energy installation, Ron Bruno, Tony Mulizio

This year marks a major milestone for Powering Chicago member Preferred Electric. Located in Bloomingdale, Illinois, this year marks the company’s 50th anniversary.

Founded in 1973 by Ron Bruno and Dennis Dougherty, over the past five decades Preferred Electric has grown into one of the premier electrical contractors in Illinois.

Growing from Humble Beginnings

Preferred Electric had modest beginnings, as General Manager Kyle Kashius explained.

“It started out with Ron Bruno and Dennis Dougherty founding the company. In 1999, Preferred was acquired by the Bracknell Corporation. That ended up not going well, and resulted in the company going bankrupt. Ron, Dennis, and Tony Mulizio ended up purchasing it back to keep it alive to what it is today,” Kashius said.

After buying back the company, Bruno, Mulizio and Dougherty continued to lead Preferred Electric for many years. Then in 2013, ownership changed to Tony Mulizio and his sons, Mike and Anthony. Six years later in 2019, Mike and Anthony acquired full ownership of Preferred Electric when they purchased the remaining shares from their father Tony.

Today, Preferred Electric employs about 150 people — 140 electricians and 28 office staff. The company serves a variety of commercial and residential customers located throughout Illinois, as well as customers outside of the state.

Valuing Employees and Customers

A key aspect that sets Preferred Electric apart is the emphasis they place on company culture and treating employees like family.

“Mike and Anthony’s philosophy is employees first. They’re very big on the family feel and making sure that employees are treated right, treated fairly and celebrated for their wins,” Kashius said.

Kashius added that the culture at Preferred Electric is “unlike any place that I’ve kind of been at. And then also just our philosophy for our clients is just to be responsive at all times. And available for them.”

This focus on responsive, around-the-clock service keeps customers happy and loyal.

“Preferred Electric aims for a 24-hour response time for anything. Even if it’s a ‘we received this,’ ‘we’re working on it,’ ‘we’re taking a look at it,’” Kashius said.

Investing in employees and giving them a sense of ownership has paid off. As Kashius stated, this approach has been key to continued growth, “because they’ve been responsible to build those relationships throughout.”

One way Preferred showed its appreciation for employees and customers is by holding a huge picnic event this summer.

“We invited all of our employees and their families out. We invited all of our vendors, our clients, anyone involved in our success – even the insurance company, the banks. We invited everybody,” Kashius said.

With over 400 people in attendance, including company retirees and founder Ron Bruno, the event provided an opportunity to bring together the entire Preferred Electric family and express gratitude to the people who helped shape the company into what it is today.

Positioned for the Future

When asked where Preferred Electric sees itself in another 50 years, Kashius responded, “Huge national brand. We’ve started developing our brand with travel work over the past five years.. We see that market place for us continuing to grow for us as well as our local market and customer base.”

Expanding their footprint outside of Illinois has been an important growth strategy. They’ve also established a strong solar division to meet the rising demand for renewable energy installations.

“Getting into that marketplace early on has kind of put us at the top of the food chain for the projects that are going on right now. The Illinois Solar for All program has accelerated the growth of solar, and we’re getting inundated with project bids from people wanting to do solar all over Illinois,” Kashius noted.

Being established in solar and positioned to scale, Preferred Electric is ready for exponential growth in the coming decades.

Why Preferred Electric?

When asked what makes Preferred Electric stand out from competitors, Kashius kept his answer straightforward.

“I guess the motto that Anthony typically says is a premium product for a fair price. We have a premium quality product at a fair price for our clients,” he said.

By delivering top-notch electrical work while maintaining reasonable rates, Preferred Electric has won over countless customers from small commercial service work to massive commercial projects.

One current major job highlighting their capabilities is construction of a two-story warehouse distribution center in downtown Chicago. This $52 million project, in partnership with Walsh Group and Logistics Properties Company, is bringing the first urban multi-level warehouse of its kind to the city.

In addition, Preferred Electric is a Powering Chicago signatory contractor that hires highly trained electricians from IBEW Local 134. This ensures their work meets the highest standards and is performed safely.

Looking Ahead

As Preferred Electric celebrates its 50th year in business, the company is poised for even greater things in the future. With strong leadership guiding their growth and investments in their employees, Preferred Electric is ready to power homes and businesses across the state of Illinois and beyond for another 50 years.

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