Electronic Contracting Company is a low voltage systems contractor that provides Audio/Visual, Life Safety, Security and Communications solutions to educational, governmental, industrial, health care, correctional, hospitality and religious facilities. From its corporate headquarters in Lincoln, Electronic Contracting Company supervises a high quality team of design, sales, installation, service, and support personnel in branch offices located in Kansas City, MO; Wichita, KS; and Omaha, NE.
How long have you been in Lincoln?
Prior to its incorporation as Electronic Contracting Company in 1978, the company operated under the name of Hygain Electronic Systems and Electronic Equipment Supply Company whose existence dates back to 1956.
Who are the owners/important executives?
Electronic Contracting Company is owned by Duane and Phyllis Acklie of Lincoln, NE. Adam S. Karavas has been the President of the company dating back to 1956. More recent additions to the management team include Executive Vice President John B. Dodds, who joined Electronic Contracting Company in 1984 and Vice President of Finance Bruce E. Petersen, who joined the firm in 1986.
What do you think makes you different from other companies similar to yours?
There are many companies that offer some of the solutions we offer, but very few companies that offer all of the solutions available through Electronic Contracting Company. The depth of experience of our employees is a great asset to Electronic Contracting Company customers. It allows us to extend the service life of existing systems and bring our experience to bear when making recommendations to customers. We are unique in our ability to fabricate in-house custom configurations and components required for one time specialty applications.
What do you like about doing business in Lincoln?
Lincoln, NE is our home office. Our connections in Lincoln run deep and we have a long history with our customers. There is a great satisfaction that comes from doing a job well, and having customers come back for their next project.
What kind of community organizations/groups are you involved with?
Electronic Contracting Company is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), InfoComm International, Associated Builders and Contractors Association (ABC Cornhusker Chapter), Lincoln Independent Business Association (LIBA), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We enjoy an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
What has been your most important achievement as a business?
Remaining viable and relevant in today’s environment after over 58 years in business would have to be one the most important achievements of Electronic Contracting Company. Keeping up with new, ever-advancing technology and system capabilities is quite the challenge. We have seen many companies, manufacturers, and systems come and go over those years and have continued to thrive and grow as a company.
What was the biggest turning point in your business?
Certainly a milestone in our business has been the addition of our home office building at 6501 North 70th Street here in Lincoln. We were able to design the facility around our business processes and incorporate many of the systems we offer our customers into our own facility. Our home office has become a living showcase of technology for our customers and they can see an array of functioning systems including Security, Fire Alarm, Access Control, Audio/Visual, Touch Screen Control, Sound Masking , Telephone, LAN, and Intercom.
What changes have you seen in the industry and your company in the past few years?
There has been an explosion of technology in the video surveillance industry in the past few years. Advances in digital video transmission, IP megapixel digital cameras, digital storage, and video analytics have combined to multiply the capabilities of today’s video systems. Video Analytics processing allows actions to be initiated in real time based on things happing in the video frame.
What do you see happening with the business in the next five years?
There is a convergence of systems moving to IP data transmission and Power over Ethernet (POE) field devices. We have seen this in the video, nurse call, telephone, and fire protection industries already. Systems will continue to become more interconnected and their capabilities will expand as storage and processing power continues to grow and become less expensive.
Recent projects of Electronic Contracting Company:
Farmers Mutual of Nebraska
Memorial Stadium
Pinnacle Bank Arena
For more information, call 402-466-8274.