Cochise Tech & Electric LLC

In 2007, John Isaacson founded Cochise Tech & Electric LLC (CTE) with sons Jonathan and Philip. John and his sons built the business with years of experience in the construction industry. The family also owns a custom home building company, and as electrical contractors, serves several regional builders in the area. Despite starting in a rough market, the business continues to grow steadily.

Today, the Isaacson family works with a strong leadership team, including Ben Garcia, vice president of CTE. Ben has been involved in the construction industry for eight years and owned a landscaping business in Phoenix before joining the team in 2009. John, Jonathan, Philip and Ben oversee a team of approximately 27 employees working from a single location.

The team has built a strong commercial and residential client base, serving the local power company and custom homebuilders in the region surrounding the company’s headquarters in Hereford, Ariz. CTE is now a large commercial general contractor, performing multiple large scale remodels and new commercial construction. The team has also added photovoltaic services to its capabilities and has performed a number of solar energy projects.

Building a portfolio

It all started when the new business had the opportunity to bid on jobs at Fort Huachua, a nearby military base. “We grew from there,” Ben explains. “The base is still a major source of business for us. We have remodeled permanent training facilities, as well as temporary training facilities, for military personnel stationed there. We have completed a lot of modular construction, performing each project from start to finish.”

Ben goes on to note that the company’s modular work interests him, specifically. “We build our own structures in components and put them together on-site,” he details. “These projects have ranged from around $1.5 million to $3.4 million. We have our own labor team and we work with select subcontractors. These training facilities have been some of our best work because we were able to accomplish them efficiently and keep the end user pleased with the timeline and end product.”

While a majority of CTE’s projects are on the military base, the business has established a set of capabilities to fit a broad market. The crew is still involved in custom homebuilding, as well as commercial work. The company’s recent commercial projects include: large solar on recreational vehicle parks, gas stations, car washes, apartment complexes, residential solar work and remodeling local retail stores.

Building relationships

The CTE team places high value on relationships. Whether with employees, subcontractors, other strategic partners or clients, CTE operates with integrity. The end goal is always a happy customer and the leadership team knows that this satisfaction ensures continued business. Furthermore, strategic partners have to share a passion for performance and quality.

“We treat our subcontractors as sister companies,” Jonathan explains. “Their performance has played an important role in our success. Our vendor relationships are very strong, as well. We have some competition, but we know that everybody we work with does a good job of meeting our customers’ needs, no matter how difficult the task and how short the timeline.”

Such relationships have supported the success of CTE since the beginning, as the company opened its doors in the middle of the economic downturn. “The only business practice we’ve adopted since the beginning is honesty and never saying no to our customers, but finding the best solution for each and every situation,” Jonathan notes. For everything else, the company’s portfolio speaks for itself.

A quality end product is the main goal for the team, although like any other business, the numbers are important. “We track costs, such as materials, subcontracts and overhead,” Ben says. “But we nail down costs before we are awarded a job. We provide a price to the customer and normally do better than our projection. The majority of our jobs have a 30-day or less turnaround.”

While the business has been able to sail through the worst of the recession, the CTE team is cautiously approaching future plans for growth. “The economy everywhere was expected to slow down in 2008, but for us it slowed down in 2013,” Jonathan explains. “We are four or five years behind the downturn. Still, I see us expanding outside of Arizona in the next few years and trying to pick up additional contracts on other military bases and for other commercial customers.”

No matter where the market takes the team, the Isaacson family remains dedicated to a service-oriented business. “We take great pride in the integrity our team displays, as well as their personal ownership of the outcome of each and every project,” Jonathan explains. “We take care of our customers, providing a quality job on time.” With diverse capabilities and an efficient business model, Cochise Tech & Electric LLC will continue to grow steadily through the strong business practices that have attracted business since 2007.