Modern Electric Co.

Modern Electric Co. may promote its contemporary technology and solutions, but the electrical contractor’s business sense is timeless. “Delivering value, exceeding expectations, and enhancing our reputation with every job since 1929,” the company states. With such a credo, Modern Electric Co. makes it clear that every job the staff undertakes gives them something to prove. Despite being in existence for over 80 years, there is no resting on laurels for Modern Electric Co.

Based out of Clifton, N.J., the company was started by the grandfather of Alan M. Golub, the current president. Three generations later and Modern Electric Co. is still a family-owned company that employs around 130 employees and generates $30 million a year in sales.

“We service a wide variety of the marketplace, and we’re a union contractor as well. We provide 24-hour service and we can do anything up to and including $10 million projects,” according to Golub, who has been at the company since he was 13 years old. Golub took the reins starting in 1997, when his father Murray retired, and he hasn’t looked back as he’s grown the company to new heights by navigating a tough market.

Offering 24-hour Electrical Contracting Services

Modern Electric Co. serves Northern and Central New Jersey, as well as Rockland and Westchester Counties in New York, offering some of the finest electrical contracting the Tri-State Area has to offer. The company delivers unparalleled service in the installation, design and maintenance of both commercial and industrial electrical systems. Modern Electric Co. employs professional engineers, project managers, estimators, superintendents, foremen and journeymen that can handle any job, including office buildings, supermarkets, warehouses, restaurants, shopping malls, retail stores, residential apartments, co-generation plants, hospitals and pharmaceutical facilities. However, it’s mostly larger projects that the firm handles.

“The residential jobs that we do are for larger-type housing developments. We did a job that had 330 rental units, but we’re not really involved too often in single-family units. We mainly do condos and high-density housing projects,” reports Golub.

Golub believes his company sets itself apart from the competition by always being there for the customer, and focusing on developing long-term relationships. A customer is not simply seen as a chance for work, but as an opportunity to create a lasting, meaningful bond.

“Our niche is our 24-hour service and our commitment to try and enhance our reputation with every project that we do,” Golub says. “For every job we try to be a step ahead and provide better service in a competitive marketplace. Developing mutually beneficial relationships with our customers and with our vendors and with the people that work for us is vital. It always comes back to that: mutually beneficial relationships.”

This dedication to comprehensive service is assured because of the amount of effort Modern Electric Co. puts directly into its work. “We self-perform about 95 percent of our jobs,” Golub says.

He considers the business a full-service electrical contracting company, and has the repertoire of services to back up that claim. Modern Electric Co. will perform everything from new electrical installations to renovations, data centers, design-build services, value engineering, estimating, project management, procurement, and, of course, provide that 24/7 emergency electrical repair service. Its capabilities are augmented by education and networking available through memberships in the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the New Jersey Subcontractors Association (NJSA).

Keeping New Jersey Current

With such an array of skills it’s no surprise that Modern Electric Co. has performed work on some of the most noteworthy projects in the area, including premier zip codes for shopping in the country. “A year ago we finished a renovation to the Bergen Mall, now called the Bergen Town Center,” recounts Golub. “We did a $9 million renovation to the core areas of the shopping center, which is a mall that’s over 50 years old, so you’re finding its original wiring, and that’s interesting to have to deal with.”

In addition, Modern Electric Co. has formed strong relationships with the pharmaceutical industry in the area. “We’re involved in pulling some high-voltage feeders, out through cable trays, for a pharmaceutical site in New Jersey where we are also a resident service provider. It adds its own complexities and is different from what a normal building contractor might do,” Golub says.

Despite issues in the market, Golub believes his company has the resources needed for the future. “I think we’ve positioned ourselves to ride out these difficult, challenging economic times,” Golub says. “When we get over them in the next couple years we’ll be in a place to take advantage of opportunities that come about because we’ve worked hard to maintain the valuable resources of our people.”

With its long history of reliability and a conscientious eye to the future, Modern Electric Co. will continue to establish the type of relationships and maintain the contracting company as an integral part of the Tri-State area.