Michael B.
Kennedy Jr. was busy enough serving as president of the successful
minority-owned architecture firm, KAI Design & Build, a company
his father founded.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Now his company, Power Up Electrical Contractors, has become the largest minority-owned, full-service electrical contractor in the St. Louis region, with the recent purchase of Crown Electrical Contracting, Inc.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Power Up purchased 51 percent of the St. Louis-based Crown Electrical’s stock to complete the acquisition. Power Up is co-owned by minority partners Brian Arnold, former executive vice-president of Paric Corporation, and Gerhard Glassl, founder and president of Crown Electrical Contracting.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Glassl’s partner at Crown Electrical was considering retirement, so the timing was right for Kennedy to purchase the majority stake, said Kennedy, founder and owner of Power Up.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“My goal is to recruit existing minority talent, working closely with Associated Electrical Contractors Local 57 to groom and establish a talented, powerful minority workforce in the electrical trades, using Power Up as a vehicle for their success,” Kennedy said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Kennedy said the currently workforce pool is small, and the region needs more African-American electricians. However, Power Up plans to meet St. Louis City’s goal of 30 percent minority workforce participation.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Fortunately, one can meet the goals today on a project because there aren’t many projects diluting the pool,” he said, “but when/if the work picks back up, we will be waiting for these young kids to take advantage of this great opportunity to be ready to shoulder the load.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The current workforce is aging as well, he said, so there will be great opportunity and jobs available with all construction companies and unions looking for African-American talent. Kennedy encourages developing and maintaining “home grown” talent, starting at the high school level.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It’s very hard to recruit African Americans to come to St. Louis from other cities because we lack projects for them to work on, and diversity across the region isn’t very attractive to someone coming from New York, Washington D.C., North Carolina or Atlanta, where there is a deeper talent pool of a diverse workforce,” Kennedy said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Crown Electrical was founded in 1987 and headquartered at 3630 Broadway in St. Louis City. Power Up will continue to operate out of the former Crown Electrical facility until new accommodations can be finalized.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>With 24 employees and $6 million projected revenue, Power Up is a leading provider of electrical systems design, installation and maintenance, including low voltage and building technology systems.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The company lacked diversity among employees when Power Up purchased the company in June, Kennedy said. Currently, there are two women and three African Americans.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This will change as we grow,” Kennedy said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Power Up serves the commercial, industrial and institutional marketplaces primarily in Missouri and southern Illinois. Some of Crown Electrical’s more recent projects included the Missouri State Capital building in Jefferson City, The Willows at Brooking Park retirement community in Chesterfield, St. Gerard Majella School in Kirkwood, the Elias Haas Building in Downtown St. Louis, the Bridgeton City Hall, The Magic House in Kirkwood and the new Downtown St. Louis Amtrak Station.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“This purchase is a good move for both the existing employees and customers of Crown Electrical, positioning us to broaden our market base and continue what we do best – provide quality electrical services in our area,” said Glassl.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Power Up’s recent and strategic acquisition of Crown Electrical Contractors has expanded our depth of resources and increased our capacity to provide an even greater level of service to our customers,” said Arnold.
