OUR HISTORY

Armed with a Sears 1/2” drill, a station wagon, and a lot of motivation, “RD McClintock, Electrical Contractor” was born. Within a year, Ralph’s business had grown enough to require additional help and he hired his first employee. His first employee only lasted two months; however, his second employee, Larry Still, is still with the company after 40 years.

In 1963, Ralph McClintock had even taken a two week job as a commercial painter but also decided that was not the career path he wanted to take. He had experience working for Kail & Legget and Schmid & Miller as a journeyman electrician and concluded that a career as an electrical contractor would provide him with enough income to support his family.

The base of operations was a small office located in the basement of Ralph’s house and material stored in the garage. Within a couple of years, the operation expanded to a point where he needed more storage space. The abandoned chicken coup located in the lot next door and owned by Judge Miller provided that necessary space.

By this time, his sister, Glenna Mast, had joined Ralph as his secretary. This came about after observing Ralph attempting (miserably) to type an invoice on an ancient typewriter. Ralph remarked to her, “If you think you can do it any better, sit down and give it a go!” Glenna did and continued to do “better” until her retirement in 2001. By 1968, the business outgrew the chicken coup and Ralph negotiated a deal with Homer Schmid to rent a block building located on East Henry Street. Eventually, Ralph purchased that building and it has remained the base of operations for McClintock Electric.

From 1963 through 1993 Ralph successfully ran the company. The initial emphasis was on new house wiring and residential service work. By the early 1970’s Ralph had begun to delve outside of the residential market and was bidding and receiving large commercial and industrial projects. Throughout Ralph’s tenure as president, the company remained stable with an average of 6-8 electricians and an ever increasing client base.

Ralph’s son, Michael, joined the company after graduating from Wooster High School in 1977. While he attended college part time, Michael worked on job sites learning the trade. In 1983, he received his Associated Degree of Applied Science in Electronic Technology from the University of Akron. Then in the early 1990’s, Michael took the initiative to start bidding projects. In 1993, McClintock Electric saw the transfer of ownership from Ralph to Michael. Ralph always defended his decision to sell, rather than giving the business to his son, by commenting that he felt his hard work entitled him to maintain his standard of living “...in a manner to which he had become accustomed!”

Michael took advantage of this opportunity to expand on an established business and started to look beyond the traditional roles of the electrical contractor. Through a series of serendipitous events and some foresight, Michael established a relationship with IBM and started a division that installed both copper and fiber optic cabling systems. Exposure to Fortune 500 and other companies through this relationship opened doors that positioned McClintock Electric, Inc. to take advantage of the technology boom in the 1990’s. The acquisition of a small telecommunications company in 1998 further complemented the service that the company offered. The data telecom department currently generates approximately 30% of total revenue for the company. A solid client base provides McClintock Electric, Inc. with consistent repeat business in the food production, manufacturing, health, and academic arenas. A successful history of bidding both plan & specification and design build projects also provides the company with ongoing work.