Federal government officials have touted the idea of robust economic growth with low inflation, but John and Bill Whitmer of ABC Electric Co. in Lincoln aren’t buying it. The electrical contractor has seen sharp rises in its cost of doing business, requiring more efficiency than ever.
“They can talk all they want about very little inflation, but our conduit prices are almost triple what they were a year and a half ago,” said Bill Whitmer, former president and current special projects manager. “The copper cable prices are up two and a half times. Add to that rising fuel, insurance and safety costs. To be competitive, we really have to watch carefully how we buy.”
  Rising material prices are attributed to the industrial boom in the Far East. Regardless of prices, however, ABC is still committed to making its purchases benefit the Nebraska economy.
“There’s a whole bunch of suppliers here in Lincoln,” said John Whitmer, president. “We make a point of buying locally.”
  Bill Whitmer pointed to a major project at Quebecor Printing’s Lincoln plant as a model of operating efficiently in a high-cost environment.  ABC Electric installed a 4,000 amp primary service and a 2,000 amp 480 volt service; fed three presses, a 500-ton chiller and a 300-horsepower dust collector; and wired the binding and the stitching machines, all in about six weeks.  “There was very little downtime,” Bill said. “We had a tight bidding process and very efficient mechanics working on it.”  “I don’t think there were more than 10 or 12 guys working out there at any one time,” John said.  “It’s all about efficient use of time and material,” Bill said. “If we do a good, competitive job that works excellently for our customers, they’ll be successful and we’ll be successful.”

ABC Electric was started in 1932 by John Whitmer’s great-grandfather, Arthur B. Whitmer. First located downtown, the company has been headquartered at 1012 N. 25th St. since 1958.
The company does residential, commercial and industrial work, wiring for data and telecommunications, and municipal traffic signal and street lighting projects. The staff of 45 includes electricians, estimators, service personnel, street crews and office support.  Bill Whitmer stepped down as president and handed over control of the company to his son, John, three years ago. Today he works mostly as an estimator.  ABC’s main market area is the Lincoln metro. Growth has averaged 5 to 10 percent a year, although Bill Whitmer stressed that the industry is very cyclical. To weather the ups and downs, ABC has emphasized diversity.  “We’re pretty balanced,” Bill said. “We do a lot of service work, even including a washer or dryer receptacle in a home, or security lighting. No job is too large or too small.”  John Whitmer said the company does especially well with big projects.  “The industrial market is something we’re doing that a lot of people aren’t,” he said. “We’ve done big plants like Quebecor, Kawasaki and Nebraska Printing. A growing part of the business is wiring for data communications. That’s probably the biggest thing electrical contractors are doing that they weren’t 10 years ago.”
ABC is continually acquiring new and better equipment, and John Whitmer is also concerned with developing human resources. John works with the joint apprenticeship and training committee of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 265 to train qualified personnel for the future.  “It’s five years of on-the-job training every day,” he said. “There’s also three hours of classes two nights a week for about eight months out of every year. It’s a pretty thorough program.” Whitmer said the longevity of qualified employees is a plus for the company.
“One of our service managers, Dave Rigg, has been here 40 years,” he said. “Our chief estimator, Bob Kallenbach, has been here almost 30 years.”  Now 39, John started working part time for the company at 15. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1988 with a degree in construction management, he started full time. He and his wife, Kristi, have two daughters, Grace and Abigail, who are 6 and 3.  At 68, Bill Whitmer said he wants to keep working but knows who’s running the company.  “I’ll work as long as John wants me around,” he said.
Bill and Mae Whitmer also have a married daughter, Lori Wennstedt, who is on the company’s board. The entire extended family enjoys spending time together on a family-owned farm near Malcolm.
ABC Electric supports organizations including United Way, Boy Scouts of America, the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation, Junior Achievement and St. Paul United Methodist Church.  The company has tried to be a good neighbor to the Clinton and Malone neighborhoods by maintaining a well-screened and maintained lot.
No plans are on the drawing board for future expansion, but John Whitmer isn’t looking for rapid growth.
“I’d like the company to grow steadily, pretty much the way we’ve been going,” he said, “and as we grow, we also want to continue to improve on our service.”