In 1968, Walter T. Parkes purchased O’Connell Electric from its founder, John O’Connell, who started the company in 1911. Walt’s determination to pursue unique, challenging projects and his philosophy for calculated risk-taking has laid the foundation for the diversified company we are today, fostering a corporate culture that supports innovative thinking and strategic action. This progressive approach continues to differentiate us from the competition.
Several strategic acquisitions have contributed to the company’s growth and establishment of branch offices in Buffalo and Syracuse, New York—T.H. Green Electric Company (in 1996 from Fischbach Corporation), and Syracuse Merit Company (in 2003 from InfraSource). Our acquisition of Rochester Solar Technologies in 2007 helped round-off our position in the renewable energy market.
In the last 40 years, O’Connell has provided more than $1 billion of electrical services to its customers and has consistently been ranked among the 50 largest electrical contractors in the United States as determined by Engineering News Record surveys of top specialty contractors. O’Connell has been listed in the Rochester Business Journal’s Top 100 Companies thirteen times and was named the fastest growing privately held company in 1991.
O’Connell has strategically developed into a full service electrical, power line, and communications contractor. Our service territory covers the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West and customer-specific contracts throughout the continental United States.
