A Culture of Encouragement
Kline Electric family of companies continues to grow.
Shane Kline started Kline Electric nearly 20 years ago because he had a desire to pursue innovation and to run the business a little differently than the average electrician.
“I had a good job, and I liked my employer, but I was ready to try some new things,” Kline says. “I’ve always liked the cool stuff, and I’ve had a passion for audio video from day one, so that was one of the things we started doing pretty early on.”
That same passion led to the establishment of Kline University and the transition to an entirely employee-owned structure. And Kline has gathered a team of people that share that drive, something he encourages and supports.
Kline Vice President Zack Bolin had the idea for a better software system that would allow clients, homeowners, and Kline employees to communicate and track jobs more effectively. The company got behind that concept, becoming one of the first subcontractors in the area to offer such a service.
This year that pursuit of innovation resulted in a new member of the Kline corporate family.
“We found a need for a different target market,” says Eric Carpenter, who’s managing the new Wirecore company. “By offering low-voltage products and services as a separate company, doors are opened that wouldn’t be open if we were wearing the Kline Electric name.”
David Hemmings says, “Our experience as Wirecore gets us in the door. We have the credentials to get on projects for higher-end homes or commercial projects.”
“David is a licensed electrician but has always loved this side of the business,” Kline says. “Same with Eric. We brought people on board who had a passion for this aspect of the work, and it grew from there.”
It grew so quickly, in fact, that the team realized they needed their own space in order to display and market the products and services they can offer. In August the Wirecore offices and showroom officially opened near the Kline Electric headquarters.
Part of the team at the new location, Executive Homes Field Coordinator Mark Poots-Jacobsen is able to serve clients even better now.
“The Executive Homes Division harmonizes the various Kline Electric/Wirecore divisions,” he says, “helping clients integrate everything from custom lighting to device selection. This way, they have one point of contact to handle multiple aspects of their project and one location where they can make all those selections.”
Much of what happens at Wirecore was already part of the service Kline has been providing, everything from central vacuum systems to whole-house control systems. But the range of products available sometimes surprises clients, and it made sense to have a dedicated showroom for this rapidly changing market.
“When we go to a standard builder meeting, versus a high-end project, there are way more meetings, way more on-site work,” Kline says. “Customers who are spending high-end dollars expect a high-end feel from their contractor. That’s what this showroom and separate company are about.”
“Potential clients—and even some of the vendors we’ve talked with—don’t expect an electrical company to have the expertise we do,” Carpenter says. “With the Wirecore name, we can more easily market this expertise.”
He says the Wirecore target market includes builders, designers, architects, the homeowners themselves, just about anyone in the home construction field.
“We want to build relationships with the people who are designing the projects because they’re the people who need to understand what we do and how to integrate it into their designs,” Carpenter says.
The Wirecore showroom gives the team the perfect space to meet with potential clients. Display areas include heated flooring, various audio-visual systems, Progressive Screens products, Jellyfish® lighting, and the Control4® system.
“One thing we’ll have that no one else is doing is our Build Lab,” Hemmings says. “We can build the whole-house control system here and do all the testing, so it takes less time to set up when the house is finished.”
“We found a need to streamline that process,” says Carpenter. “We have internet here and can test the whole system ahead of time. Most new homes don’t have internet until the owners move in, so we have to come back and test everything again. Our Build Lab makes installation much quicker.”
That was one of the features highlighted at Wirecore’s open house event in late August. The whole Wirecore team was on hand to give tours and man the different display areas to educate guests, much like they’ll be doing at future events.
“We envision a lot of education-oriented events,” says Carpenter. “We’ve even kicked around the idea of using them as opportunities to bring in reps and have them show their products since we can’t display all the products we install, and things are changing so quickly.”
That’s exactly why Kline Electric set up Wirecore—so the team could be in a position to handle those changes. And Wirecore is just the latest example of how that culture of encouragement defines the Kline family of companies.
“It’s because of guys like this who have these great ideas and this passion that keep us growing,” says Kline. “When we ask, ‘What’s next?’ they come to us with their ideas, and we’re willing to support that because that passion is what made us the company we are.”