Designed for Greatness

Being wired for integrity and excellence comes naturally to B&B Electrical Systems

As professional electricians, Bob Parsons and Brian Miller knew they did high-quality work and believed they could make their mark in the industry by pairing their expertise with a commitment to the fairness and transparency that other electrical service companies seemed to lack. Their 1987 launch of B&B Electrical Systems confirmed that hunch, and by the mid-1990s their small business in Orbisonia, Pa. (pop. 428), had become a thriving enterprise, attracting great technicians and loyal clients with projects across several business sectors in the region.

As they grew, the partners made it their mission to provide turnkey services, establishing a reputation for handling large and complex projects and delivering incomparable results. From creating their own custom UL-rated control panel fabrication shop and leveraging their extensive knowledge of electrical design, construction, and code, to putting their customer and employee experience philosophy into practice, B&B carved a successful niche as Central Pennsylvania’s premier electrical design/build contractor.

That niche enabled them to expand into offices in Virginia, broaden their design-build portfolio extensively into the energy sector, and widen their geographical footprint into the lower 48 states. In 2021, as the company namesakes prepared for retirement, they chose a pair of leaders from the Clear Brook, Va., office to take over the business, welcoming regional VP Gary McDonald and project manager Joe Bowman into the partnership.

Renamed B&B Electrical Systems and B&B Designed Systems, B&B is a multi-industry go-to, serving demanding sectors that include aggregate, stone, lime, and cement, hazardous materials, foundry, petroleum, water and wastewater treatment, wood processing and cabinetry, food and beverage, and others. In addition to full-service offerings and design-build their scope covers automation design and system integration, energy management and conservation, electrical preventative maintenance, testing, and product distribution.

“This year is looking to be our best year,” reported McDonald, stressing that the result is the culmination of building great customer relationships and reliable performance that the founders intended. He credits their efforts to assembling a strong talent bench of diverse specialists that can meet whatever their customers’ needs might be.

“For example, if a customer doesn’t have an engineer or an engineering firm on staff, we can do the design-build,” he said. “It’s the same with AutoCAD programs and everything we offer. We constantly cross-train our employees to support the different avenues of our customers’ needs.”

Consider food and beverage plants, a sector in which B&B has an outstanding resume. These worksites have strict building and electrical requirements from the ground up. “The installation side is labor intensive and very expensive in terms of materials,” McDonald explained. “The cables and wiring are different, everything’s stainless steel, and there are waterproofing concerns.” A 500,000 sq. ft.-plus project in New York state is currently underway. “We have 34 electricians on the job, and at one point had six stainless steel welders working full time because of all the specialty work, prefabrication, and electrical support systems that go into the facility.”

B&B’s work in the energy industry has continued to increase as a result of their ethics, superior quality work, and ability to serve their clients on a 24/7 basis. “It’s hard to put a price on quality work with oil and gas. If the phone rings at 1 a.m., there’s always somebody to pick it up in an instant,” McDonald noted. “And our safety record speaks volumes in the field.”

“We’re very flexible,” Bowman added. They’ve built their reputation on serving deadline-driven industries. “We understand that things change. We do everything possible to meet those deadlines, and if something changes, we regroup, be flexible, and change along with it.”

As the new partners look forward to B&B’s future, they’re most eager to grow in terms of success and reputation rather than simply settling for increased volume. As Bowman put it, “I want customers to choose us for our reputation, quality, performance, and standards. We want people to come to work for B&B because we are fair. Not only do we want to give them a fair wage, a safe place to work, training, and a future, we also want them to feel like they’re a major part of the company’s success,” he said.

Just as the company’s founders were, McDonald and Bowman are advocates for positive change. “We’re only one company of thousands out there, but we mean it when we say we’re trying to do better things for the industry as a whole. Not so much changing the way the electrical work is done, but changing the way business is done,” Bowman affirmed. “At the end of the day when Gary and I ride off into the sunset, if we could leave a company that was always honest, and we always kept our integrity no matter what the situation, that benefits everybody involved at B&B Electrical and B&B Designed Systems personally.”

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We strive to work with customers to provide the best solutions for their applications.

B&B continues to improve with the latest technology while always ensuring a safe and profitable outcome for our customers. B&B is the preferred choice for electrical construction services and process solutions. This is accomplished through a team approach that provides continuous organizational improvement and a commitment to lifetime customer satisfaction.

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Corporate Office

21334 Croghan Pike, Suite 1

Orbisonia, PA 17243

Phone Number: 800.848.0548

Homepage Link: https://chimes-greyhound-2275.squarespace.com/services

LinkedIn:    https://www.linkedin.com/company/b-b-electrical-systems-llc/