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James Tillman, president
James Tillman, president

2012 Knights Finalist: Complete Electrical Solutions LLC

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When James Tillman sold his interest in another company to start Complete Electrical Solutions LLC in 2010, his intention was to start a little service company that would allow him to “work less and kind of do my own thing,” he says.

He’s held true to part of that vision: He works at the company two weeks a month and works remotely from his home in Florida for the other half of each month.

His company, however, didn’t stay as small as he might have envisioned.

Complete Electrical Solutions has grown to employ 29, posting 2011 revenues of $4 million, with projections of $5 million in revenues by the end of 2012.

“A couple of years ago, we started doing more construction, so really it’s developed into a full-scale electrical company – residential, commercial and industrial,” says Tillman, who is president and co-owner of the company.

The company’s work encompasses remodels and new constructions in all three sectors, he says.

“I think at the end of the day, we probably can do pretty much anything.

“We have four bucket trucks and 18 service trucks. If you drive across Springfield, you can’t help but see one of our trucks,” he adds.

The company’s service area has expanded to include communities such as Branson, Ozark, Nixa, Joplin, Lebanon, Marshfield and Monett.

Tillman, who describes himself as aggressive, often bids on larger projects.

“Contract work is out there, so I find myself bidding. We have a $1.3 million electrical job with Springfield Public Schools at Westport (Elementary),” he says.

One of the cornerstones of the company, however, remains its lighting division, which regularly checks commercial signs and lighting and makes repairs as needed.

“We still have a few things going on that a lot of other people don’t do,” Tillman says, pointing to that division. “It keeps the phones ringing even in the winter. We go to their facilities once a month and check all their lights ... and repair them,” he said.

In addition to the jobs Complete Electrical Solutions provides – including several hires from Beaman Electric Inc., which closed its doors last year – there are other ways the company supports the economy.

“We buy a lot of products. We spent more than $1 million dollars last year just on electrical products that were bought locally,” Tillman says.

Despite remodeling its headquarters last year, Tillman said plans call for doubling the size of its facilities to 12,000 square feet later this year.

The company recently bought the last adjacent property it needed for the expansion, Tillman says.

“Our goal is to tear that building down and build another new building,” he adds, noting that the project will ensure work for people in other industries.

Tillman credits the company’s growth to his employees, illustrating their dedication by recounting a story about how his crew responded to the May 2011 tornado in Joplin.

The evening it hit, Tillman and other team members left for Joplin to set up generators and help people get power.

“(We) slept in trucks down there, just taking care of things. It rained on us and stormed on us, but we just kept on going,” he says, noting that his employees are as dedicated to every day work as they were in the wake of the natural disaster.

Click here for full coverage of the 2012 Economic Impact Awards.


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