Houston Construction News - Front Page

Fisk nets 90 years of electrifying growth

Electricity arrived in the city of Houston in 1899, in the form of one generator, which produced 1.5-megawatts, enough to power a 200-home neighborhood in today's society. Fourteen years later, a young Houston man named John Fisk, whose robust and towering stature was known to command a measure of respect from others, founded Fisk Electric Company.

In 1913, working from his shed in The Heights, a neighboring community northwest of downtown, John would carry a roll of wire, his ladder and cutters on a streetcar to destinations where he would install residential wiring each workday. In his early 20's, John was among the pioneering electricians who would light up Houston, electrify and illuminate homes and buildings that were previously lit by gas only.
Almost a century ago, John Fisk started advertising his residential illumination services, and thereby developed a solid reputation. As he became more of an entrepreneur and businessman, he bought a small office and decided to embrace the emerging industry fully. As more innovations were developed, including receptacles, device and vertical lift elevators, John started integrating them into his portfolio of services and business plan.

"As the computer age has been a thrill for a lot of people of recent generations," noted Fisk's regional vice president, Stephen J. Thorwegen, Jr., "it was just as exciting for John to be on the cutting edge between leaving the industrial age and entering the electrical age. Until electricity came along, the average office building was no taller than four stories, which were only accessible by stairs. AC and DC power led the way to vertical transportation."

A vintage electrical contractor's license dating back to 1927, awarded by the City of Houston, hangs in the Fisk Electric corporate offices today.
In 1936, Fisk Electric Company proudly performed the electrical installations on the 570-ft. San Jacinto Monument. Near and dear to the hearts of Houstonians, the towering column commemorates the April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. Built 100 years after the battle it honors, Fisk installed lights, elevator, and what was referred to as conditioned air (think swamp cooler) on the project.

On the heels of the Great Depression and into the early 1940's, there were a number of municipal projects that had to be completed. The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) employed the unemployed to build the Jefferson Stadium, which in its day was a state-of-the-art project. The electrical contractor onsite was Fisk Electric Company.

"John Fisk continued to formulate a business plan to establish himself as a leader in the Houston construction community. After WWII, in 1946, his nephew, Lloyd K. Davis, joined the company. A Rice University graduate, Lloyd studied electrical engineering, and it became apparent that Lloyd was going to be John Fisk's successor. Lloyd is my uncle," Stephen continued.

Between 1947 and 1954, two major projects marked John's efforts to carve out a niche as Houston's premier electrical contractor: the 8-story Foley's Department store and the 44-story Humble Building, the tallest building of its day.

John died in 1954, surrounded by family members and favored employees.

"I was told by my aunt," Stephen added, "that John's deathbed wish was to hold Lloyd accountable for growing the business. He had some very large shoes to fill, and was certainly up to the task."
Between 1954 and 1970, Lloyd's leadership enabled Fisk Electric to acquire offices in Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans. In 1962, Fisk was awarded the electrical contracting job on the Houston Astrodome, which opened in 1965.

John Fisk became signatory to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in the early 1920's, and Fisk Electric has remained a union electrical contractor to present.

The 1970's brought telephone deregulation and another business opportunity for Fisk Electric. Lloyd decided it was time to have another division, so he started Fisk Telephone Company, competing with Southwestern Bell and AT&T. As the business progressed, he hired astronaut James Lovell to serve as president of Fisk Telephone Systems, which underwent exponential growth.

A building boom in Houston during the 1970's was responsible for about 30 percent of the city's office building development, and Fisk garnered its fair share of work.

"We also had a presence at NASA," Stephen said, "and we worked on about 30 percent of the buildings on that campus. As a $100+ million company with 4 locations, Fisk also ventured into the challenging world of international contracting. We worked on several hotels in Cairo, Egypt, and on a complete university campus in Saudi Arabia."

Although Fisk Electric Company has retained its original name for ninety years, it has flourished under five owners, including a British concern from 1982 to 1996.

"In 1987 we established a regional office in Las Vegas and worked on several major casino/hotel resorts, including the Luxor, MGM Grand, and the Venetian," Stephen added.

As the 1990's unfolded, it was business as usual. However, in 1996, former Fisk employee Larry Brookshire surfaced with an offer to buy Fisk from the Brits.

"For the next four years, Larry carried Fisk to the pinnacle of success and very high profits," Stephen concluded. "Larry embraced and empowered us to be more than we could be, and frankly, we didn't want to let him down. He could always take a bad situation and find the positive spin. Fisk is a very successful bottom-line company."

In 2000, Fisk Electric became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tyco Electronics and the core unit of the Tyco Electronics Building Technologies Division.