About Us

History

When his neighbors saw the results of the conversion, they all wanted electric lights too. And they needed places to plug in the newfangled electric radios, phonographs, sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and ranges that were beginning to show up in the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog and in stores along Tejon Street. Berwick Electric Company was born.

Lyle Myers

For the first few years, rewiring old houses was about the only electrical work to be had in the Pikes Peak area. But J. Douglas stuck with it and in 1924 was low bidder on a couple of nice jobs, Grace Episcopal Church and St. Francis Hospital. Soon afterward, along came a good bit of work out at the Modern Woodmen of the World's tuberculosis sanitarium (now the Sisters of St. Francis convent).

Then came the depression. But with it also came neon signs, oil burners and "iron fireman" stokers to be installed and repaired. And, since more and more folks were trading in their ice boxes for Frigidaires, Berwick wired hundreds of homes for this new kitchen appliance. By the end of the 30's, Berwick Electric had helped remodel many of the downtown Stratton properties, wired some of the big new houses in the Broadmoor area and worked on a nurses' home for Penrose Hospital.

World War II brought feast and famine. In 1941, Berwick contracted to do the electrical work on the hospital at Fort Carson. But from 1942 until late 1945, rationing of materials meant no new construction, and the company subsisted on patching up old electrical systems. In 1946, James D. Berwick came home from the Navy and joined the firm. About the same time, Lyle Myers and Milton Lundsten came aboard and stayed for 35 years.

Looking to the future, Berwick Electric began grooming a new generation of managers in the mid-80's. James D. became chairman of the board, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. Today the firm is led by James L. Peterson, president; William R. Strassburg, vice-president; Clay Gafford; and Douglas L. Berwick, treasurer.

Since then, Berwick Electric has grown to over 200 employees, doubled the size of its headquarters at 3450 N. Nevada Avenue and diversified until it is now the leading electrical contractor in the Pikes Peak region. Our fleet of 30 fully-equipped service vans is the area's largest. And the company has become part of another technological revolution, one that J. Douglas could not have imagined back in 1921. Clean rooms for computer chip manufacturing, power quality engineering for computer-intensive companies and telephone switching facilities, and fiber optic cabling are some of the technologies that we have become expert in. In fact, designing, building and maintaining electrical power systems for Colorado Springs' booming high-tech industry has become a large portion of our business and a major factor in our growth. Companies like Hewlett-Packard, Ramtron, Symbios Logic, and even some Cripple Creek casinos (with their hundreds of computerized slot machines) call on Berwick to assure them of clean, uninterrupted electrical power.

But the company has never strayed far from its beginnings. Residential service and repair, reasonably priced and responsive, is still a very important part of our business. And who knows what kind of technological revolutions lie ahead. You can be sure that Berwick Electric will be ready for them.