Few businesses are as interwoven with their community as Collins Electrical Company, Inc. (CECI), a family-owned firm that is celebrating a century of service in 2024.
The Stockton-based contractor, with annual revenue of $230 million, works throughout Northern and Central California to bring energy to projects ranging from hospitals and county courthouses to casinos and multimillion-dollar power plants.
Named as the ENR California Specialty Top Contractor of the Year in 2022 and a Top Solar Contractor for the past three years, Collins is widely known for its problem-solving approach to even the most challenging projects and services that include system design, project management, and design-build functions.
“The core values are really important to us,” says CECI Chairman Eugene (Gene) Gini, citing family, innovation, and loyalty as some of those core business values and noting that the company wouldn’t exist without its amazing employees.”
History shows that innovative thinking was part of the company from the start. When founder W.J. Collins hired his first electrician, he was short on funds, yet he managed to convince A.J. Gus Sanguinetti to accept company stock in lieu of salary. When Sanguinetti later took the reins of the company, he established another tradition: valuing loyal employees and promoting from within.
That has continued all the way down to Gene Gini, who joined the company as a shop helper in 1960 and rose
through the ranks, spending more than two decades as CEO.
Now, his three sons, Kevin, Brian, and Craig, and his wife, Dianne, all have leadership roles in the business that has grown to have locations in Fresno, Livermore, Marina, Modesto, and West Sacramento, as well as the current office in Stockton.
While quality work, reliability, and customer service are among the keys to CECI’s long, successful run, Gene Gini also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a culture that also includes respect for people, passionate, integrity, and being socially conscious.
“The core values are the drivers of our culture, of how we want to go about representing our company to our customers, to our vendors, and to our employees,” explains Craig Gini, Chief Transformation Officer/Senior Vice President.
And as CECI celebrates 100 years of excellence, the Gini family wants the community to know they are deeply appreciative of the many customers they have served through the years.
“Through extraordinary personal service, attention to detail and commitment to our customers’ needs, we’ve earned a reputation for excellence that keeps our clients coming back again and again,” conclude Co-CEOs Kevin and Brian Gini.
