This November marks a significant milestone at EC&M that I’m incredibly excited to share with you: our 125th anniversary. As I sit back and reflect on this historic moment, I am filled with pride to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of this brand. In fact, it makes me nostalgic and somewhat in disbelief thinking back 25 years, when I, along with several other members of our editorial team who are still on staff today, spent months in the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s engineering library going through countless rolls of microfiche and putting together content for our centennial issue in 2001. Needless to say, it’s shocking how quickly 25 years can pass — I guess that old saying proves true…  something about if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Although we’re still a few months away from our official 125th birthday in November, I want to put out a call to the industry’s longest-standing electrical firms as we prepare for another special anniversary section in the November issue.  

Founded in 1901, when our first issue was published under the name The National Electrical Contractor, EC&M was there when electricity started to transform the way people lived and worked. Over the next 125 years, our brand has evolved along with the industry, changing names, expanding our editorial focus, and ultimately becoming the leading technical resource electrical professionals know as EC&M today. During this time, one thing has never changed: our mission to serve the professionals who design, build, install, and maintain the electrical systems that power our world.

As we prepare for this 125th anniversary section, I want this to be more than a celebration of EC&M’s history. I want it to share in that legacy by featuring the companies whose histories have unfolded alongside ours. That’s why we’re on the hunt for the electrical industry’s most enduring firms. We invite all electrical contracting firms and electrical design firms founded in 1901 or earlier — and still in continuous operation today — to participate in a special anniversary project.

By the time you’re reading this editorial, we will have launched a dedicated submission form on our website (www.ecmweb.com) where qualifying firms can submit their company profiles, telling us about their history, founders, important milestones, name or logo changes, and noteworthy projects. We’d also love to see what’s tucked away deep in your archives like vintage photos of founders, early employees, historic job sites, offices, equipment, company vehicles, advertisements, or landmark projects. This isn’t just an opportunity to celebrate longevity. It’s a chance to preserve an important piece of electrical industry history. Just like EC&M, every company that has stood the test of time has a unique story to tell — one of perseverance, craftsmanship, innovation, and service. Together, those stories paint a remarkable picture of how the electrical industry has grown and evolved since the turn of the 20th century.

If your company is at least 125 years old, I hope you will take a few minutes to share its story with us. The profile submission form will be quick and easy, and we plan to follow up with qualifying firms via email and phone for quotes and additional information/materials. After all, your story is our story — for 125 years, EC&M has simply had the privilege of telling it.