Interstates, a nationwide contractor with regional office locations throughout the United States, is celebrating 60 years in business. The concept of Interstates was born on the front porch of John A. Franken’s home in the early 1950s. To supplement his income as an operator at the City of Sioux Center’s power plant, John began selling television sets to a community hungry for this newest technology craze. Along with TV sales, “Johnny’s Electric” started to install antennas and power receptacles.
Eventually, the electrical business occupied more of John’s time, and he discontinued television sales to concentrate on installations. In 1967, Johnny’s Electric was renamed Interstates Electric and Engineering to reflect its expanding service offerings. The company moved out of John’s basement to its current office location in Sioux Center, IA.
Darrel Ramhorst, a veteran of the Air Force and NASA space program, joined the Interstates staff and spearheaded the engineering portion of the business. Under Darrel’s leadership, Interstates was able to offer total “design-build” electrical packages, which still account for a majority of its business today.
This fall, President Dave Crumrine published a leader message in the company's newsletter: "Look Back or Look Ahead," which focuses on honoring the past and keeping pace with technology in the future....
