High Tech Electric LLC is the only Iowa-based company on Entrepreneur magazine’s annual listing of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing businesses, and its ranking has jumped significantly in the past year, from 53 to 28.

The electrical contracting company, which specializes in commercial, industrial, data and voice electrical work, started in Sioux City in July 2001 and expanded to Des Moines in February 2003. There were no people working for President Mark Pottebaum when he started the business, and now there are approximately 115. Pottebaum said the growth started out very slowly, adding one employee at a time.

“In 2001, we hired the first guy and told him that he probably wouldn’t get 40 hours a week,” Pottebaum said. “When he got to 40, we hired another and so forth. We had some really dedicated workers early on who were willing to come in knowing that they might not get a full week’s work.”

Pottebaum started the company shortly after the electrical contracting company he had been working for, which was owned by his brother, went out of business. Since there was still a demand for his work, he wasn’t out of the business for very long.

“The customers put us back in the business,” he said. “I had so many customers that liked our work and wanted us that it only took us three months from the time that the other business went down to when this one was up and running.”

By the six-month mark, High Tech Electric had really started to grow and was able to employ a large enough crew to take on bigger customers. The sales figures reflect what Pottebaum says has been a “rush to keep up.” In its first six months, the company had sales of $800,000. By the end of 2002, sales had grown to $3.4 million. For 2003, sales reached a staggering $9.2 million.

Pottebaum attributes the rapid growth to a couple of outside factors and to company’s underlying philosophy of keeping one customer happy before going on to another one.

“The Midwest wasn’t hit as hard by the recent economic slow down, so we’ve stayed really competitive,” Pottebaum said. “Being a union shop, we know that we can trust our workers to be qualified to do the jobs they’re hired for, which allows us to grow faster than if we had to watch over them constantly.”

When Pottebaum wanted to expand into the Des Moines market, he knew that he would need a leader that he could count on to drive the business, so he asked longtime Des Moines resident and electrician Bill O’Donnell to be the branch manager. The choice was an easy one for O’Donnell, who was running his own business at the time.

“I was making it on my own, but it was hard because the cost of permits and licenses was unbelievable,” he said. “Mark caught my attention because I wanted to be bigger, but I didn’t really want to take the financial risk on myself.”

O’Donnell has the authority to choose the jobs, hire people and manage the High Tech Electric office at 6615 N.E. 14th St, so it’s like running his own business, but better, he says.

“It is the best of both worlds,” he said. “I’m pretty conservative, so I wasn’t going to stick my whole neck out there. I wouldn’t have made this leap on my own, but he came along at just the right time.”

Pottebaum said he’s pleased with the company’s efforts in Des Moines, and he’s expecting a lot of opportunities to arise in the near future. “The Des Moines market is picking up very well, and the amount of business we’re going to do down there should quadruple,” he said.

More doors have opened for High Tech Electric because of its growth and track record, Pottebaum said.

“We’ve just found that as we get larger, there are larger customers that we can satisfy their needs,” he said. “Our bids and our quality of work speak for themselves. We’ve done very little advertising.”

Industrial jobs are the company’s specialty. High Tech Electric has done work for John Morrell and Co., ConAgra Foods Inc. and others, as well as on commercial accounts like the Sioux City Tyson Events Center. These large-scale clients understand the importance of having the work done right, Pottebaum said.

“For so many customers, it’s the bottom line that determines who they do business with, but we go after the work that takes just a little more knowledge,” he said. “Our customers aren’t looking for the average company. They have special needs.”

High Tech Electric is now expanding in a third market, in Pickstown, S.D., where it recently opened a shop. Though it is a small town, Pottebaum said, Pickstown is conveniently located for work in bigger cities like Aberdeen and Mitchell. The company employs professionals with masters licenses and can certify projects in five states.

No matter where High Tech Electric is working, Pottebaum said he wants each contractor to show a caring attitude toward the clients and stay dedicated to their work.

“A customer can see if you care or not,” Pottebaum said. “If they’re just a number, why should they stay with you?

“We outwork our competition. We have a committed workforce. Nobody is sitting in a chair trying to be a big shot. Everybody is out working hard.”