People, processes, and new opportunities are behind United Electric’s continued success 

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United Electric is one of the largest industrial contractors in the area, with skilled technicians to handle all types of electrical work, from industrial installations to automotive factories and commercial buildings. Founded in 1957 and having started off with General Electric, the business has since grown to be a strong competitor in both the industrial and commercial electrical construction industry.  

United Electric’s expertise in the chemical and automotive sectors includes working with high-profile clients like Zeon, Chevron, and Ford Motor Company (Ford). Considering this experience, the company expanded in alignment with the industry’s push into the electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing space and has since built battery plants for Ford over the last two and a half years.  

To learn more about the company’s evolution and one of its proudest projects to date – BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky – we sat down with CEO, Joe Kellams. “We operate two permanent locations, one in Louisville and another in Cincinnati, the primary focus of which is commercial work,” Joe opens. “In terms of services, we provide professional electricians to hook up equipment and provide access to power within buildings. We do anything electrical, from installing conveyor systems with great companies like LESCO to ensuring the process equipment is operating correctly.  

“Aside from new construction, we do work for some of our long-term clients weekly. In the chemical sector, for instance, we’re constantly updating and modernizing plants to ensure they maintain compliance with evolving policies or adjustments. We’re fortunate to have long-term relationships with partners like Marathon, Zeon, and Lubrizol, with our professionals working on one of these sites every day. 

“Similarly, we look after two of Ford’s plants here in Louisville, where we’re continuously retooling, rechanging, fixing and adjusting the plant to maintain standards. Based on reputation and relationships, including a long-term relationship with the general contractor, Abel Construction, we were able to jump into the EV battery plant market. We collaborated with Abel and Ford on the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, which is an EV battery production plant spanning 4.5 million square feet. To place all the necessary equipment and get processes up and running, we had 950 electricians working on the site at our busiest period.” 

Empowering people 

While it’s clear that United Electric seized an emerging opportunity within the EV battery market, the company has also completed some great work on the Cincinnati Bengals Stadium, FC Cincinnati TQL Stadium and the Cincinnati community. “Building an NFL stadium in Cincinnati was one of the most amazing projects we could imagine,” Joe confirms. “NFL is huge in the community so we’re proud to have contributed to the stadium, and although it was finished several years ago, we still do a tremendous amount of work to adjust, fix, and modernize the stadium each year. Additionally, having the opportunity to help build the MLS Stadium in the heart of Cincinnati alongside Turner Construction was an incredible experience.

“In addition, we are also very fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with the VA Cincinnati Health Care system. Our team works diligently every day to ensure the VA Hospital remains fully operational, enabling its staff to provide the highest level of care for our veterans. 

“Customer service is at the forefront of everything we do, and we constantly evaluate how we can improve our customer relationships. We have a fantastic customer, Louisville Gas and Electric, for instance, for whom we have dedicated an entire utility division. We encourage our people to really get involved with our customers, as they are often a customer’s first visual impression. Customer feedback is always excellent, especially when adverse weather conditions hit the area, as our people work in the rain, wind, or snow to restore power as quickly as possible.” 

On the topic of customer service, Joe is keen to highlight United Electric’s excellent safety record. “We’re highly rated for our safety processes and procedures, and I believe a company cannot be successful without a great safety culture,” he says. “I’m proud of the leaders we have in our company, and we encourage our people to think outside the box, to be collaborative, and collectively create best practices and procedures. In terms of leaders, we’ve developed the next generation over the last few years to ensure a seamless transition that enables further success in the future. We’re passionate about empowering our people to continuously learn and better themselves in preparation to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.” 

As our conversation ends, Joe turns his attention to what’s next for United Electric. “We’ve got a lot of great things to come in 2025 with a tremendous amount of work ahead as we continue to ride the EV battery wave throughout the US,” he explains. “Our pipeline looks great well into 2026 and 2027 too, as we’re striving to become experts in the EV battery market, as well as pushing into the data center industry, as we see plenty of opportunities in this space.  

“I’m proud of what this company represents and our success in recent years has been testament to how we’ve continuously grown our market presence through successful projects and longstanding relationships,” Joe concludes. “Adaptability is key for us to achieve our annual growth targets. Our team is motivated by the same vision and goals, and we’re confident that the growth model we’ve outlined is not only achievable but believable.”  

www.unitedelec.com