Guarantee Electrical Co. was founded in 1902 by seven St. Louis entrepreneurs who
“guaranteed” to light the 1904 World’s Fair. Today, Guarantee continues to provide
a complete spectrum of electrical contracting services, including electrical construction,
electrical engineering design, design-assist, value engineering, procurement, service and
preventative maintenance. Guarantee's subsidiaries include Guarantee Electrical Construction
Company, GECO Engineering Corporation and Denver-based Guarantee Electrical Contracting.
Guarantee is a founding member of the Federated Electrical Contractors (FEC) and is thereby
affiliated with 33 of the most respected electrical contracting firms in 60 cities in North
America, Europe and Asia.
The company is majority-owned by the Oertli family. Frederick “Rick” Oertli serves as President
and CEO, and Roger Oertli serves as Chief Operating Officer. Doug Mertzlufft, a minority shareholder,
serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. On October 1, 2005, Guarantee
established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and will use the company’s profits to purchase shares
for employees, initially buying out the stock of Oertli family members who are not employed by Guarantee.
The first contribution to the ESOP was made in January 2006.
ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION. Guarantee can provide and/or coordinate every service and resource required for
virtually any type of commercial, institutional and industrial electrical construction project nationwide.
Guarantee’s single-source concept begins with a seasoned work force of up to 700 professional, technical,
and support people, backed up with the most advanced project management systems, facilities, and equipment
in the business.
GECO ENGINEERING. Guarantee’s electrical engineering group is larger than many stand-alone electrical design
firms. Its construction team benefits from direct access to in-house design and electrical engineers can
design with constructability and cost issues factored in from the start. It’s a unique approach that offers
quality, schedule, and savings advantages on every project.
DESIGN-BUILD PROJECTS. Guarantee was a pioneer in design-build delivery and remains a recognized national leader.
Design-build draws on special experience bases and sophisticated project tools to integrate traditionally
sequential project work phases and achieve schedule, quality, and cost objectives that are impossible through
conventional design/bid approaches.
SERVICE/MAINTENANCE. Guarantee’s renowned Service Division includes a rapid-response, radio-dispatched 24/7/365
Emergency Service Center with a modern fleet of more than 50 service trucks. Guarantee Electrical Maintenance (GEM)
is a uniquely effective preventive maintenance program that integrates rigorous visual inspections with infrared,
ultrasonic, and harmonics diagnostics. It eliminates two-thirds of all potential failures in electrical system
components before they occur.
GUARANTEE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING COMPANY (GEC). Guarantee acquired Kimsey Electrical Contracting, a Colorado
construction company, on September 15, 2003. GEC is Denver-based and a single-source, one-stop provider of the
total spectrum of today’s electrical contracting services including design-build/preconstruction, traffic signal
and highway lighting, service/maintenance and special systems.
GECO SYSTEMS. Guarantee acquired Tel-Vi Communications January 31, 2004. GECO Systems is a certified electrical
communications and data network contractor and provides structured cabling systems, multimedia wiring systems,
high-speed data networks, active component integration, LANs and WANs, CATV, fiber optic networks, and temperature,
safety and security systems.
RESUME OF WORK. Guarantee provides electrical services to many industrial, commercial and institutional clients.
Some of its more recent electrical projects include the Federal Reserve New Tower and Renovation, Monsanto IT/Data
Center, U.S. Steel Primary Coolers, APC Lab Facility, St. Anthony’s Hospital Addition, Ameristar Casino Hotel and
Parking Garage, Bryan Cave Law Firm Office Renovation and St. Louis Children’s Hospital-East Expansion.