Mott Electric has a skilled team of trades workers to work on projects throughout the province
BURNABY – Local and family-owned, Mott Electric has been helping customers connect with confidence since 1930 – almost a century now.
“95 years is a huge milestone for us, as a local and family-owned business,” says Vice President Ellisha Mott, who, along with her brother Derek, are now fourth generation owners of the company, started by their great grandfather, William Mott, in 1930, The torch was passed to his son, grandfather Don Mott, and then to father Dan Mott, who is still President and very much involved in running the business with Ellisha and Derek.
Having a thriving fourth generation family business bucks conventional trends, as such companies generally have a success rate of around five percent.
“We’ve been through trials and tribulations and learned from our mistakes,” says Ellisha. “We’ve come to the place where we have a and this is a true family business despite our large size.
“We also have other multi-generational families working for us, fathers, sons daughters and mothers too – who have worked for us for many years. There are a lot of families that have invested in us, and we like to think we reciprocate in that investment. We have a large number of employees who have significant tenure with us.”
Mott Electric offers a full spectrum of electrical and data services for commercial, industrial, institutional and residential customers, as well as Mott Telecom, which offers solutions for telecommunication infrastructure services throughout the province.
Mott Electric is a fourth generation family business that began in 1930
They also have a Major Projects Department, which works on large multiuse developments, healthcare, industrial environments, ports, as well as power and utilities projects, and supports BC Hydro ventures.
“Many of our departments can service a single project for our customers. We’d like to think we’re one of the most diversified electrical contractors out there, which is part of our sustainability,” says Ellisha. “We’re pretty modest, but at the same time, we’re proud of our legacy. We are disciplined in our growth, yet we’re cautious and confident, and we’ve grown organically.
“We are preparing to take the next steps in the size and scope of the projects we’re taking on, based on the depth of our organization, the diversification of our team’s work skills, and our scope around the province and in Alberta, not just the lower mainland.”
That includes opening new markets in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and Kelowna in the Okanagan, to go with their head office in Burnaby, and Vancouver and Calgary, Alberta locations. Today, Mott Electric has around 450 highly trained and certified electricians in the field to serve customers throughout the province, with a total staff of 500 on the payroll.
Ellisha believes the company’s core values have created a culture where people can thrive and want to stay.
“We’re offering exposure across so many disciplines, it helps keep our workforce engaged,” she states. “Being very agile and offering cross-training for our workforce allows us to stay agile and evolve with industry trends -that’s important for us.”
Externally, Mott has also made significant philanthropic contributions throughout the province, including a recent sizeable donation to BCIT towards their trade school, which demonstrates the company’s belief in the necessity of trade education and apprenticeship training.
“When my father took over, the misconception was that moving from generation to generation was success on its own. But the business was in rough shape, and he grew it from 30 electricians to where it is today, and for the past 40 years, he has been the president.
“By no means are we trying to be the biggest company; we want to be great! she adds. “We’re hyper-focused on what we do. We want to be 100, as we have a vision of being a Century Company, and that comes with discipline in our growth, and being grounded in what we’re good at.”
