“I have been here all my life and have seen Asheville change greatly, but it still wears like a small town,” says President Kris Wilson. “By that, I mean that relationships matter, and most people are connected at some point.”
Founded in 1981 by Kris Wilson’s father under the moniker Wilson Electric, A-American Electric attributes its enduring success to a philosophy centered around building lasting relationships.
Check out our full Q&A with Wilson below…
Tell us about your business and the role you play in it.
A-American Electric Inc is a family owned, unlimited electrical contracting company, serving WNC for over forty years. Specializing in service, residential and commercial wiring. We believe that building lasting relationships with our teammates, customers, vendors and community is the key to our success. Our P3 initiative (Purpose, Plan, Principles) keeps us pointed toward what is most important.
How did you come up with your idea or concept for your business? How did you decide on a name?
My father started our company in 1981 as Wilson Electric. He quickly found out that there were several other versions of Wilson Electric in the area so he changed the name to A-American Electric. My father and grandfather are veterans of foreign wars so he liked the patriotic them. The A in the beginning of our name was to put us first in the phone book!
What makes your business unique in its field?
Our business is unique because of our diversity and capacity of work. We do service, residential, commercial and industrial contracting.
How many employees do you have? And what qualities do you look for when hiring?
We currently employ around 115 teammates. When we are hiring we look for alignment with our culture along with skill and capacity.
During your first year of business, what was the greatest lesson you learned?
We learned that being a great craftsman does not equal being great at running your own business. We learned a lot of hard but valuable lessons during our journey.
Where do you see your business in the next year? The next five?
We have 3 and 5 year plans to grow our commercial department and to expand outside of our current working area.
Why did you decide to join the Chamber?
We want to connect with the community in a deeper way and be “in the know” of community opportunities.
What is your favorite part about doing business in the Asheville area?
I have been here all my life and have seen Asheville change greatly but it still wears like a small town. By that I mean that relationships matter and most people are connected at some point.