This year marked 30 years in business for Nickle Electrical. In May 1986, Paul Allen Nickle founded Paul A. Nickle, Inc., an electrical contracting company operating in northern Delaware. Within a year, Paul had the company up and running, focusing his efforts on residential wiring. Steve Dignan, current owner and President/CEO, was brought on board to grow the commercial division. But in late 1990, tragedy struck when Paul passed away unexpectedly. As part of the succession plan, Steve was offered the opportunity to purchase the company and he decided to seize the opportunity. He, and his wife Debbie, acquired Paul A. Nickle, Inc. in 1991. To keep up with demand and growth, the company expanded operations to Georgetown, DE in 2002. To better represent the company as a whole, Paul A. Nickle, Inc. was re-branded and became Nickle Electrical Companies in 2008.
As it has been for many years, safety is one of Nickle’s core values and something the company spends a lot of time focusing its efforts on. Nickle’s safety success continued in 2016 as employees reached six years without a lost-time accident on February 1. Another milestone was reached in April when employees clocked two million man-hours without a lost-time accident. Initiatives like the Behavioral-Based Safety Program, Safety Shadow Program, Safety Committee, Behavioral Observation Safety System, and others were key components to reaching those goals.
Nickle was recognized throughout the year for its dedication to safety, winning a Delaware Contractors Association Governors Safety Award for the fifth year in a row. Nickle also won its tenth consecutive Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware STEP award, and its fourth consecutive ABC Chesapeake Shores STEP award.
Engineering News-Record Magazine named Nickle Electrical Companies in its annual Top 600 Specialty Contractors list at #460 in the country. Published at the end of October, it ranks specialty contractors by 2015 revenue. This was the third consecutive year Nickle appeared on the famed list.
Nickle hosted a handful of events in 2016 including the annual Tool-B-Que with United Electric Supply, a safety event celebrating multiple milestones, the bi-annual Company Picnic, and more.
Some of the events and community outreach projects Nickle was involved with include the National Association of Women in Construction’s Block Kids program, which promotes construction careers to school age children; the Irish Eyes St. Patrick’s Day Parade and 5k, which benefited the Milton Chamber of Commerce, Milton Fire Department, Casa San Francisco, and the Gladys Wilkins Seeding the Future Scholarship Fund; an MS Charity Walk, which has raised more than $920 million for research, life-changing programs, and more to support multiple sclerosis; the Delaware Hospice 5k, an event that Nickle has supported for the past eight years that helps provide high-quality care and service in end-of-life education and support; and the Ronald McDonald House 5k, an event Nickle has supported for the past five years that provides a “home away from home” for families with seriously or chronically ill children being treated at Wilmington-area hospitals.
Other donations, sponsorships, and volunteer opportunities Nickle supported in 2016 include Atlantic General Hospital, Hagley Museum & Library, Delaware Technical and Community College, Riverview Cemetery, Apple-Scrapple Festival, Easter Seals of Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, and Friends of Delaware Veterans Trust Fund, among others.
One of the most popular community events employees participated in this year was the Delaware Mud Run, which raises money for the Leukemia Research Foundation of Delaware. Four teams of four Nickle employees raised $5,870 to support the organization. Team GI Janes was the third-highest fundraising team for the entire event and the team also won the ABC Delaware Mud Cup at the organization’s annual dinner in November.
This year, Nickle won four Excellence in Construction awards from ABC Delaware and ABC Chesapeake Shores. Salisbury University Sea Gull Stadium received a merit from ABC Delaware and an excellence from ABC Chesapeake Shores. Washington College Academic Building received a merit award from ABC Chesapeake Shores and SevOne received an excellence award from ABC Delaware.
Other notable projects in Nickle’s 2016 portfolio include the Girl Scouts Facility, University of Delaware MRI Center, Techmer Polymer, The Fresh Market, Lewes Public Library & Trailhead Facility, Sultana Education Foundation Center, LiquidHub, The Flats, Pilot School, and more.
If you’d like to keep up-to-date with Nickle News, visit our homepage and sign up for our monthly e-mail updates. You can also send Laura Massimini a message at lmassimini@nickle.email or call her at 302-453-4000 to be added to our newsletter mailing list, which is sent out on a quarterly basis.
