Howard Hellman”™s office is filled with memorabilia, but the one thing that”™s missing is the link that got him connected to his chosen field: a toy train.
That”™s the medium that introduced the Rockland County native to all things electric: “I used to take them apart, move the tracks around and get the cars and locomotives on track again,” said Hellman, owner of All Bright Electric in Nyack.
No, laughed Hellman, he did not do a “Gomez Addams number” on his Lionel train set. But his tinkering put Hellman on track for bigger things.
When he got older, he put in walkway lights around his parents”™ garden. A landscaper admired his work and the teen discovered he had a new job to keep him occupied. While other teens were delivering papers, Hellman was installing landscape lighting for his parents”™ neighbors. “It was my introduction to the industry, and I”™ve never changed course.”
Hellman went into the business full-steam ahead, starting his company, All Bright Electric, in 1969. While some of his peers were grooving at Woodstock, Hellman was focusing on becoming the county”™s most wanted electrical contractor. Forty years later, he”™s not only become one of the best-known contractors in Rockland County, but has branched out into the Hudson Valley, Westchester County and into New Jersey.
Hellman”™s company is strictly union, something he”™s proud of. But he says he is being hurt by people who are operating without proper licensing. With 150 licensed electrical contactors in six different unions and 25 office personnel working out of his West Nyack location, Hellman is still looking to grow his business.
All Bright hasn”™t felt the pinch of the housing crisis, primarily because 90 percent of the company”™s work is in the commercial sector ”“ but borrowing money has become more difficult, even for the most successful contractors. “We”™re in a bad market right now … even though the commercial sector has not been hit, money is tight. People are scaling back projects, but projects are still out there and are still being built.”
Competition from nonunion shops hasn”™t stopped Hellman from building his book of business, expanding into Westchester and the Hudson Valley by acquiring Dalbar Electric in Port Chester, Stack Electric in Yonkers and adding Weisblat Electric in the city of Newburgh. Hellman says his company does approximately $400 million worth of business each year with a wide variety of clientele. “We are not a ”˜niche”™ contractor,” says Hellman. “Basically, if there”™s a job that needs to be done, we can do it.”
Hellman welcomes the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey takeover at Stewart International Airport. His company”™s largest project at Stewart was putting in the new air traffic control tower prior to the Port Authority takeover; like others, he”™s hoping the PA will be the catalyst to draw economic stimulus to the region.
Right now, Hellman”™s changing direction, hiring a president to take care of daily operations, while he steps into his new role as founder and chairman of the company. “Basically, I”™m going to start looking beyond the horizon to grow my business,” said Hellman. “I can”™t handle the day-to-day operations and look into new acquisitions or mergers at the same time.” The goal now, says All Bright”™s founder, is to continue to solidify his presence in the Hudson Valley and Westchester and expand into nearby Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
The future? “Looking bright,” he said.
