Member Spotlight - Pat Vlaminck-- Vlaminck Electric, Porter MN

Pat Vlaminck has been a member of MEA for almost forty years. He is a past chair of the MEA Board and is still actively involved with the association, sitting on various committees. He and his wife of 44 years, Phyllis, have 4 boys together and 7 grandchildren. Pat has served on the volunteer fire department of Porter for the last 42 years and has been the Fire Chief for 25, playing an influential role in developing the town’s First Responder Program. We sat down with Pat to discuss what it was like during the early years of business as an electrical contractor and how things have changed over the years.

What was your Mission Statement when you started Vlaminck Electric back in 1976?
We didn’t have one! We just went on the theory that we wanted to keep all of our customers happy.

How did you develop your reputation?
Back then, there weren’t nearly as many avenues to market the business through. We were able to build it from the ground up based on word of mouth, the company logo on the side of our trucks and an ad in the local paper. We just pleased our customers enough so they would tell the next person.

What would you tell a younger electrical contractor about how your business succeeded?
Be honest with your customers and treat them with respect. You need to stay profitable but you don’t have to take advantage of them. As an old boss of mine once told me, “you can sheer a sheep many times, but you can only skin ‘em once.” I’ve always tried to stick by that motto.

You have been a member for 38 years. What has kept you coming back for so long?
I wasn’t active for a long time. There was a regulatory issue I was having some trouble with and Judi (Rubin, past President of MEA) was of great help to me. She got me on a committee and I’ve been coming back ever since. Plus the relationships I’ve made over the years. I think it’s important to give back to the local community, and my involvement with MEA is my way of giving back to the electrical industry.

What do you see as challenge for the newer contractor just going into business?
Some things will never change, such as managing employees, benefits and keeping up with rules and regulations. Some of the technology has changed so much over the years and this will always be a challenge. Don’t let it scare you, but you have to stay on top of the changes and let the technology work to your advantage.

What’s next?
My hobby has always been the business and it will be hard to walk away from that. The goal is to work for as long as my health will let me. So I don’t see things slowing down too much anytime soon.