Member Spotlight

Clayton Schenck--Magnum Electric, West Fargo, ND

This month’s Member Spotlight features Clayton Schenck, Vice President of Magnum Electric out of West Fargo, ND. Clayton is also the current Vice President of the Electrical Association’s Board of Directors!

Clayton and his wife, Lori, have two children (16-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son). They stay plenty busy with sports during the school year and spend quality time at the lake enjoying water sports and pontoon rides in the summer.

Magnum Electric is also involved with Habitat for Humanity. The program built 3 homes in 10 days for deserving individuals that would otherwise not be able to have a home. They were able to donate labor and material to complete of these homes. Clayton reflected that it was very humbling experience.

Clayton was initially drawn to the electrical industry by an industrial arts teacher in high school. The fact that there are endless opportunities and that it is a trade that will always be changing, challenging and demanding has kept his interest throughout the years.

The transition to business owner for Clayton may be a bit different than others stories who start from the ground up. Clayton and 2 other partners had the opportunity to purchase an existing business that they had all worked at for many years. They knew that it was a company with a great foundation that they could build on and expand. They viewed business ownership as an opportunity to have control of their own futures.

When thinking about advice for a newer electrical contractor and how to have business success, Clayton describes surrounding yourself with great people and sharing your success with them. Also, stay focused on what you are good at—don’t try to do it all.

The previous owner of Magnum Electric, Tom Heng, was heavily involved with MEA and served as President of the Board from 2012-2013. Tom introduced Clayton to the organization and the members. Being involved with MEA and getting to know other members has been a great business decision. The members have been a huge resource for information for Clayton regarding how to do some things better or better yet—how NOT to do something.

Learning from others and having a place to bounce ideas off of other electrical contractors as well as the ability to have a voice at the government level are the top reasons Clayton continues to belong and stay involved with MEA.

Magnum Electric will be working with the City of West Fargo, ND on a new mixed-use event center plaza and parking ramp and are currently designing the project. The city plans on this being a second downtown area for residents to gather. The most rewarding part of the job for Clayton is seeing the finished product. Whether it’s a state-of-the-art lighting project with LEDs and controls or a piece of equipment that you helped design the electrical requirements for.

What has been your greatest business success? “Relationship building. Our goal is to exceed the customers’ expectations. When you do this, you build a relationship with a customer who knows you’re going to take care of them and trust you. You do this, and you have a customer for life. This takes time and patience, but in the end, you start to build a reputation that you can be proud of.”

We are so grateful to have Clayton on the MEA Leadership team and to have Magnum’s continued support as a longtime member of the Association!