From Small Electrical to Big Industrial: History of P1 St. Joseph, MO Office

It takes more than big customers to build a business: It takes the agility and resilience demonstrated by the P1 team in St. Joseph, MO, over the past 14 years to tackle a challenging market with losses and victories along the way.

Today, the St. Joe story is one of steady growth, strategic expansion, a tight team, and, above all, building relationships one opportunity at a time.

What began as a small electrical operation has evolved into a full-service construction and industrial controls presence serving some of the area’s largest manufacturers and industrial customers.

Fun Fact:

The initial company operated out of a modest office above an old garage, focused mostly on electrical work. Electrician John Bullimore joined P1 from Schultz Streisner and remains with P1 today as the company’s longest-tenured employee in the St. Joseph office!

Humble Beginnings

The St. Joe office was established in 2012 and has continued to grow ever since, expanding both its team and the extent of services it provides.

P1’s St. Joseph operation started with Schultz Streisner Electric, a small local company P1 acquired in 2012.

• When an employee from another local company expressed interest in joining P1, he brought mechanical expertise, helping the St. Joe office establish a mechanical presence.
• The office left the “garage” location and moved into suite A in the current Faraon Street location.
• Building the team: Jason White and Cris Ray joined the team in 2016, bringing additional electrical expertise and joining forces with the “core” construction team, including Senior Project Managers Bryce McClurg and Jeremy Miller, Project Manager Shawn Conz, Warehouse Coordinator Kenny Liefring, and Office Manager Misty McConnell.
• Joe added service and maintenance capabilities, ultimately acquiring St. Joe Plumbing and Heating, which became the HQ for what is now P1 Construction’s sister company, P1 Service, LLC.
• Cody Campbell joins the P1 St. Joe office, bringing system integration expertise and customer connections, and helps build the Industrial Controls team.
• Joseph office adds on, taking over the space next to suite A and preparing for future growth. 

Today, Jason White manages the St. Joe team as Operations Manager, and reflects that it was not always an easy journey.

“Securing contracts wasn’t easy in the beginning,” he said. “It was basically boots on the ground, start from scratch, and build relationships in the community, which was very important in a tighter knit community like St. Joe – it’s different than a large metropolitan area.”

A $4M contract with Daily’s Premium Meats marked a turning point.

“That Daily’s job was absolutely huge for us,” Cris said. “We were able to start hiring people, and it made our lives so much easier to have a workforce. It was our first really nice job and it got us securely established within the community.”

Since then, the division has experienced significant growth both in contracts acquired and workforce development.

With customers like Daily’s, Jason says the team began building relationships in a market that would be critical in St. Joe: industrial.

“We started getting connected with industrial customers like Nestlé Purina, Altec, Ventura Foods, Daily’s, Elanco, and Clarios Battery Plant,” he said.

He adds that these contributed to St. Joe’s growth not only in project size, but because the P1 team typically didn’t work through a GC, instead having the direct relationship with the customer.

While electrical construction has played a large role at the St. Joe office since its inception, growth is coming through the mechanical side now, along with industrial controls.

The Expertise of Many, The Power of ONE

The St. Joe office has weathered its share of challenges, but today the team seems to have found a rhythm that works.

“Our office is small enough, so we can all support each other with our specific expertise, and up here, the different trades cross frequently,” Senior Project Manager Jeremy Miller said. “I can walk next door and ask sheet metal for help, and vice versa.”

“All team members understand a job because we know each other’s trades, which makes us more efficient,” Jason said. 

“If I’m looking at a job, I can speak to our other trades and recommend them for the job as well,” he added. “It may sound a bit cliché, but we really are like family here.”

Enter Senior Project Manager Cody Campbell, who brought the industrial controls division to the table, including existing customer relationships like Tyson Foods.

“The division has grown and is now regarded as the largest industrial controls operation in the St. Joseph area,” Cody said.

From its earliest days, when Cody worked out of the conference room, the division has grown enough to require additional office and warehouse space.

“We want to approach growth with strategy, ensuring the division can meet customer needs while also offering our capabilities across P1.

Community Connection

From a small electrical company operating above an old garage to a regional industrial construction and controls leader, P1’s St. Joseph story is one of measured growth that appears to be poised for the future.

Like many in the trades, the St. Joe office is finding the biggest challenge to future growth may not be finding projects, but finding people.

“Skilled labor and experienced project managers remain difficult to recruit, particularly in a smaller market,” Jason notes.

But in a smaller town like St. Joe, there is another form of currency: community involvement.

Local customers still want that “hometown” feel from the people they do business with, and the St. Joe office has given back, not just in dollars, but in time - by building in-person relationships.

For example, Office Manager Misty McConnell has been attending the YWSCA Women of Excellence event
for 25 years.

“It’s such an important cause,” she said. “Both P1 Service and P1 Construction have participated for a long time.”

Other support has come in the form of local sports team sponsorships, donating to Mosaic hospital and being involved in local school district events.

“Within a smaller community like St. Joe, just showing up is really noticed,” Misty said.  “Sometimes it can be more valuable than the money you are giving.”

P1’s St. Joseph team has demonstrated that a company can grow by knowing its market, supporting and leveraging the expertise of many, and building the facilities, trusted partnerships, and community it serves.