It’s hard to imagine that even as most of the West Coast is facing an energy crisis, the demand for increased and more sophisticated electrical service and wiring – for computers, for hot tubs, for complex television services and state-of-the-art security systems – is on the increase.

But not only is that the case, but companies like Silverdale-based Olympic Wiring are seeing steady increases in both actual jobs and in the dollar average of those jobs.

Olympic Wiring co-founders Bill and Judi Carter are already reporting a ten percent increase in both sales and employee growth for first quarter of this year and even with the energy crunch and alleged economic downturn that Western Washington is experiencing, the company expects the year to continue in much of the same sales growth that they’ve already experienced this spring.

Part of that growth, Bill Carter suggests, may come from some planned diversification in the company’s markets. Founded in 1969, the 47-employee company has always focused heavily on the residential market between the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Port Angeles.

These days, Carter says, almost twenty percent of their business is coming from commercial construction.

“Here in Kitsap, the market has definitely changed in the last few years,” said Carter, “especially for electrical contractors specializing in residential work. High-end ‘spec’ houses are almost non-existent these days…people are more likely to simply build a home themselves.”

Another big change, said Carter, is in the roles that the general contractor, electrical contractor and homebuyer play in the final results.

“Customers want and expect to take a bigger role in their home’s construction,” said Carter. “It used to be that we’d rarely see a home buyer…we’d work directly with the general contractor. Now, we walk the property with the homebuyer.”

“Their needs are more specific – things like computer wiring needs and home security are two big examples – and they want to talk with our electricians directly.”

In order to accommodate those changing roles, Olympic Wiring employs five electricians in the Sequim area who can handle jobs promptly in that region and dispatches the rest of the field staff from their 4,200 square feet of office and warehouse space in Silverdale.

With the last few years providing stiff competition among the trades for skilled workers, Carter says that he and Judi have worked hard to maintain not only the right internal environment for their staff but also an opportunity for advancement.

The deliberate addition of commercial business allows some of their senior electricians an in-house opportunity for change and advancement and Judi oversees a benefit package that, in the construction industry, is highly competitive.

“In this (construction) industry, there’s always been a trend towards ‘you worked this many hours, you earned this many dollars, go home.’ We’ve worked hard to put together a package that allows our staff to get ahead. We’ve got a 401K program, health benefits and a paid vacation package, all things that are pretty unusual in this industry.”

After 32 years of business in Kitsap County, Clark credits much of his firm’s success to staying flexible.

“We’ve seen a lot of change in the last three decades and I think we’ve been able to adapt pretty well and anticipate the change. We never set out to grow a large electrical contracting firm… it’s just happened as a result of our staying on top of the business we had.”

“As jobs became more complicated or bigger, we allocated the time and resources to make sure that our customers were satisfied. With the addition of structured media programs – things like cable and security systems and computer systems and phones and televisions – what used to take two days to install in a new home now can take four or more.”

Carter also acknowledges that the recent change in economy, in addition to a cost-of-living difference between King County and Kitsap County, has added to his company’s significant first quarter growth.

“Even with a slower economy, people from King County are discovering that they can sell their homes there and either buy or build in Kitsap for better value. That difference in value is actually helping Kitsap’s economy and we’re definitely seeing increases, not slowdowns, in quality construction.”.