Oklahoma Electrical Supply Co.
Oklahoma City
Founded 1909
Oklahoma became a state in 1907, and just two years later, Oklahoma Electrical Supply Co. (OESCO) was founded as both an electrical contracting company and supply house. Over more than a century, the storefront operation has grown into a third-generation electrical contracting company, which is one of the largest in Oklahoma.
Steve Young, president of OESCO, says his maternal grandfather, Zennes Hirsch, founded the company on Feb. 8, 1909, after graduating from Purdue University in 1904 and working for General Electric in New York.
“I never knew him, as he died many years before I was born, and no other family member knows why he chose Oklahoma,” says Young, who started working in his family’s warehouse at the age of 14. “He must have thought that Oklahoma would be a great new frontier to conquer.”
Another mystery is the name of the company, he says.
“We are, and always have been, an electrical contractor,” Young says. “I have been told that because Oklahoma was still so new at the time of the company’s founding, you had to supply electrical materials as well as being a contractor.”
While the original name of the company — and the way it has done business — have stayed the same for more than a century, much has changed since OESCO first opened its doors. Young says he is very proud the company has endured for almost 110 years.
“OESCO is generally considered the largest electrical contractor in the state and certainly the only one in continuous operation while maintaining family involvement and company name,” Young says. “The electrical industry has changed with the times and technologies as most companies have had to do to survive.”
For example, OESCO, which has always been involved with the industrial, commercial, and civic building markets, is now specializing in the health care, datacom, fiber-optic, entertainment, advanced technologies, and mission-critical facility sectors.
“We are making sure we have the right people on board, and we are always looking for new markets to differentiate OESCO from other electrical contractors,” Young says. “We feel at 109 years old, we have done a pretty good job so far.”
