J. Frank Blakely
J. Frank Blakely is a private Spartanburg, SC electrical design and construction contractor, founded in 1931, serving industrial, commercial, and institutional clients within roughly 100 miles of its headquarters.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1931
- HeadquartersSpartanburg, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What J. Frank Blakely does
J. Frank Blakely Company is a private electrical design and construction contractor headquartered at 371 Kennedy Street in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it has operated continuously since 1949. Founded in 1931, the firm provides design-build electrical services for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects across the Upstate South Carolina region, holding unlimited contractor licenses and employing Professional Engineers registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Its roughly 60-person field workforce includes 11 superintendents averaging 30 years of tenure, 10 foremen, and multiple second- and third-generation employees, and the firm has maintained an Experience Modification Rate below 1.0 for ten consecutive years.
The company's revenue is generated almost entirely through one-time, project-based contracts, with stated project capacity of up to $2.5 million within a 50-mile radius of Spartanburg and $50,000 to $1 million within a 100-mile radius. Customers are enterprise accounts across automotive (BMW Manufacturing, Freightliner, Rochling), textiles (Milliken, Inman Mills), healthcare (Mary Black Memorial Hospital), food manufacturing (Schwan's), and commercial real estate and development, with documented multi-decade service relationships and emergency-response capabilities such as sub-32-hour switchgear replacement. Go-to-market is direct, relationship-driven field sales with no formal marketing channels identified, and the firm has remained under private ownership since 1998 when Danny Phillips acquired it from Billy G. Watson, who continues in a consulting role.
Operationally, J. Frank Blakely functions as a traditional specialty-trade contractor rather than a technology platform: services are delivered through in-house engineering design and union/non-union field labor, with no disclosed software products, no AI or data capabilities, no app or API surface, and no parent company or institutional investors. The business is fundamentally constrained by its geographic radius and project-size ceiling, and there are no public signals of expansion, fundraising, or product diversification in recent years.
J. Frank Blakely firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- J. Frank Blakely
- Legal name
- J. Frank Blakely Company
- Website
- https://jfblakely.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1931
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- J. Frank Blakely is a private Spartanburg, SC electrical design and construction contractor, founded in 1931, serving industrial, commercial, and institutional clients within roughly 100 miles of its headquarters.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
J. Frank Blakely industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electrical Contracting Services
- NAICS
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)
- SIC
- Electrical Work (1731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electrical Contracting (Commercial/Industrial) (IMAIABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Automotive & Heavy Manufacturing Plant Construction (IMAFADAK), Food & Beverage Processing Plant Construction (IMAFADAH)
Keywords
Where J. Frank Blakely is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Spartanburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
J. Frank Blakely business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Electrical Construction Services: One-time project-based revenue from electrical design and construction of industrial, commercial, and institutional projects. Projects range from $50,000 to $2.5 million depending on scope and geographic proximity.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Large-scale projects within 50 mile radius |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Standard projects within 100 mile radius |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
J. Frank Blakely product offering
Product offeringCore offering
J. Frank Blakely Company provides electrical design and construction services for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects across the Southeast United States. The firm handles projects ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 million within a 50-to-100-mile radius of Spartanburg, SC, employing professional engineers registered in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia along with experienced field personnel including superintendents and foremen.
Product overview
J. Frank Blakely Electrical Contractors provides electrical design and construction services for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects. The company operates as a single-service electrical contracting firm rather than a platform with modular products. Services include electrical design, construction, and installation for projects up to $2.5 million within a 50-mile radius of Spartanburg, SC, and projects ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000 within a 100-mile radius. The company employs professional design engineers registered to work in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, along with field employees including superintendents and foremen.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Electrical Design and Construction Services End-to-end electrical design and construction for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects in the Southeast US, covering facility lighting, main service feeds, power distribution, and circuit layouts for projects up to $2.5 million within 50 miles of Spartanburg, SC.
- Professional Engineering Design Professional engineering design services for industrial construction, delivered by fully qualified Professional Engineers registered to work in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Quantifiable outcome
- Emergency switchgear replacement completed in less than 32 hours
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use J. Frank Blakely
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
J. Frank Blakely technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
J. Frank Blakely partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
J. Frank Blakely competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wayne J. Griffin Electric: Wayne J. Griffin Electric is a New England-based electrical contractor providing design-build services for industrial, commercial, and institutional clients. It is comparable to J. Frank Blakely as a similarly sized regional electrical contractor with in-house engineering and a long operating history.
- Helix Electric: Helix Electric is a national electrical contractor specializing in commercial, industrial, and institutional projects, often serving as a design-build electrical subcontractor. It is directly comparable to J. Frank Blakely in service offering and customer profile (manufacturing, healthcare, commercial).
- Cache Valley Electric: Cache Valley Electric is a regional electrical contractor serving commercial, industrial, transportation, and utility customers across the Western US. It is comparable to J. Frank Blakely as a similarly sized private electrical contractor with design-build capabilities.
Broad incumbents
- MYR Group: MYR Group is a publicly traded specialty contractor focused on electrical construction (Transmission & Distribution and Commercial & Industrial). Its Commercial & Industrial segment directly mirrors J. Frank Blakely's electrical contracting work for manufacturing and commercial clients.
- EMCOR Group: EMCOR Group is a Fortune 500 provider of electrical and mechanical construction, energy, and building services across the US and UK. It is comparable to J. Frank Blakely as a major electrical contractor serving industrial and commercial clients, but operates at far greater scale and as a public, diversified platform.
- IES Holdings: IES Holdings is a publicly traded provider of electrical and mechanical infrastructure services across commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the US. It is comparable to J. Frank Blakely as a diversified electrical contractor, though it operates nationally at materially greater scale.
- Faith Technologies: Faith Technologies is a large US electrical contractor delivering design-build and prefabricated electrical solutions for industrial, commercial, healthcare, and mission-critical customers. It is comparable to J. Frank Blakely in core electrical contracting services but operates as a national, much larger platform.
- Rosendin Electric: Rosendin is one of the largest employee-owned electrical contractors in the US, serving commercial, industrial, data center, and renewable markets. It mirrors J. Frank Blakely's design-build electrical contracting model but at significantly larger scale and geographic reach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
J. Frank Blakely financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
J. Frank Blakely leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
J. Frank Blakely funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
J. Frank Blakely M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about J. Frank Blakely
What does J. Frank Blakely do?
J. Frank Blakely Company provides electrical design and construction services for industrial, commercial, and institutional projects across the Southeast United States. The firm handles projects ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 million within a 50-to-100-mile radius of Spartanburg, SC, employing professional engineers registered in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia along with experienced field personnel including superintendents and foremen.
Is J. Frank Blakely a public or private company?
J. Frank Blakely is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was J. Frank Blakely founded?
J. Frank Blakely was founded in 1931. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is J. Frank Blakely based?
J. Frank Blakely is headquartered in Spartanburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does J. Frank Blakely make money?
One revenue line is on record: electrical Construction Services.
Who are J. Frank Blakely's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Helix Electric and Cache Valley Electric. Broad incumbents are MYR Group, EMCOR Group, IES Holdings, Faith Technologies and Rosendin Electric.
Does J. Frank Blakely have an API?
No public API is recorded for J. Frank Blakely.
What industry is J. Frank Blakely in?
J. Frank Blakely's product category is Electrical Contracting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIABAC, Electrical Contracting (Commercial/Industrial), with a secondary code of IMAFADAK, Automotive & Heavy Manufacturing Plant Construction. Its NAICS code is 5413 and its SIC code is 1731.