304 List Street, Frankenmuth, since 1952, and a story that starts earlier
How a bill collector’s job in 1912 became Nuechterlein Electric.
Frankenmuth had its own power company before it had this one, and the man whose name is still on the trucks started out collecting its bills. What follows is how that job turned into a contracting business in 1952, and how three owners since have kept it at the same address.
Before there was an electric company, there was a power company.
Franz Ranke founded the Frankenmuth Milling Co., and then, in 1912, the Frankenmuth Power and Light Company. Fred Nuechterlein was hired that same year as a clerk and bill collector, and later served on the Power and Light Company’s board from 1912 to 1918.
Main Street, an appliance business, and a sale to Consumers Power.
In 1919 the Power and Light Co. moved to 146 S. Main St. and began an appliance business alongside the utility. Fred kept running the power company itself until it was sold to Consumers Power Co. in 1926.
Fred’s own contracting business, and the sale that became Nuechterlein Electric.
Fred also ran his own business, Fred G Nuechterlein, Electrical Contractor, alongside an appliance store. In 1952 he sold it to his employee and nephew, Lawrence Nuechterlein, who put his own name on the business and has kept it there ever since.
Ownership ledger
Three owners in seventy-four years, and one address the whole time.
- 1952-1970
Lawrence Nuechterlein
Trained at Arthur Hill Trade School in 1938, then took a radio and electronics correspondence course in 1940 and a residence radio school in Detroit in 1942.
Served in the US Army from December 1942 to 1945, then worked as a radio repairman for his uncle Fred from January 1946 until he bought the business outright in 1952 and put his own name on it.
- 1970-1997
Tom Fechter
Bought the business in 1970 and built the first half of what became The Midtown Shops.
Added Frankenmuth TV and Appliance to the corporation, later selling that piece to Grant Engel in 1980. Hired a Michigan State intern named Tom Erdman in 1973.
- 1997-present
Tom Erdman
Interned at the company in 1973, earned a degree in electrical technology from Michigan State University, and holds a Michigan journeyman's license from 1976 and a master's license from 1978.
Became a stockholder in 1980, and bought the business after more than 25 years there, 10 of them as partner. President and owner today.
Tom Erdman off the clock.
Owner Tom Erdman has also served the town outside the shop, on the boards that keep Frankenmuth running:
- Frankenmuth Rotary Club Board of Directors
- Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
- Frankenmuth DDA Board
- Michigan Fire Safety Board
- State of Michigan Electrical Administrative Board
The crew today.
The shop is bonded, licensed and insured, and the crew runs from a master contractor down through BAT-certified apprentice electricians learning the trade. The company still describes itself the way it has for years, as “Over 55 Years of Experience”, which undersells a start date of 1952 but is its own wording and worth leaving alone:
- Master contractor
- Master electricians
- Journeyman electricians
- BAT-certified apprentice electricians
“To get the job done on time, within budget and with the highest quality in wiring.”
The company’s own mission, and the same focus since 1952.
That crew is behind all twelve kinds of electrical work the shop takes on today, from generator installation and service to the municipal plants already on the customer list.
Serving Frankenmuth and the Tri-Cities
Same address, same name on the trucks. Tell us what needs wiring.
304 List Street, Frankenmuth. Office Mon-Thu 7am-4:30pm, Friday until 3:30pm, and 24 hour emergency service every other hour of the week.