ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In the early 1900s, an emerging electrical infrastructure in St. Louis created a market for small plug-in appliances and a need to repair them.

Thus began Kaemmerlen Electric Co., which was founded in 1924, and would become the largest small appliance repair shop in St. Louis – fixing 50,000 plug-in clocks, toasters and radios annually. But it also launched a glimpse of its future as one of St. Louis’ largest electrical contractors. Kaemmerlen also served downtown offices, repairing lighting and building fans – the only source of cooling workspaces during sweltering St. Louis summers.

On October 13, 2024, Kaemmerlen marked its 100th anniversary at the Forest Park Golf Course Clubhouse and celebrated its history of continually adapting to commercial, retail and institutional needs.

“The company was launched by my grandfather in a repair shop located where the south leg of the Gateway Arch now stands,” noted Robert Kaemmerlen Jr., president and the third generation to lead Kaemmerlen Electric. “We’ve always been in Downtown St. Louis and our growth is one that is intrinsically tied to historic business and consumer benchmarks.  We adapted to serve increasingly complex electrical and communication needs.”

Thibault Casper (TC) Kaemmerlen and his foreman, Gil Kramer, each put up $150 a piece to found Kaemmerlen in 1924 in a shop at 22 North 2nd Street. Kaemmerlen was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1903, the son of a U.S. railroad worker transplanted south of the border. To escape the marauding Pancho Villa, his family ultimately moved to DeSoto, Mo. and Kaemmerlen enrolled in Ranken Technical College. His first job was on the assembly line at Frank Adams Electric Company in St. Louis, where he met Kramer.

“Kaemmerlen was literally a ‘walk-in’ repair shop at that time,” said Kaemmerlen. “But TC Kaemmerlen had a greater vision that would lead to electrical contracting.” In 1927, the firm wired Gilster Milling in Steeleville, Mo., its first major electrical contract. Kaemmerlen expanded to larger space on Lafayette Avenue and in 1931 it moved to 2318 Locust, about two blocks from its current location. It weathered the Great Depression, performing warranty work on small appliances for department stores, while gaining more contractor work. In 1937, Kaemmerlen bought out Kramer.  In 1946, the firm moved to its current location at 2728 Locust and was poised to serve a post-war booming economy. Kaemmerlen also co-founded the National Appliance Repair Association and became a charter member of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

In 1947, Kaemmerlen became an IBEW Local 1-signatory contractor to leverage the union’s investment in training a skilled and sage workforce.  IBEW Local 1 founded the Electrical Industry Training Center in 1941 as the nation transitioned to a war economy. It was the first electrical training program in the country to be certified by the U.S. Dept. of Labor and would become the foundation upon which Kaemmerlen could deliver more complex commercial electrical installations.

Consumer appliance purchases boomed in post war America and with it came the need for repairs. By the late 1950s, Kaemmerlen had 25 bench technicians repairing 25,000 appliances a year, a figure that would double in the next 10 years. “But by the 1970s, Americans began replacing, not repairing, appliances,” noted Kaemmerlen. “My father, Robert and his brother Bruce, had succeeded TC Kaemmerlen in the 1970s and shed the small appliance repair business to focus on servicing commercial food equipment and contracting.” In 1987, Kaemmerlen Parts and Service led by Bruce Kaemmerlen split off from Kaemmerlen Electric. His brother Robert led Kaemmerlen as a growing electrical contractor.

The current president, Robert Kaemmerlen Jr., succeed his father at Kaemmerlen Electric in 2000.  His brother-in-law, Brian Trembath, joined the firm as chief financial officer.

“The information age provided another benchmark in our growth,” said Kaemmerlen. “In 1996, Kaemmerlen Communications became a division within the company to meet the booming demand for voice, data, video. We also became one of the first IBEW Local 1 communication technician signatories essential to skillfully deliver ever more complex low voltage projects. It now represents 30 percent of Kaemmerlen’s projects.” In the 1980s Kaemmerlen began building its first data centers. In 1997, Kaemmerlen built a 14,000-square-foot warehouse along Washington Avenue to house the company’s purchasing, storage, tooling and delivery support.

Meanwhile, benchmark events in history continued to shape demand for technology.

“The 9/11 terrorist attack fueled demands for greater security and over the last decade our work surged in low voltage access control, cameras and other security technology in businesses and institutions,” noted Kaemmerlen. “Over the last 15 years or so, audio/visual technology increased and then surged as the Covid 19 pandemic forced businesses, schools and other enterprises to develop remote work options. Office connectability is no longer just found in large conference rooms, but in small huddle rooms and other support spaces for hoteling.”

Today, repeat business accounts for 95 percent of Kaemmerlen’s work and its more recent projects reflect a diversity in service, including:

  • Education such as DeSmet High School, St. Louis Priory, Ritenour School District, Saint Louis University and St. Louis Community College.
  • Retailers including the Penske/Schnucks warehouse partnership and CostCo
  • Car dealerships including Frank Leta and Lou Fusz
  • Civic and institutional projects for the cities of Berkeley, Florissant and the St. Louis County Library
  • Healthcare including Mercy Health, BJC HealthCare;
  • Businesses such as NIKE, Rawlings, U.S. Bank, First Bank, AT&T, MasterCard, World Wide Technologies, Charter, Fiserv STL, Inc., KEG1, Color Art AV and CTI

Kaemmerlen offers design/build electrical contracting, communication contracting and has a service division for special projects. It employs a staff of 30 and 120 workers in the field. In 2023, it reported record revenues of $42.5 million.