Our Story
Many people joke that the Keul family are “born-and-bred” electricians because of all the knowledge, skills, and expertise that have been passed down from members of the family who become electricians.
The family legacy that led to Keul Electric L.L.C. is made up of three generations of highly-skilled electrical contractors — Melvin, Mike, and Josh Keul.
Melvin Keul was the first-generation electrician of the family. In 1959, he established Keul Electric Services Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa after completing his electrical apprenticeship program.
Mike Keul grew up with his dad’s business. He helped as much as he could growing up until he was old enough to officially work for Keul Electric Services Inc. during the summers. Once Mike graduated high school, he went through the electrical apprenticeship program and became the second-generation electrician in the family.
As the third-generation electrician in the family, some of Josh Keul’s earliest memories are going to service calls with his dad when he was only three years old. After high school, Josh spent some time in the military and then completed the electrical apprenticeship program, just like his grandfather and father before him.
Josh was determined to re-establish the Keul Electric name before his grandfather, Melvin Keul, passed away. In 2017, Keul Electric L.L.C. was established and Josh was able to make his grandfather proud. And so, the Keul Electric family legacy continues.
The Keul Family Legacy
Mike Keul (left) and
Josh Keul (right) holding a photo of the late Melvin Keul
and his wife.
A photo from 1975 of the original Keul Electric
Services Inc. team including Melvin and Mike Keul.
Meaning Behind “Keul Electric”
Josh Keul jokes that he’s been an “electrician in-training” since he could walk. Some of his earliest memories are visiting his grandfather at the Keul Electric Services Inc. office and driving around with his dad to bid jobs.
Once he graduated high school, he spent some time in the military and then got his electricians license. He worked as an electrician and then was offered a business consultant role where he traveled around the Midwest and helped other people build their electrical contracting companies. Once he got tired of the corporate world, he took a job as an Electrical Instructor at Southwestern Community College (SWCC).
During his time as an instructor, Josh realized two things:
1. The students that he was educating at SWCC were forced to move out of the area because they couldn’t find jobs in their industry after graduating.
2. Larger jobs were being taken out of the community because there weren’t any electrical contracting companies that had enough experience or the financial resources to compete against the bigger general contracting companies from out-of-town.
So in 2017, Josh established Keul Electric L.L.C. to see what the market was like in small town southwest Iowa. And it turns out that it was great! So good in fact, that Josh needed to step away from his instructor position at SWCC so he could keep up with the demand and take on the bigger jobs that they were being awarded.
Today, Josh and Mike run Keul Electric together along with their highly-skilled and hardworking team who they are proud to work with.
Keul Electric L.L.C.
Keul Electric is passionate about helping build their community even stronger for fellow business owners who also choose to be headquartered in “small towns” like they are.
That’s why they invest back into their community through various projects and events, some of which are highlighted below.
Habitat For Humanity
Aspiring Entrepreneurs of Adams County
Creston High School Ticket Booth