Solar-energy work helps Schuler-Haas double in size

Schuler-Haas Electric Corp., which was recently honored on the 2024 Top Solar Contractors List released by Solar Power World, continues to chart a path of growth across Central New York that has already doubled the company’s size in recent years. The business started in 1961 as a traditional electrical contractor based in Rochester, working with the big companies of the day — Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb, says Dan Yonts, executive VP. In the early 2000s, Schuler-Haas expanded with an office in the Ithaca area, followed by locations near Binghamton and Corning. The company first became involved with solar-project installations about 10 years ago, and 2021 is when the division really started to take off, Yonts says. Schuler-Haas installs the electrical interconnects — piping and wiring — on the installations. The firm works as a subcontractor on the jobs. Most projects are engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects, with EPC companies running them. “We really just started plugging away,” he says. Schuler-Haas completed five solar jobs in 2021, and then doubled that to 10 in 2022. In 2023, the company finished 30 solar jobs and will complete 50 this year. In 2024 alone, the firm installed 225.7 megawatts of solar power. Today, solar jobs make up about half the total business at Schuler-Haas and have helped the company double its revenue, with its workforce also doubling from about 250 employees to more than 500. The firm declined to disclose its revenue totals. “There are more [solar] projects, and the projects are getting bigger,” Jason Clark, VP of project management and estimating, says. On the electrical side, “There are a lot bigger projects and there are more of them.” Schuler-Haas has a number of projects currently in the works, including a renovation project of the central utilities plant at Syracuse University and a boiler replacement at Marcy Correctional Facility. Micron Technologies will bring lots of opportunities to the greater Syracuse area, Clark says. “It’s going to be growth and construction like the area’s never seen,” he says. Schuler-Haas will focus on ancillary projects that will come along with Micron such as utility plants, doctor’s offices and hospitals, and schools. “Our potential to continue to expand is unlimited,” Clark says. “However, you’ve got to manage growth.” It’s crucial to balance the growth with making sure new employees are properly trained and understand the company’s values and culture. Schuler-Haas has been fortunate so far to find qualified workers, Yonts says. In fact, the company has zero turnover and a waiting list of people who want to work for them. The firm makes it a point to employ workers in the areas where projects are located. It can be challenging to find enough workers in some markets, Syracuse in particular, which limits the jobs the company bids on in those areas, he adds. Jack Schuler, George Haas, and Joyce Donnelly founded Shuler-Haas, headquartered at 240 Commerce Drive in Rochester. The company also has offices at 701 Azon Road in Johnson City (Broome County); 1465 Dryden Road in Freeville (Tompkins County); and 598 Ritas Way in Painted Post (Steuben County).