Fitchburg-based Electric Construction is a rare bird in the construction world — able and willing to take on the smallest jobs to the largest. In the company’s 55-year history, that flexibility has served it well.
“We do projects as small as adding an outlet to someone’s home up to the expansion of the Dane County Airport,” says principal Rob Rudolf.
With such a flexible business model comes uncertainty about financing needs. Electric Construction needed a bank with an equally flexible business model, not a rigid one-size-fits-all institution.
“We had real struggles with the big bank we had worked with before — issues with reporting and having to give them all kinds of detail that really is not pertinent to our business,” Rudolf remembers. At the same time, Electric Construction was transitioning to a younger group of business partners as senior members inched toward retirement.
At that time, “I wanted to move us from the big bank atmosphere to a smaller community bank,” Rudolf says. So, he called Oak Bank’s Senior Vice President of Business Banking, Matt Fink. And he soon realized that “smaller” was a bit of a misnomer.
“Every time we’ve needed more capital to help with our cash flow, it’s been available,” according to Rudolf. “We had a big project where we had to put up a lot of capital. Matt and I went out to the job site. I showed him what we were doing, and in a few days, we were able to get the capital we needed and cover that gap.”
“I put considerable effort into building lifelong, mutually beneficial relationships with my clients,” says Fink. “By doing this I gain an in-depth understanding of my client’s business and their strategic goals. This allows me to offer sound advice and creative solutions based on their individualized business’ needs and when those solutions are needed most.”
Rudolf appreciates that flexibility so much that he often recommends Oak Bank to other business owners.
“I’ve actually told many business owners about the positive aspects of our Oak Bank relationship,” Rudolf says. “The personal relationship, the fact that Matt knows me and all the owners, the fact that he knows our business. He knows what we’re trying to accomplish, and he helps us reach our goals.”
