NECA Boston and JM Electrical’s Principal and CEO Matthew Guarracino were a major presence at the 2024 ELECTRI Council Summer Meeting. Held in Boston earlier this month, the event provided an opportunity for industry professionals to review and evaluate various research proposals beneficial to NECA members and the broader industry.
Guarracino, who sits on ELECTRI’s board of directors and is a member of its Proposal Review Committee, came away with high expectations for the proposals ultimately approved by ELECTRI leadership.
Technical innovation and staying ahead of industry trends have always been central to JM Electrical’s philosophy of service and professional excellence. Established in 1985 by Guarracino’s father, Paul S. Guarracino, JM Electrical is one of the most respected and in-demand electrical firms servicing Greater Boston and Northern New England.
From nearly any vantage point in Boston, JM Electrical’s presence is hard to miss, with scores of project sites across the city. The company is a trusted, staple electrical contractor for institutions like Harvard University, MIT, and Mass General Hospital, and they recently completed the expansion of Logan Airport’s Terminal E.
“We’ve worked on many of the buildings along the Seaport,” Guarracino said, citing Vertex Towers and the Echelon, the largest residential construction project in Boston’s history. JM installed the Echelon’s building automation controls system to serve the facility.
“We’ve also done a lot of work at Cambridge Crossing, which has been a very successful part of the lab boom we’ve been experiencing in Boston & Cambridge for the better part of a decade or so,” he added. “We’ve been fortunate to work on many of those buildings through partnerships we have built over many years with first-class contractors.”
Headquartered in Lynnfield, JM Electrical principally serves the Greater Boston area but is well-established throughout the Northern New England region, where it is widely recognized as the leading industry expert on HVAC controls. The reputation is well-earned.
“Paul Guarracino identified a need in the construction industry in the electrical space for controls,” said Guarracino, who has run the company alongside his brothers, John and Andrew Guarracino, since 2018. “When our father founded the company, no one was doing controls as their sole focus. He really wanted to carve out a business that focused on HVAC controls and building automation systems, something we continue to refine today.”
What began as a two-person outfit is now a company of two hundred professionals. The strong emphasis on controls spurred the company’s rapid growth and, Guarracino believes, provides the foundation for its continued success. “For any building, the largest consumption cost is energy. The space we serve is focused on reducing the energy consumption of buildings. We feel it’s a very good niche we’re satisfying within the market. It’s something our clients continue to invest in because energy is such a substantial expense for these different facilities.”
Still, JM Electrical didn’t reach such heights driving in one lane. The company’s scope of services has grown with it, encompassing instrumentation and mechanical power. They’ve launched a service division offering emergency repair and scheduled maintenance. And they’ve recently introduced EV charger installations to their roster of energy solutions.
“We completed our first EV install last year, and now we’ve done dozens of installations around Massachusetts and across New England,” Guarracino said. “We see EV as a potential growth opportunity, and we’re doing our part to meet customer demand.”
Always forward-thinking and looking to expand its service capacity, the company recently opened its Innovation Center, a warehouse/pre-fabrication facility, in 2022. “The center wouldn’t be possible without the partnership we have with Local 103. We’re able to provide training within that facility, and it’s a good opportunity to develop talent while they apply for union membership.”
At the end of the day, investment in people is as important to JM Electrical as investing in emerging tech. “We really value our people, many of whom have built their entire careers here. We’re a family business but we like to say the JME family extends far beyond the Guarracino family to the people who have contributed so much to the company over the decades”