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John Robert Wingfield, Sr.

The Company's founder, John R. Wingfield, Sr. got his first job doing electrical work because he was the right size. At the age of 15 he was hired by a Knoxville, TN. electrical contractor to help wire houses. He was hired because his small stature permitted him to work in tight spaces. He worked in Bristol, TN. and West Virginia wiring glassworks, Pittsburg, PA. wiring coal mines and Washington, D.C., where he wired the old Navy Hospital. During World War I he wired three military camps.

After the war he spent 18 years in New York City working for its third largest electrical firm, Lord Electric. There he worked on such projects as the Essex House, then the largest apartment building in New York City. Mr. Wingfield did the electrical engineering for New York's first television studio, Studio Six, on the sixth floor of Radio City Music Hall. He did the electrical engineering for the City Farmers Bank which had 54 floors above ground and 5 below. Another of his New York projects was the New York Daily News Building.

During World War II, Mr. Wingfield came to Alabama. He oversaw electrical work on a powder plant built in Childersburg. He directed 1,600 workers there. Next he went to Oak Ridge, TN. where he directed 2,200 workers. He also worked in South America during this time.

After WWII, he returned to Alabama, and Goodwater, where he and his family had lived while he worked in Childersburg. He worked for Rust Engineering until he retired. After retiring from Rust Engineering in 1960, Mr. Wingfield began building control panels in the basement of his home in Goodwater, Alabama. A family decision was made to go into business. The Company was incorporated in 1962 with Mr. Wingfield as President and sons John R. Wingfield, Jr and Charles W. Wingfield as vice presidents. Charles Wingfield actively joined the company in 1966 and Alan W. Wingfield, another son, joined the company in 1967.

Charles Wingfield, a licensed profession engineer, assumed the presidency in 1976 after Mr. Wingfield "semi retired". The people that worked for Mr. Wingfield knew him as "Mr. John". He continued to be involed in the business after his retirment to the age of 93. Alan Wingfield, our current president, assumed the presidency in 1987.

Aerial View 1972 Aerial View 1994

The former Goodwater Grammer School was rented in 1967 and later purchased from the City of Goodwater. Metal cutting and forming were subcontracted at this time. A press brake and shear were added a few years later enabling Wingfield to do all fabrication in house. A 3,500 square foot metal building was added in 1970 for assembly, wiring and piping work. Another 3,500 square foot building was added in 1976 for fabrication. The original school building continued to be used for painting and storage. The original Grammer School building was destroyed by fire in 1992. A 7,000 square foot addition for painting, assembly, wiring and piping was completed in 1993. Fabrication expanded to include the 1976 addition. Major equipment acquired since then includes a hydraulic 175 ton CNC 12 foot press break. A 10 foot 1/4" Shear with automatic back gauge, and a 60" x 120" Water jet cutting machine.