Our Story

In 1978, Steve Wong—a recent Electrical Engineering graduate from San Jose State University—founded Wong Electric, Inc. at the young age of 22. Motivated by strong community ties and the trust of family friends, Steve saw a unique opportunity to launch a business during a period of rapid growth in the Santa Clara Valley.

“The timing was right. I had a customer base with my family’s friends as they all were expanding their businesses and needed electrical work done—just as I had done for my own family’s farm. They trusted me because they knew my family and could communicate with me because I spoke Chinese.”

As the region experienced booming development in the 1980s, Wong Electric relocated its office to Palo Alto and grew to a team of over 70 employees. Steve’s vision and cultural understanding made the company a perfect fit for many growing Asian-owned businesses in the area.

“Our Bay Area during the late 70-80s was growing rapidly and the Asian population was growing even faster. Chinese were starting their own businesses in retail, high tech and food industries, and when Wong Electric, Inc. came around, we were the perfect fit for them to do business with, as they felt comfortable working with an Asian-owned company. In the old days there was some prejudice against Asians in the contracting field thinking we were all unskilled, uneducated labor, so we all had to support and work together. Today there are Asian Americans in all construction fields and competition is stiff as new immigrant companies cut costs and fees to win contracts.”

Although the company’s early client base was largely Asian-owned, today only about 25% of its business comes from that segment. Wong Electric now serves a broad range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to independent developers.

“One of my father’s friend, Gordon Chan, was my mentor who always encouraged me to go on my own and make the most of the opportunities given to my generation. I will always be indebted for his sound advice.”