Dailey Electric to open Lockhart facility

By Miles Smith
Editor / POST-REGISTER

College Station-based Dailey Electric, Inc. will open a 9,100-square foot facility in Lockhart, the company announced Tuesday.
The company has purchased a property at the intersection of SH-130 and Maple Street and expects to grow to 100 electrical construction employees in over five years.
“Dailey Electric is a welcome addition to the Lockhart community,” said Lockhart Mayor Lew White. “This facility’s calculated move to a location with future-focused infrastructure and abundant talent puts it at an advantage. We look forward to Dailey Electric joining our community as a new corporate citizen.”
The facility is located at 2201 Maple Street and Dailey is the latest company to choose a site along SH-130.
The Lockhart facility will handle the electrical contracting work in Lockhart and the surrounding areas. The SH-130 toll road, which connects Austin to San Antonio with an 85 mph speed limit, and the access to talent were large factors in the company’s decision to expand to the city.
“Lockhart was a perfect fit for our company,” said Dailey Electric, Inc. President Chris Dailey. “Located near the SH-130 toll road and in a high-growth market, Lockhart is the ideal setting for our third electrical contracting facility. With the availability of talented, qualified electricians and the business-friendly atmosphere in the City of Lockhart, we knew we were making a strategic business decision.”
Rob Tobias, director of the Lockhart Economic Development Corporation, said he believed more companies would follow the lead of Dailey and Fashion Glass & Mirror and choose Lockhart or Caldwell County for a headquarters or second location.
“I think they came to the same conclusion that Fashion Glass did: that it’s smart to have a location between Austin and San Antonio,” Tobias explained. “We’re pushing companies to consider Caldwell County for that reason. I think they’re realizing what we all are: that Lockhart is a jewel.”
Local influence and connections didn’t hurt either, Tobias noted.
“Sometimes local folks are a good source of referrals,” he said. “A connection to Dailey at First Lockhart National Bank proved to make a difference.”
Dailey Electric collaborates with the Independent Electrical Contractors Association and Blinn College for apprenticeship training in estimating, CAD layout and 3D building information modeling, and houses a 10,400 square feet prefabrication facility in College Station.
The company said it hopes to pursue similar partnerships and programs with Lockhart-area workforce developers.
Founded in 2003 by Chris Dailey, the company has grown to three facilities including one in Houston and their headquarters in College Station.