MARCH 2017

ECONOMICS and enterprise
Brothers
Bring Spark
to Electrical
Contracting
Business
BY PAUL NATINSKY
Mixing business with brotherhood has been
a recipe for success for electrical contractors
David and Derek Curioca.
The brothers joined 15 years ago to launch DC
Illuminations from a 1,200-square-foot house in
Keego Harbor and now employ more than 30 electricians,
an office staff of 4 individuals, a warehouse
manager, and 16 trucks to service more than 2,000
customers from their Sylvan Lake location.
“We built the company with word of mouth,
and no advertising,” said Derek. “This is first generation
company built from scratch. I’m the Electrician
and my brother David is the back office and
business guy. We grew and never advertised.”
Still, it was tough going at first. In 2002, the
brothers started out calling people they knew to
solicit small jobs and build trust. They grew slowly
and had some difficult stretches early on. “We
eventually hired a few employees and got another
truck, but it was not easy,” said David. “There were
many weeks when we did not take paychecks in order
to pay our employees. Now, we laugh about it.”
Finally, about four years in, they had enough
business to leave the Keego Harbor house and
move into an industrial park in Sylvan Lake.
When they joined in business, the brothers
came from very different places. Derek began
working as an electrician when he was 20, putting
in 8,000 hours to earn his Journeyman’s designation
and another 4000 hours to become a Master
Electrician. Meanwhile, David, who has a degree
in finance, worked at the Morgan Stanley investment
firm for five years.
The brothers say there was no, one, watershed moment
that brought them together in business. “First
off, we have always been very close,” said Derek. “We
hang out outside of work and are great at reading each
other’s mind. We’re able to criticize and correct each
other without getting mad about it, because we know
it’s all for the betterment of the company.”
The pair share an office with side-by-side desks.
David still spends most of his time in the office.
He manages the back-end business functions, assigning
service calls to employees and heads up the
Parking lot lighting division. He also makes time
to meet with customers, which puts him in the field
from time to time. “David knows what it takes to
grow a company, manage relationships and handle
finances,” said Derek.
Derek logs about one to two days in the office
preparing estimates per week, and spends the
rest of his time working in the field, with foremen
and with customers. “Derek can wire up a house
or commercial building with his eyes closed,” said
David. “He is a great people person.”
The company provides a full range of services.
Derek says project range from simple residential
wiring to commercial projects that include office
buildings, hotel and high-rise buildings and shopping
centers.
In 2007, Derek said, the company scored a hotel,
which proved to be one of the company’s first
really big jobs. He said he and his crew worked
until 2 or 3 a.m. for weeks at a time, and worked
nearly 75 days straight on the project.
But such dedication has paid off. David said
once ensconced in the industrial park, the company
moved three times into bigger spaces to accommodate
its growth. And they show no signs of
slowing down.
The brother attribute their success to the company
motto which says, “Customers first and to do
whatever you can to please the customer.”
DC Illuminations is located at 2671 Sylvan Lake
Road, in Sylvan Lake. They can be reached by phone
at (248) 681-6458, online at dcilluminations.com or
by email at info@dcilluminations.com.
32 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2017