Nickle Electrical Companies is now run by next generation of leaders

February 21, 2025 2

NEWARK — Nickle Electrical Companies is now owned by two employees that have worked at the company for two decades, carrying out the next step in a long-set succession plan.

Chief Financial Officer Neal Donaldson and former Chief Operations Officer Jeromy Newton now have 50-50 ownership in the electrical contractor that handles everything from wiring Delaware schools to fixing an electrical issue at home in the tri-state region.

Newtown is now the President and CEO of Nickle, taking the reins from longtime company leader Steve Dignan. Donaldson will remain the CFO of the company.

– Advertisement –

Founded in 1986, Nickle Electrical Companies is coming up on its 40th anniversary and now has 180 employees between its Newark and Georgetown offices. The company was first started by Paul Nickle to focus on wiring homes for Harkin Builders, but Dignan was brought on to grow the commercial division of the company.

Nickle unexpectedly died in 1990, leaving the company to face headwinds without a clear leader ahead. Dignan and his wife, Debbie, bought the company a year later. Since then, the company grew from $1.5 million in annual revenue to $35 million by 2011.

Newton joined just a couple of years before that milestone, coming on board in 2009 as a service manager because of the culture set by the company’s two previous owners. Newton was tapped to lead operations in the Georgetown office in 2011, while Donaldson started as a purchasing manager in 2004 before becoming the company’s financial czar in 2006.

“Paul was a big name here in Delaware, and he was big on making Nickle a company about opportunity. When we started working for Steve, it was very clear that we are our own limit,” Newton told the Delaware Business Times. “You go as far as you want to reach. That also set a culture of partnership mentality with management and senior leadership. By the time we were promoted, we realized how important culture is to the organization. We want to be a part of that legacy to make sure everyone has that opportunity to grow.”

It’s also a matter of continuity. Dignan had started succession planning nine years before his retirement at the start of 2025. Donaldson said that the employees, who are the bedrock of their business, deserve stability in their day-to-day work. Roughly two years ago, Donaldson started to oversee human relation functions and Newton started to take on more operational tasks.

“I could basically retire with what we have done. But we got our employees, and they do everything for us and we need to make sure we provide that strength to continue on,” Donaldson said.

Over the years, Nickle Electrical Companies has been the firm behind big projects like the University of Delaware, Amazon and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and more across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The company now handles projects from homes to pharmaceutical facilities to big box stores.

To help build the next generation of workers, Newton said the plan is to continue its famous apprenticeship program. The company hires at least 10 vocational high school students per year through co-op agreements with hopes of hiring them later down the line.

Looking to the future, the duo plan to invest in more training for field leaders as well as finding ways to streamline operations.

“Education will continue to be our next major investment. There’s also some ways we can do better. We did a good job today, but I’m not one to pat myself on the back. We can always improve,” Donaldson said. “Whenever you get comfortable, that’s when there’s a higher chance you could fail.”