After the passing of his father, Atlanta native Ras Hitson Cleveland took a job with Browning Electrical Motor Repair Company. Committed to providing service to others in business and in daily life, Ras purchased the company and Cleveland Electric was born.

For 34 years, Ras operated a business that would become respected and remembered in the hearts and minds of its celebrated customer base. In 1959 Ras trusted his two sons, Louie and James, to carry the business name and reputation forward. 

Over the course of the 1960s, Louie carried on the electrical repair service line and James launched Cleveland’s specialty contracting business, which grew rapidly during the rise of Atlanta’s industrial construction boom. 

In 1979, Cleveland was awarded a 10-year, $315 million dollar project to build the very first two units of Waynesboro’s Vogtle nuclear plant. Two large GM plants and Ford’s Hapeville plant would follow, allowing Cleveland to establish themselves as a premier specialty contracting firm in the Southeast.

In response to the rise of oversea imports, Cleveland made the strategic decision to sell the repair business and channel its energy into the specialty contracting business.

The Cleveland story is one grown on family values. From those who founded it to those who grew its service offerings, Cleveland’s growing team of dedicated subject matter experts remains focused across the commercial, healthcare and industrial realms — living out the family values of service, safety and integrity every day.