Brithinee Electric, Colton, Calif., is marking 50 years of repairing commercial motors, selling new motors and motor control systems in the southwestern United States. The company was founded in Colton in Oct. 1963 by Wallace and Zora Brithinee and their twin sons, Donald and Wallace.
Brithinee Electric serves a diverse customer base, including municipalities, utilities, food processors, rock and gravel producers, cement companies, air conditioning contractors, chemical companies, paper and plastic producers, wind farms and original equipment manufacturers.
The company is still run by Donald and Wallace, and has continued expanding over the half-century. In the fall of 2010, the company built a new large motor/generator facility, adding an additional 20,000 square feet to the plant and enabling the company to repair motors and generators up to 20 tons. The building expansion now houses a large motor power supply and test pad for motor and wind generator testing, two room-sized industrial ovens, a below-ground tank system for resin treatment of large motors, a large paint booth and three new bridge cranes (up to 20 tons capacity) and a 50-seat classroom.