Responsible. Integrity. Ownership. Results Oriented. Professional.

These are the core values that have driven I.B. Abel for more than 108 years. Our humble beginnings are rooted in York, PA, when Israel Abel and his son, Norm, started an appliance business. During this time, the electrification of America was occurring and more households began installing electricity in their homes.

Israel and Norm saw this as a family business opportunity. Norm began wiring houses to enable them to use the appliances sold by the family’s appliance store.

As more households were being powered by electricity, Norm decided to transform the company from an appliance store to an electrical construction company to meet the growing demand of their customers. When the Great Depression swept across the country and World War II started, I.B. Abel mobilized its workforce in the York community to rally its resources and support the war time efforts.

After Norm passed away suddenly in 1950, Kent Bushey, Norm’s brother-in-law, assumed the role of company president. Kent incorporated the company and would lay the groundwork for I.B. Abel’s growth and diversification through the 20th century.

In 1980, Robert Kinsley of Kinsley Construction purchased I.B. Abel, transitioning the company to a new generation of local family ownership. With only 40 employees at the time of the purchase, I.B. Abel entered a period of growth under Kinsley Construction as the internet boom of the 1980s followed. Today, I.B. Abel is proud to work with 650 employees across our seven lines of business: Automation, Electrical, Engineering, Substation, Utility, Renewable Energy and Communication.

Read the full timeline of our history here.

Core Values + Culture = Success

Although the company was able to carve out a niche and grow because of the electrification of America and internet boom that occurred in the 20th century, our company has stood the test of time thanks to many dedicated and long-term employees who helped foster our innovations.

“Values is where it starts,” said I.B. Abel’s CEO and President, Patrick Kinsley. “Values create culture; culture determines behaviors; behaviors drive performance”

The secret component to building a successful company, according to Kinsley, is to find people who share the same values. Those people are able to embrace the culture of the company and continuously uphold its core values to work together in a cohesive and productive manner that delivers results for customers.

At I.B. Abel, we encourage our employees to share their ideas with our leadership team. We thoroughly vet those proposals and select ideas that could benefit our employees and company. I.B. Abel strongly believes in engaging our employees and encouraging them to share their ideas and concerns so we can improve our company and enhance our ability to service our partners and customers.

Effective solutions and creative ideas are the backbone of I.B. Abel. We fully empower our employees to share their ideas to further evolve the company and explore new ventures.

When I.B. Abel’s old headquarters flooded in 2016, our employees worked overtime to move to a vacant facility over a weekend. The dedication and hard work of our employees made it possible to make this move while simultaneously maintaining our daily operations and fulfilling all obligations to customers. This is a testament to the culture at I.B. Abel that puts the team first and retains the continuity of the company.

Right Person, Right Seat

I.B. Abel believes in the “right person, right seat” philosophy, as Kinsley calls it. This means that if there is an employee at I.B. Abel who shares the company’s values but is not necessarily a good fit for their current position, I.B. Abel will work to find that person a different position within the company that better suits their talents. This strategy is part of our commitment to our employees to support them and help them succeed in their roles and grow with the company.

At I.B. Abel, core values are not just a combination of letters strung together and put in a memo. Our values are what guide us in our work every single day. We operate, make decisions, navigate uncertainties and reward employees based on our core values.

These values extend beyond our employees and allow us to provide the best experience to our customers who are looking for a valued and trustworthy partner to help solve their problems.

Find a list of our open positions here or contact us with any questions you may have.