About Us
Founded in 1970, Howard Brothers Electric has played a key role in building and growing the communities in and around Charlotte, NC for nearly 53 years.
Privately owned until 1998, the company was publicly held for a short time before being purchased by its longtime president, David Latour in 2005. During his 46 years in the electrical business, David worked his way up from the field to the helm of Howard Brothers. This experience provided him a unique perspective and understanding of the electrical field from all levels. Howard Brothers culture stems from these vital elements, as many of our key employees have followed similar paths, rising through the ranks from the field to the front office. Our day to day approach to the business and our craft is to develop and maintain a high standard of excellence and trust among local contractors and developers.
In March of 2017, David passed away, but his legacy lives on, as we have dozens of men and women who worked alongside him over the past several decades. Combining hundreds of years of experience, Howard Brothers has retained a very stable workforce from the management level to the service department and including the field installers. With over 100 years of experience between them, Jerri Latour will remain owner and President, Kenny Reid, Executive Vice President, Taylor Wade, Executive VP of Ops, Lloyd Rigdon, Vice President, and Mike Brown, Senior Project Manager.
Licensed in both North and South Carolina, we have extensive experience in commercial, industrial and institutional electrical installations. This knowledge bolsters our ability to work in fast-track projects negotiated between the general contractor and the owner/developer. In an effort to keep projects as closely on budget as possible, we work closely with architects and engineers from preliminary pricing of the project through the final design. We enjoy long-term relationships with contractors, owners, and developers through our commitment to meeting construction criteria, budgets, and schedules, with an eye toward sustainable quality.
The mindset and commitment are reflected in our new 38,000 square foot headquarters and warehouse in Charlotte. It is a workplace that allows for the flexibility and durability that modern construction demands, but it is chiefly designed to serve as our new home and investment in the future of Charlotte and its business communities.
Minority Status
After becoming over 51% women-owned in 2017, HBE sought to be certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE). Jerri Latour, HBE’s owner, applied for initial certification through the Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC) in June 2017 and was awarded certification in October 2017.
The firm is a certified Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) with the State of North Carolina through the Statewide Uniform Certification (SWUC) program.