Jeff Strong

Disclaimer: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability. Filler words were removed, sentence structure improved, and formatting adjusted while preserving the original meaning and tone. Henry Harrison: Welcome to Entrepreneurs, Business and Finance. We’re fortunate today to have Mr. Jeff Strong, founder and owner of CORR Solutions Electrical. Jeff is an electrical engineer and longtime industry professional. Jeff, welcome. Jeff Strong: How you doing, Henry? Henry Harrison: Really good. Glad to have you on. I’ve got your website pulled up—it’s impressive. Let’s start with where you are now. What is your company doing today? Jeff Strong: We shifted from electrical construction into building low-voltage electrical switchgear. There’s a big market for it, especially driven by EV infrastructure. We’ve been manufacturing it for about five years. Originally, we started because we couldn’t get switchgear for our own electrical construction projects. Now we also supply contractors around the country. Henry Harrison: For someone unfamiliar, what does switchgear do? Jeff Strong: It’s essentially the utility connection point. Utility power comes into the switchgear, and it provides breaker and overcurrent protection. In EV projects, this is the starting place where power is distributed to the charging systems. Most EV work right now is in California. Henry Harrison: And you’re located in Longview, Washington? Jeff Strong: Yes, born and raised here. Henry Harrison: You’ve helped customers deal with major delays. What changed in the market? Jeff Strong: Five years ago, lead times jumped from 6–8 weeks to 36–48 weeks. After COVID, it became 48 to 80 weeks with major manufacturers. We created a solution delivering in 12–14 weeks. The big manufacturers haven’t shortened their timelines because margins are strong. We stepped in to fill that gap. Henry Harrison: You’re manufacturing these in-house? Jeff Strong: Yes. Everything is engineered in-house. We CAD design it, laser cut the steel, powder coat it, and assemble here in the U.S. All U.S. labor. We prototype, revise, refine, and once the design is perfect, we catalog it. When we build that model again, it’s repeatable and precise. Because we’ve installed switchgear in the field for decades, we know what works and what doesn’t. Many manufacturers haven’t installed their own products. We bring both worlds together—installation and manufacturing. Henry Harrison: You’ve been in the electrical trade for 40 years. How did you get started? Jeff Strong: I started welding at 13. At 16, I worked as a production line welder in a machine shop. I learned fabrication, problem-solving, and how things are built. Right out of high school, I entered the electrical field. Over time, I combined welding and electrical skills. That combination has helped tremendously. Henry Harrison: Did you always plan to own a company? Jeff Strong: Not really. I didn’t like being tied down. But when you work hard and see owners building something while you’re earning wages, you start thinking differently. At 25, I started my own company. I had my master’s license at 24. Some experienced professionals gave me great advice. Listening to them made the difference. Henry Harrison: Listening is key. Many don’t. Jeff Strong: Exactly. Advice often challenges what you think you know. Henry Harrison: You also developed mobile reverse osmosis systems. Tell us about that. Jeff Strong: We helped design mobile water purification trailers that can convert lake water—or even questionable water sources—into potable drinking water. They produce about 30 gallons per minute. States like Oregon and Washington are buying them for emergency management—fires, earthquakes, natural disasters. A company was close to abandoning the project because the packaging wasn’t working. We redesigned it and got it to market. That’s part of our R&D passion. Henry Harrison: You now run the company with your son? Jeff Strong: Yes. There are challenges—father and son discussions—but it works. He handles business operations and field projects. I focus on engineering and R&D. It allows us to create new opportunities and products. Henry Harrison: How do you structure operations? Jeff Strong: We outsource laser cutting and powder coating. Bringing everything in-house would require significant capital investment—millions. By partnering with local industrial businesses, we stay capital-efficient while maintaining control of engineering and assembly. Copper bus is currently our biggest supply constraint. Commodities remain a challenge. Henry Harrison: You once turned marketing off because demand overwhelmed you. Jeff Strong: Yes. After launching a website and outreach, inquiries flooded in—including from major players like Tesla. It became so overwhelming that production slowed. We had to dial marketing back to protect operations and avoid chaos. Now we know how to balance that throttle. Henry Harrison: That’s a rare but real entrepreneurial challenge—too much demand. Jeff Strong: It can create stress quickly. We focus on controlled, organic growth. Henry Harrison: What’s next? Jeff Strong: We see many opportunities for product innovation, but execution takes time and focus. We’re concentrating on what we do best—low-voltage switchgear—and refining that. If we can bring additional R&D products to market responsibly, we will. Henry Harrison: Jeff, thank you. If viewers need low-voltage switchgear, they can contact CORR Solutions Electrical at CORRSE.com. Jeff Strong: Thanks, Henry. Appreciate it.