A Family of 3 Generations

The original Caldwell Electric was formed in 1938 by Otto Caldwell Sr. In 1976, Otto Caldwell Jr. branched out on his own forming Industrial Electric Repairs & Sales, Inc., and later claimed the family namesake Caldwell Electric back in 2019, about 20 years after the original Caldwell Electric ceased operations. Otto Caldwell III (Hobie) returned to the family business in 2018 and now serves as president. Otto Caldwell Jr still shows up at the office everyday, offering his expertise on electric motors, and working on the occasional small single-phase motor.

Meet The Founders

Otto Caldwell II
Otto has worked on electric motors and controls since the 1940s. His colorful history in includes: an amatuer radio (HAM) operator - W5ZSY, member of the Army Reserves where he worked on the radios of target drones; working as motor and controls tech at his father's shop (the first Caldwell Electric), an amateur photo-journalist with many published photos, a radio-tv repairman, an electronics technician degree from TSTC, and founder of Industrial Electric Repairs & Sales Inc, dba Caldwell Electric.
Otto Caldwell III (Hobie)
Hobie's curiosity with electricity began early in life, starting with sticking bobby pins into outlets at age 3. He built a robot at age 12 based on the KIM-1 computer, built a wire-wrapped Z80 mico-computer, a rubidium-dye laser, and worked on motor and drives at the shop in high school. He earned a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University, and started his career at IBM in Austin as a test engineer. He later worked as a research engineer at Applied Research Laboratories in Austin, founded an LED Marine Naviagation Lighting company, and eventually came back to Waco to manage the family business.