T&J Electrical rebrands as T&J Companies, adds commercial kitchen appliance repair - Albany Business Review

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T&J Electrical in Halfmoon now has three divisions.

T&J Electrical Associates of Halfmoon has added a new division to repair commercial kitchen appliances and is rebranding to reflect the growing number of services the company offers.

The new name, T&J Companies, includes three divisions: T&J Electrical Solutions, Clifton Park Upfit & Lease and the newly formed T&J Appliance Solutions.

T&J Companies has 75 employees and customers in nine Northeastern states, including big-box stores, chain restaurants and supermarkets. Total revenue last year was $13 million. This year, the company is on track to hit $15 million.

The idea for T&J Appliance Solutions came about because of difficulties clients such as Starbucks, Subway and Chipotle were having getting a timely response when an appliance, such as a countertop oven or coffee maker, weren't working properly.

Commercial appliance manufacturers such as TurboChef, Merrychef and Bunn have certified technicians but not enough to quickly handle the demand for service calls, said Lucas Sestito, vice president, business development, at T&J.

"They don't have the bandwidth to service them at a speed the customers need," Sestito said. "The manufacturers were very interested in getting us certified to work on their equipment."

The majority of the company's 60 technicians are now certified by the manufacturers.

"It's starting with our existing companies that happen to be those big names, but we definitely have some smaller customers as well," he said.

Potential clients include locally owned restaurants using the branded equipment for which T&J's technicians are certified to repair.

The launch of the appliance repair service is similar to how Clifton Park Upfit & Lease was started a year ago: to provide a solution to a known problem. In that case, it was installing shelves and metal racks in cargo vans faster than what other companies could do.

T&J continues to add staff, including Sestito, who is the younger brother of managing partner Nick Sestito. Their father, Joe, is also managing partner.

Lucas previously worked at Callanan Industries Inc. before joining T&J last May.