The company's success in the alternative energy market did not happen by accident, Hollis says. “It was positioning,” he says. “We started growing our solar division three years ago, bringing in a team of experts that had been doing this kind of work for the last 10 years. Expertise and having the horsepower, as far as 'bond-ability' and manpower and just the cash to do the projects, allowed us to jump into those markets.”

Rosendin has also benefited from its relationships in the high-tech world, where it has wired data centers and business campuses for such giants as Intel and Facebook.

Rosendin Electric was founded in 1919 by Moses Rosendin and remained a family-owned business until it was purchased by its workers in 2000, becoming the largest employee-owned electrical contractor in the country.

Michael O'Brien, senior vice president for Turner Construction Co., credits Rosendin CEO Tom Sorley with helping the company evolve “from its days as a public lump-sum bidder to one of excellent service, innovation and responsiveness.”

O'Brien adds, “Tom Sorley really turned the company around into the great, service-oriented company they are today. It's a company that values creative engineering ideas to accomplish the same performance goals with less money.”

Rosendin has a strong record of employee safety. It received a first-place Excellence in Safety Award from the Associated General Contractors of America in 2009, the same year it was honored with the International Risk Management Institute's Gary E. Bird Horizon Award for worker safety.

Hollis credits Rosendin's Injury, Incident and Impact Free (I-3 Free) program for its safety performance. Developed seven years ago, the program promotes “a culture of safety” among employees through daily “pre-task planning” sessions.

“Everyone starts their day with a plan—writing down what they're going to do that day, and, if they veer off, going back and writing down what they're going to do next,” Hollis says. “This forces them to think about what they're doing. This may seem like it takes a lot of time, but it's created a great injury-free environment. We have one of the lowest lost-day records right now.”

Rosendin's success has proved a boon to several philanthropic organizations that the company has supported even as other donors have pulled back on giving because of the weak economy. Rosendin has made significant contributions, including matching funds, to the San Francisco AIDS Walk, Diabetes “Step Out,” Habitat for Humanity and other charitable programs.

And when approached by San Francisco-based engineering firm Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch about helping to restore a 73-bed hospital in Haiti that was ravaged by last year's earthquake, Rosendin donated more than $150,000 in materials.