"Fortunately, we were able to access early retirees and other experts with the experience, connections and relationships with utilities to help us rise to the challenge and continue performing quality work," Rosenmayer recalls

Despite strong business and personal ties to ComEd, Rosenmayer recognized the wisdom of expanding the firm's client base and service portfolio, beginning with Naperville, Ill.-based Nicor Gas in 2005.

"The margins were low in the gas segment," says Rosenmayer, "but I felt it was important to throw off our image of being simply a small contractor."

The post-2008 recession proved a turning point for the enterprise, which saw prospects diminish in the Chicago area. Assisted by son Lance Rosenmayer, who climbed the corporate ladder from ground man to president, Loretta mapped a strategic plan to introduce INTREN to utilities in active markets, from the greater Midwest to California.

"We performed little projects in Iowa, Wisconsin and St. Louis that nobody else wanted," says Matthew Turk, who joined INTREN in 1991 and holds the title of executive vice president. "When the Chicago-area economy came back, we ballooned."

Having geographically diversified to survive, then thrive, INTREN cultivated a culture that placed as much emphasis on strategic growth as operating as a low-cost provider.

"We're always trying to learn how to get better so that we're always first in line with customers," says Lance. "That includes imposing limits on our growth. We will perform only as much as we're capable of performing. We've turned down projects because we didn't believe we could negotiate them adequately."

As part of an evolving business model, INTREN seeks to assist utilities in improving operational efficiencies by supplementing fieldwork with turnkey services such as engineering, planning and customer-service notification.

Since 2005, it also has operated an Emergency Deployment Program do address customer needs, dispatching teams of up to 200 in pre-stocked, response-ready trucks to help restore power in the aftermath of storms, tornadoes and other events in its service area. In addition to repairing overhead lines and equipment, INTREN teams assist with non-technical work such as locating and assessing downed wires.

Its commitment to assisting utilities outside its service area prompted crews to travel to Rochelle, Ill., about 80 miles west of Chicago, after a line of tornadoes swept through Northern Illinois in early April. Following the event, the town was unable to locate a utility to help restore its city-owned electric distribution system, a predicament that it solved after a phone call to INTREN.

"We had already committed our linemen to other customers in the area, though we had crews assigned to a routine job just a few hours away in Wisconsin," recalls Turk. "The customer released the crew, and it was soon on its way to help."

To accommodate growth, INTREN has begun placing greater emphasis on developing talent for both field and office operations. "If you're not strong in job performance, safety and customer service, you won't advance," says Lance, noting the firm engages both managers and professional coaches to assist staffers in honing their skills.