Foster's Current Facility

History of Foster Electric Co., Inc.

Foster Electric was founded in 1956 by Mr. Aubrey E. Foster, Sr. (1919-2008).  At that time, he was the sole employee; and the business was located in the garage at his residence. Mr. Foster would arise at 4:30 – 5:00 AM each morning and load his vehicle for the day’s deliveries and customer sales. Having completed his rounds by 5:00 – 6:00 PM, he would arrive home to start his office duties: writing up customer orders, invoicing sales, receiving remittances and making deposits, ordering merchandise from manufactures, receiving materials and sorting customer orders for the next day’s business. As you can imagine, his was a very busy schedule. But, in addition to all his business duties, he still found time for his family, church and community commitments.

In 1958, due to increasing business and a need for a storefront, Foster Electric moved to a downtown location at 707 Fifth Street, Lynchburg, Virginia. In the spring of 1959, Aubrey E. "Gene" Foster, Jr., joined his father in "helping out" while a sophomore in high school. Within a few months time, two full time employees and a part time bookkeeper were added.

By the summer of 1965, having outgrown its second location, it was necessary to move to a larger facility at 1500 Campbell Avenue, Lynchburg, Virginia. Now Foster Electric was better able to serve their customers with a 14,000 square foot building and seven employees. It was at this time that Gene Foster joined the company as a full time employee. In 1968, after completing a tour of duty with the US Army, Dan White joined Foster Electric.

In 1982 the location of our present facility, the office and warehouse complex at 1420 Campbell Avenue, became vacant; and Foster Electric was able to acquire this much needed space. From its beginnings in a residential garage to today’s remodeled facility of 45,000 square feet, a staff of over 32 employees stands ready to help you with all of your electrical equipment needs.

Mr. Aubrey E. Foster, Sr., (1919-2008) was the founder of Foster Electric. Today, Foster Electric Co., Inc. is an employee owned company (ESOP), and the principals of the company are Gene Foster, Dan White and Duane White.

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Copyright © 1998 Foster Electric Co., Inc.
Last modified: January 31, 2008