The Changing Nature of Bread-and-Butter Work: Contractors discuss how steady work affects the bottom line

Published in Electrical Contractor, July 15,2025

Is steady bread-and-butter work a thing of the past? Is it possible to count on basic local wiring jobs as a mainstay? Two family-owned contractors in California shared the origins of trends in the electrical industry.

ASF Electric Inc.

Bread and butter work is ever-changing for ASF Electric Inc. Established in 1971, the company built its reputation installing and maintaining industrial, commercial and residential projects in San Francisco and San Mateo County, Calif. ASF Electric specializes in lighting, emergency, electric vehicle charger installation and emergency backup. It has grappled with pandemic- and tariff-related supply chain issues, bureaucratic permitting processes and more.

“We’re resilient, and we’ve always been adaptable,“ said Cathy (Ferrari) Lagomarsino, ASF Electric president. “What we don’t know how to do, we get training for. If that’s not possible, we subcontract out and work with those we bring in and learn all we can so we can be prepared for the next opportunity.“

Even so, she noted that steady work has dropped as much as 80% in the San Francisco area since the pandemic.

“Bread-and-butter work for us is a much smaller percentage of our business mix now,“ she said.

That may relate to vacant office space.

“We seem to be in a wait-and-see period before another transformation,“ Lagomarsino said. “People are still not going into offices to work in the numbers they once were, and that has a trickle-down effect for boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops and bars where people would go after work.“

Transforming office real estate into multiresidential units has proven more expensive and challenging than initially anticipated for developers, Lagomarsino said.

Investors are buying large office properties, but megaprojects, similar to those being constructed in other parts of the state and elsewhere in the country where labor is cheaper, are not happening in the San Francisco area, Lagomarsino said.

Even so, ASF Electric’s 35-member workforce is performing upgrades on hospitals, stadiums, public works projects, some retail and infrastructure repair and rehab work. At this time, rather than hire additional employees, ASF Electric negotiates for modified timelines and shuffles schedules to make the best use of existing personnel.

Though maintenance contracts are few, the company’s service department also does brisk business.

“We’ve seen a lot of not-for-profits move in, and they’ll call us to deal with things their building engineers or electricians can’t handle,“ Lagomarsino said.

State and local regulations, as well as pressure from the insurance industry to update properties to current electrical standards, seem to be driving service work.

“We’re resilient,“ Lagomarsino said. “For us, that means not backing away from opportunities and sticking to our core values—getting our work done on time and making sure it’s done right.“

Despite less bread-and-butter work, ASF Electric has a good strategy for surviving and thriving.

“We work close to home,“ Lagomarsino said. “We adapt. We learn. We resort to training, and we sometimes work with, and for, other NECA members.“