Homegrown and Thriving: Local Business Expands

By Misty Cryer

The owners of a well-established local company, Bock Electric, have experienced a life-changing event with the purchase of Murrill Electric, a long-term local company that operates throughout southeast New Mexico.

Both companies, community-minded and dedicated to providing an excellent workplace and customer satisfaction, will continue to operate separately from a central location.

Bock Electric, owned by Carlsbad natives Cory and Ashley Bock, has been in business for close to 14 years, while Murrill Electric has been serving southeast New Mexico for over 30 years.

“Valerie Murrill and Bill Murrill came to us,” said Ashley. “They were wanting to start toward retirement and wanted to see their company continue on with another community-minded electrical contractor.”

After being offered the opportunity and recognizing the differences between the two companies, Ashley and Cory considered it to ensure it was the right decision for them and their family, as parents of three kids, ages 17, 13, and 7.

Prior to opening Bock Electric, Cory said, “I had done several years in the oilfield and missed out a lot on the kids growing up, missed a lot of events.” He said, “I was ready to do something different; I was ready to be home more, have more control of my schedule.”

Ashley said, “We have grown our company to where our crews are home at the end of the day. They get to be with their families. They get to go to that baseball practice or that softball practice, the kids’ awards assemblies. We’ve grown the company on that: ‘Your family first; work comes second.’”

That mindset has led to remarkable employee retention for Bock Electric. Cory said they have had the same crew for years, with Ashley estimating a 99% retention rate.

“We believe heavily in providing an excellent place for all of the employees to work,” said Ashley. It is truly important to them that employees are happy, fulfilled, and can go home at the end of the day feeling like, ‘Today was a good day,’” she said.

“Bock Electric continues to focus on commercial and residential, making sure the patrons of Carlsbad and Eddy County are taken care of,” said Ashley. Murrill Electric performs residential, mostly commercial, and government-funded projects while serving in other counties of southeast New Mexico, she said.

“We are appreciative of Valerie and Bill and this opportunity that they brought to our table,” Ashley said. “They have been incredibly instrumental in continuing to work with us,” she said, adding they will continue to offer guidance going forward.

“We have not worked in government-funded projects before, so that has been a big learning curve. The work is the same, but the paperwork is different, and the processes are different,” said Ashley. She said it is incredibly helpful to have Valerie and Bill standing by their side.

The opportunity has also added service lines, including the installation of Generac generators and becoming the preferred installer of Jellyfish Lighting, said Ashley.

“We’re excited to continue to grow Murrill Electric and to continue to grow Bock Electric and provide the very best service that we can to the community that has loved us and that has grown us,” she said.

“The community has definitely taken great care of us,” said Cory.

“There are not words to describe how wonderful both the Bock Electric team and the Murrill Electric team have been in this transition,” said Ashley. “They have all been incredibly supportive, incredibly kind, and thoughtful,” she said.

“I take care of a good chunk of the estimating. I go over the invoices, making sure we have parts lined up,” said Cory. “I’m usually a week ahead of everybody else, trying to stay on that timeline, to keep stuff ready and flowing to keep stuff going smoothly,” he said.

While working from home, before having an office staff, Ashley said, “I was all things office.” She did everything, including payroll, HR, scheduling, and answering the phone.

“We’ve been ‘do it ourselves people’ forever, burning at both ends,” said Cory. “Now we’ve got more help just for the daily.”

Cory said that he and Ashley also own Bee Home, a small RV Park. “Twenty years ago, I would not have dreamed we would have three businesses, and here we are, and we are thriving,” Cory said.