History
From Norway to Canada
In 1952, Bjorn Kristian “Kris” Gjertsen made a life-changing decision. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a desire for something greater, he left behind Norway’s economic challenges and embarked on an adventure to Canada. He was drawn to the promise of opportunity and freedom in this new country, and with his journeyman electrician ticket in hand, Kris arrived in Calgary just in time to catch the wave of a post-war housing boom. He began wiring homes using a simple brace and bit—no fancy drills, just sheer hard work and determination.
After spending a year wiring houses, Kris felt it was time for a new challenge. He took on a job servicing grain elevators across Alberta, traveling throughout the province to ensure these prairie landmarks remained operational during a crucial time in the local economy. From there, Kris moved on to work with Dominion Bridge and Barber Machinery, an oil and gas service company. But by 1964, he knew it was time to pursue the dream that brought him to Canada in the first place—to start his own business. With the encouragement and assistance of the electrical community in Calgary, he seized the opportunity to branch out on his own.
Together with his wife Bertha, Kris opened the doors to Kristian Electric Ltd. on August 13, 1964. Bertha handled the books, and Kris continued his work helping local Calgary companies with industrial wiring and maintenance. It wasn’t long before their reputation for quality and reliability led to more work than Kris could handle alone. He hired his first electrician, and the family business began to grow.
Kristian Electric Timeline
Tapping into New Markets
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Kristian Electric continued to become a trusted name in industrial wiring, working extensively on projects for the oil industry, including wiring drilling rigs and gas compressors. As our reputation for quality work grew, so did our opportunities. In 1969, Kristian Electric received its first Miller Electric welder for repair — which marked the beginning of a long-standing relationship with Miller. By 1971, Kristian Electric became an authorized service centre and parts depot for Canada.
Our expertise as electricians opened new doors throughout the 1970s, allowing us to take on an increasing number of exciting projects. We offered in-house motor rewinding, servicing motors for industrial applications including pumps, fans, conveyors, compressors, cranes, and hoists. We worked on tower cranes for the growing construction industry in Southern Alberta. Starting in 1976, we began repairing electric chain hoists and wire rope hoists for our customers. Soon after, we expanded our capabilities to servicing industrial overhead cranes, a market that was quickly expanding.
But like many businesses in Calgary, the National Energy Program of the 1980s hit hard. Faced with tough decisions and a developing recession, we knew that we couldn’t continue to do “a little bit of everything.” We strategically narrowed down our offerings to the two areas of our business that worked together — welding equipment and overhead cranes. This move not only kept the company afloat but laid the groundwork for future success.
Growth Across Generations
At Kristian Electric, we combine trusted family values with decades of expertise to deliver proactive, efficient welding and material handling solutions. Our mission is to support our customers’ success with personalized service, innovative solutions, and the industry’s best equipment.
Our shift to focusing on overhead cranes and hoists allowed us to establish strong, lasting relationships in the material handling industry. Alongside servicing equipment from Budgit and Columbus McKinnon, we became an official distributor for Demag in 1984. This partnership enabled us to offer authorized sales and service for Demag’s crane and hoist product lines, a relationship that continues to thrive today. As the economy improved, Kristian Electric continued to grow, and we moved into our current Calgary location on 64 Avenue SE in 1989.
By 1991, Kristian Electric was ready for its next chapter. Encouraged by our suppliers to offer our services to Northern Alberta, we opened our second location in Edmonton. With two branches serving Alberta, Kristian became the largest parts depot for welding equipment in Canada, serving customers from Vancouver Island to Thunder Bay. In 2000, we opened a manufacturing division to fabricate custom overhead cranes in our Edmonton facility.
In 2014, we decided to expand again to offer our services to the Saskatchewan market. Alongside the best team of experienced welder and crane technicians, we opened our third location in Saskatoon. Over the next year, we took on an even bigger challenge — making the transition from exclusively fixing welding machines — to selling them. In 2016, we became an official Miller distributor, using our decades of welder servicing experience to offer expert guidance in helping customers choose the right welding equipment.
Continuing a Legacy of Hard Work and Innovation
Over the years, Kristian Electric has grown to meet the changing needs of our customers. What started as a small operation offering industrial wiring has evolved into a company that sells, services, and installs complete systems for both welding and material handling.
Today, Kristian Electric is more than just a business—it’s a family legacy. With locations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Saskatoon, we are now proudly run by the second and third generations of Gjertsens, and our family’s core values of hard work, innovation, and community remain central to everything we do.
As Kristian Electric looks to the future, our company continues to honor the vision Kris and Bertha set in motion over six decades ago. Whether it’s providing top-tier service to a local welding shop or helping a multinational company with a custom crane installation, Kristian Electric is committed to finding solutions that work for our clients—just as we have since 1964.