Company History

Suburban’s history begins in 1960, when the company was founded by Jim Smith. Jim was able to lift the company off the ground and achieve success by following core principles that he firmly believed in, which include: acting with integrity, working hard, treating your co-workers as family, and being selfless by putting the needs of others before our own. After many years of growth and prosperity in Northeast Wisconsin, this led to the strategic acquisition of Sentry Security in 1986. In 1989, Jim passed along the same principles that the company was founded on, along with his years of industry knowledge to his son Guy J. Smith, who was then named President and CEO of Suburban. Under Guy’s leadership, Suburban was able to continue the company’s proven track record of growth and success by empowering our team members and becoming employee-owned in 1999. In 2012, Perry R. Schisel was named President of Suburban, and was later named President and CEO in 2018. Perry began his career as an electrical apprentice and during his tenure with the company, advanced his career into positions of increasing responsibility and strategic influence. Perry has helped immensely in shaping the future success of Suburban by expanding the company’s Core Values and rebranding as Suburban Enterprises to grow the company’s Automation and Technology divisions. Suburban was also able to grow their Automation and Fabrication capabilities through the addition of their new industrial facility and the Suburban Fabrication business division in December of 2021 and January of 2022, respectively. Suburban continues to thrive and prosper by following the same principles that were instilled in the company from day one, while also being open and receptive to ever-changing customer demands.