Our Founder

1930’s

On June 9, 1925 Joe Duncan was born in Tellico Plains, Tennessee in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. While he was a child, his Mother & Father brought Joe and his older sister in a horse drawn carriage to Harriman, Tennessee, where his Father settled and began buying land for a farm.

wwII – 1940’s

Throughout Joe’s childhood, he was drawn to two passions, cars and building. He would listen to the souped up Fords racing around the hills of Tennessee carrying moonshine and he was fascinated helping his Dad build. But all that was put on hold when he was 17, he lied about his age, like many boys did during the war, and he joined the Navy to serve in WWII.

Preparing for Business

In the Navy, Joe learned welding and electrical and worked on many Naval ships that were sent across the ocean to the Pacific Theater. Before Joe was to set sail on one of the ships to the South Pacific, he developed Rheumatic Fever and within the year he was honorably discharged. Ironical the ship was sunk by the Japanese.

North Dakota Atomic Facility

1950’s

After the war, Joe returned to Tennessee and was married and had his first child. He actually remembered the glitter of Los Angeles when visiting from San Diego during leaves, so he moved his family to California. Joe took a job in North Dakota with the Military contracting the electrical and welding work at a new Nuclear Facility. He would send money back to his wife and once completed, Joe returned to California to start a Cadillac Dealership and a construction company.

Duncan’s Cadillacs – Late 50’s Early 60’s

One Dream down and one dream to go

In the late 1960’s Joe would frequent The Palomino Club in North Hollywood located close to his car lot and one day Roy Rogers, who he become friends with at the club, convinced him to start a payment plan for aspiring actors and actresses for Cadillacs. Joe did just that and become known as the go-to Cadillac supplier for the Hollywood crowd. But, his next step was to start a construction company focusing on electrical systems.

The building of the Vehicle Assembly Building

Mid 1960’s

In the mid 60’s the Florida Space Coast was booming and being an entrepreneur, Mr. Duncan wanted a part of it. He sold his California operations and moved his family to Merritt Island, Florida after his second son, Rick, was born. The Space Race was in full force and Joe contracted with NASA to coordinate the electrical and welding build at the Vehicle Assembly Building that would house the Apollo Rockets and other space craft for preparation before launch.

September 26, 1981

Unfortunately, the Rheumatic Fever that Joe contracted in WWII caused his death by stroke in 1981. In the mid 1970’s and only in his mid 50’s Joe grew tired due to his illness and had to retire. With his first son, Richard, already venturing into classic cars and working for State Farm, Rick his second son was only 19 and had been learning from his Father since he was spending time with him for several years before his death.

Rick’s first major project

1980’s

After the death of Rick’s Father, he began several successful businesses in his 20’s, but his first major electrical project was in the Steel Industry. In the 1980’s China was buying up all the American steel mills and moving them overseas. Rick was instrumental in recouping millions of dollars to the steel mill industry in assisting with the reclamation of their electrical gear.

Switchgear for the Dallas skyline

1980’s

Also in the 1980’s Rick was instrumental in assisting General Contractors with the custom switchgear and panels that were needed to complete the Dallas Skyline. “It was such a fun time and it was the days of the famous J.R. Ewing in Dallas when we watched the skyline develop”, Rick Said.

New Chicago Location

1990’s

Rick opened his first breaker and panel building company in Houston during the 80’s. In 1993 rick, shown here, is working late one night on their #2 Chicago facility. Next was New Orleans in 1995

New Orlando Location

1990’s

After concentrating on two Houston locations, Chicago and New Orleans, Rick opened his next facility in Orlando, Florida in 1998. He used an old Chevy Truck from one of his classic car businesses and it became well known in central Florida as an electrical delivery truck.

A Partnership with England

2005

In the mid 2000’s, Rick partnered with the century old manufacturer, Whipp & Bourne, and was instrumental in marketing and introducing their GVR Reclosers and other products into the U.S. utility market. There remain tens of thousands installed throughout the North America to this day.

The Celtic Manor Ryder Cup

2010

In 2010, Rick Duncan was fortunate enough to play a mini Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, South Wales with his UK partners just two weeks before the actual Ryder Cup. Rick had played in the Amateur Tour for a couple years and this was a dream of his for many years. It was during this golf round that Rick and Whipp & Bourne formed a deeper partnership having to do with manufacturing and distribution in the U.S.

The Liberty Bell

2012

In 2012, Rick Duncan and his wife worked with their Alma Mater in visiting the White Chapel Bell Company in London, who made the original Liberty Bell for America. Rick & Marilyn Duncan were the primary individuals, along with a mutual professor to bring an exact replica of the Liberty Bell to the University of Houston Clear Lake for display.

The Largest Recloser Aftermarket Dealer in America

2018

By the late 20-Teens, Patriot had become the largest recloser dealer in America. Patriot has set up a consortium of recloser manufacturers, utilities and other pertinent recloser relay and component companies and along with Patriot’s mass inventory of reclosers, Patriot has become the go-to when a recloser is needed immediately.

Patriot partners with Beckwith Hubbell

2022

In 2022, Patriot became an OEM and Authorized Aftermarket Distributor for Beckwith Relays. The relays are used in new panel builds, in association with reclosers and retrofits. Beckwith was a perfect fit to compliment the Patriot brand.

Patriot partners with Tavrida

2025

In 2025, Rick visited Las Vegas and Florida in order add a Tavrida OEM to the Patriot brand of new medium voltage panel builds called Quazsar. Tavrida manufactures the most technologically advanced medium voltage breakers and reclosers in the world.

Patriot Switchgear Manufacturing is formed

The new Pulzsar & Quazsar Panels are born

2025

Patriot has over 75 years of panel building experience and very extension knowledge of low & medium voltage panel manufacturing since the 1980’s Now MGA Hardware Electric, Inc. has become part of the Patriot brand. MGA is a premier UL Listed facility in Los Angeles and this new acquisition and partnership is a revolution in new panel builds, supplying the customer with very low lead times with competitive pricing and the highest quality in manufacturing, production and overall panel building.