In July 1956, Poul and Solveig Mathiesen stepped off a train in Edmonton with a three-and-a-half-year-old son and $50 in their pockets. They had come a long way from Copenhagen. Poul’s first job paid a dollar an hour at a cereal company, but his real break came from an unexpected place: his experience with electric signs in Denmark helped him land a position at Industrial Power.
There, Poul earned his journeyman ticket in 1960 and upgraded to a master’s ticket in 1966. On April 11 of that same year, he founded PM Electric. Solveig kept the books and the company grew into a family venture, with their sons, BE and Perry, eventually purchasing the business and continuing the growth.
The early years were built on hard, hands-on work, such as service jobs and overhead doors, then bulk plant work through the 1970s. PM Electric signed its first major maintenance contract in 1972 and built a shop on 125th Street in 1975. The company’s move into neon and sign services in 1976 planted the seed for a second business, and in 1982, PM Signs was born. Growth continued, and a larger building was purchased in 1987 to keep pace with demand across Alberta – and soon, beyond.
Six decades later, that same family drive carries both companies forward. PM Electric is led today by Travis Mathiesen as president, while PM Signs operates under Cody Mathiesen as vice president, Erik Houde as president and Travis Brown as operations manager. Two distinct companies, one shared root — and a story that began with a young family, $50 dollars and a willingness to work.
Today, PM Signs is proud to showcase over 122,860 projects – and counting – across more than 130,000 Canadian locations.
What sets PM Signs apart is a simplified process that keeps clients in control. As a genuine one-stop shop, clients need only a logo to take a project from idea to finish, with PM Signs handling the surveys, design mockups, permits, fabrication and full installation. Engineering, bylaw checks and permit acquisitions are all managed too, so nothing stalls between design and delivery.
“Not many companies build everything in-house the way we do, and we take real pride in that. We don’t outsource overseas or hand off installation to someone else. We bring in the raw materials, cut them, add the LEDs and deliver a fully turnkey sign from start to finish. Customers can walk in and watch their signs being manufactured right in front of them,” says Cody.
Erik adds, “Safety is never negotiable. PM Signs is COR certified, follows strict guidelines and keeps a full-time safety officer running audits on site. The result is scalable, seamless signage delivered by a local team that understands the province.”
The results are unmissable. The eye-catching Cook County jukebox pylon; the 300+ signs including the marquee at EIA’s Premium Outlet Collection; the digital boards, pylons and wayfinding at The Shoppes at Chappelle Crossing and a 60+ location rebrand for Mobil gas bars. They also produce inner-community markers for neighbourhoods around Parkland County, plus door plaques and park wayfinding for trail systems. At Sylvan Lake, the signs blend seamlessly into lake living, while the Town of Spirit River grain elevator-inspired town sign stands as a true statement piece – pairing a digital board and gooseneck lighting with an aluminum monument that honours the aurora borealis and the town’s native name, all leveraging front-lit techniques, mixed materials and a brick base.
“A big milestone was in 2016 when we did the Brewery District,” adds Cody. “Over six months on the Brewery District build, PM Signs kept everything moving – coordinating with property owners and our project managers, handling mid-project design changes without missing a beat and turning revisions around fast. From the monument signs and LED halo-lit channel letters at the parkade entrances to the 66 wayfinding graphics, the installation quality was consistent throughout.”
Over at PM Electric, Travis is happy to reflect on how this company also continues to grow.
PM Electric provides electrical contracting and manufacturing across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Ask Travis what has carried PM Electric this far, and he points to four things: expertise, ingenuity, project execution and innovation.
“Every project in every sector comes with its own unique set of challenges,” Travis says, “which we always overcome.”
PM Electric’s portfolio reflects the range of a team that has powered Alberta’s growth for decades. While PM Electric’s integrated distribution panels are one of its hallmark products, they also hold a large facility maintenance presence, and their construction work spans the retail petroleum sector.
Examples include fuel facilities and gas bars for Costco, Shell, Petro-Canada and CO-OP; industrial projects like the Kearl Lake Fuel and Lube Facility and Albian Sands Fueling Facility and Tank Farm; and program work such as the Husky-to-CO-OP rebrand and Western Canada Shell retail lighting upgrade. Alongside this are also commercial builds like the Fox Creek Multiplex, Access Pipeline Facility and Vista Ridge Buildings 1 and 3. Many recent projects pair convenience stores and car washes with quick-service restaurants such as A&W, showing how the team handles multi-tenant sites with several moving parts. Now, they are including clean energy projects in their portfolio, as seen at Shell EV Addition Program and the Amazon Plug Power Hydrogen Fueling Station. Most recently, they have completed a 25-kV main switchgear modernization, continuing to show proficiency in many areas of the electrical industry.
Travis explains, “When you hand us a project, we take responsibility for all of it – from the first concept through to the finished installation. Whether it’s a retail fuel facility, a card-lock system, a fuelling skid, challenging maintenance work or a commercial build, our professional and knowledgeable team handles all facets of the electrical installation. At PM, we value our entire staff and understand that our knowledge in the field and office sets us apart from others in our industry. We provide our clients with confidence in project execution with our attention to detail, safety standards, a wealth of knowledge of all electrical systems and excellent communication, which leads to the company’s success.”
With a new ownership group now at the helm including his brother Derek Mathiesen and three 25-year-plus employees, Travis asserts PM Electric is set for its next chapter – one focused on steady business growth and the continued innovation that has defined the company since Poul and Solveig first switched on the lights back in 1966.
For Cody, Travis and Erik, one thing is certain across PM Signs and PM Electric, is that their profound gratitude for the staff, vendors, suppliers and clients that make every day and every project engaging.
The future for PM Signs and PM Electric sees the brands lighting up and powering up the next 60 years. More tech, more streamlining and an even deeper dive on process and corporate culture are part of the plans.