Roger  T. Fritz — Managing Seven Decades of Power‑Engineering Solutions  

Born in O’Neill, Nebraska, Roger T. Fritz grew up inside motors, controls, and manufacturing. Engineering wasn’t a career — it was the family language.

Roger’s technical foundation was shaped by:

• Curtis Read, legendary RCA engineer
• Redal Curtis, IEEE and power‑plant switching expert

These mentors built Roger’s mastery of:

• electrical power quality
• VFD technology
• motor‑system efficiency
• industrial energy conservation
• harmonics and IEEE 519 compliance
• advanced control systems

Roger’s career took him into the toughest plants in the world:

• power plants
• plastics plants
• hockey rinks
• schools
• hospitals
• municipal systems
• heavy industrial operations

From Boston to California to Puerto Rico, Roger walked into plants alone — with meters, knowledge, and grit — and got it done.

He didn’t sell theory. He proved results.

He saved companies thousands in electrical power, corrected failing systems, and delivered solutions no boardroom puppet could replicate.

During the 1990s EPRI Power Quality and Tailored Collaboration programs, Roger was recognized as the go‑to specialist in plastics‑industry energy reduction and VFD applications.

EPRI developed full technical reports around Roger’s:

• diagnostic methods
• VFD applications
• injection‑molding energy savings
• power‑quality corrections

This placed Roger at the center of national research.

Roger became known for doing what others refused to attempt:

He installed the first VFDs in applications where OEMs, consultants, and engineers insisted it could not be done.

These installations became case studies for utilities and manufacturers nationwide.

He performed for top companies including:

• Sterilite Plastics
• First Plastics
• BNZ Materials
• GDF Suez (ENGIE)
• Thousands of industrial plants across the U.S. and internationally

In 1984, Roger expanded the Fritz legacy into California by purchasing Blevins Electric and Fuller Electric in Chico.

For eight years, Roger personally trained the owners and technicians who would later run these companies, teaching them:

• advanced motor diagnostics
• VFD applications
• power‑quality correction
• the old‑guard repair culture

Today, those companies continue under leadership trained directly by Roger.

Roger served as a primary application expert for PG&E and Southern California Edison, guiding early adoption of:

• VFDs
• high‑efficiency motors
• harmonic‑compliant systems
• industrial load reduction
• motor‑system optimization

He trained engineers, contractors, and industrial customers long before VFDs became mainstream.

Global operators issued direct testimonials:

• GDF Suez (ENGIE) — validating Roger’s power‑plant optimization work
• BNZ Materials — confirming his VFD applications and energy‑savings results

These testimonials are evidence, not marketing.

Roger’s results were so extraordinary that:

• PepsiCo
• National Grid

formally recognized him for delivering the most impressive energy‑savings results ever recorded in their programs.

In 2012, Massachusetts achieved $5.5 billion in statewide benefits and earned the #1 national ranking for energy efficiency.

Roger’s company delivered one of the largest verified portions of Commercial & Industrial energy‑efficiency results in the entire Mass Save program — a dominant share of the completed savings.

His motor‑system and VFD projects were a major part of the industrial performance that made the record year possible.

Roger maintains direct industry partnerships with over 30,000 first‑tier electrical solution providers on LinkedIn — one of the largest independent engineering networks in the world.

Roger participates in 101 professional engineering groups, representing over 9 million members across electrical engineering, automation, utilities, and industrial technology.

Roger manages 72 company product‑solutions pages on LinkedIn — a massive technical library covering motors, VFDs, soft starters, control panels, power‑quality solutions, and industrial diagnostics.

Roger leads the Nikola Tesla Group, a global engineering community of over 8,000 elite members dedicated to advanced motor‑system design, power‑quality innovation, and real‑world industrial excellence.

Roger provides free monthly classes on subjects most experts avoid:

• proper metering
• harmonics
• phase conversion
• motor diagnostics
• advanced VFD applications

Thousands attend these classes across his global networks.

William J. Fritz was an engineer, inventor, and visionary whose work in electrical power, manufacturing, and applied research placed him decades ahead of his era. Born with a natural instinct for machinery and problem‑solving, William’s life took shape through service, discipline, and an unrelenting drive to understand how power moves the world.

After serving in the U.S. military during the rebuilding of Germany following World War II, William developed a mastery of electrical systems under extreme, real‑world conditions. His technical skill and leadership quickly drew national attention, leading to a historic commission from MIT to lead one of the most ambitious electrical research projects of its time.

At the center of this project stood a 300‑foot experimental tower, surrounded by a 36‑mile semi‑circle of electrical conductor delivered by train and installed with military precision. Working in partnership with NASA and leading scientific institutions, William oversaw atmospheric and electrical experiments involving controlled gas releases, aircraft‑based data collection, and early computer‑driven frequency‑control systems housed in a full semi‑trailer mobile lab. The test site in O’Neill, Nebraska—chosen for its vast, flat terrain—became a proving ground for breakthroughs in airflow, induced power, and atmospheric behavior.

This project marked the beginning of a legacy.

William’s passion for innovation inspired his brothers—Joe, Donald, and George, all military‑trained electricians—to join him in building what became one of the most diverse and inventive family enterprises in the Midwest. Together, they founded 13 companies, each rooted in practical engineering and American manufacturing:

• Industrial fan manufacturing
• Steel pipe fabrication
• Agricultural equipment and machinery
• Multiple patented technologies
• Tractors and power systems
• Electric motors, controls, and phase converters
• And a wide range of industrial and agricultural innovations

Their companies powered farms, factories, and communities across the region, creating jobs, solving real‑world problems, and setting new standards for reliability and craftsmanship.

William J. Fritz was more than an engineer — he was a builder of opportunity. His work blended scientific curiosity with hands‑on practicality, and his influence shaped the next generations of the Fritz family, including the continuation of the electrical and motor‑systems legacy through AC‑DC Hotline and beyond.

His life stands as a testament to American ingenuity: service, innovation, and the courage to build what has never been built before.