Our Story – Rooted in Engineering Excellence
Take a scroll through the key milestones that shaped Michaels Energy — from our founding in 1984 to our growth, rebrand, leadership transitions, and national expansion. This timeline highlights the moments, people, and progress that got us here.
1984
Humble Beginnings
Our company was founded in 1984 by Jim Michaels. At that time the company was called Michaels Engineering and our work was focused on Level III energy assessments, MEP design, energy retrofits for schools, and hydraulic balancing.
1996 & 1997
Future Leaders Join The Team
Jeff Ihnen, our current CEO, joined the Michaels Engineering team as our sole engineer focused on energy efficiency programs. Scott Siefkes, our COO, joined in 1997 in our new department called environmental engineering services. This work was focused on cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks and contaminated soil and groundwater.
1999
Jim Michaels retired and Dave Waffenschmidt took over as the principal owner and CEO. Dave had a passion and drive for engineering excellence that has continued to remain a top value of our company.
1999
It was a busy year as we started our first utility program work analyzing custom rebates with Alliant Energy, in addition to starting our first program evaluation work with Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program.
Early 2000's
While battling the recession, Michaels Engineering expanded work in Minnesota and Colorado on custom rebates and Level II energy audits while growing to 40 employees.
2009
Michaels Engineering grew on a national level to win contracts across the country for program evaluation work from Maine through Hawaii. Our headcount increased to 60 employees.
2012
Because our business had evolved to primarily focus on utility energy efficiency work, we launched a corporate re-branding; changing the company name from ‘Michaels Engineering’ to ‘Michaels Energy.’
2015
Dave Waffenschmidt retired and instead of selling the company on the open market to the highest bidder, he chose to sell it to employees to preserve the company culture. Jeff Ihnen became the principal owner and CEO, which qualified our company as a veteran-owned business. Scott Siefkes, Bryce Dvorak, and Eric O’Neill also became part owners in the sale.
2016
We expanded our offerings to include Retro-commissioning (RCx), Strategic Energy Management (SEM), Industrial and Commercial New Construction, large-scale field research studies, technical reference manual reviews, LEED certification consulting, and more!
2022
To meet the growing energy and load management needs throughout the country, Michaels expanded its offerings to provide services directly to commercial and industrial customers. In addition to RCx, SEM, decarbonization solutions, and energy audits, we launched a thermal energy storage product to add resilience to the grid and provide energy savings for building owners.
2023
Michaels made the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America for the first time with 103% growth over the past three years.
2024
Inc 5000 + Best Workplaces
Michaels hit number 24 in energy on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, in addition to making the exclusive list of the 2024 Inc Best Workplaces.
2025
Inc 5000 + Best Workplaces
Michaels hit number 16 in energy on the 2025 Inc 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America for the third year in a row, in addition to making the exclusive list of the 2025 Inc Best Workplaces.