The Charles W. Dahl & Son Electrical Company was started in San Francisco by Charlie Dahl in the year 1900. At the age of 19 Charlie came to the United States from Sweden where he had served his apprenticeship by learning the machinist and electrical trades. Charlie was a likeable character who had a splendid reputation for his integrity and reliable workmanship. William U. Beck was a teenager when he began working for Charlie Dahl as a general laborer, but with hard work and a perpetual drive learned the skills necessary to become a master motor mechanic, machinist and winder. William U. Beck had become so involved in the business that he eventually purchased it in 1933 at the age of 27 from a retiring Charlie Dahl. Charlie Dahl had such a fine reputation in San Francisco that William U. Beck decided to keep the name “Dahl” in the name as a source of recognition. The new name for the business would be Dahl-Beck Electric Company.