A not-for-profit Association, ACCA works to boost the presence of BIPOC—Black, Indigenous and People of Colour—contractors and construction companies across Canada. Discussions surrounding the creation of ACCA several years before the launch were put on hold owing to the pandemic, then accelerated in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020. The group aims to help break down barriers faced by Black contractors new to the industry and see established businesses secure larger projects.

Breaking barriers
Despite the wealth of talented Black contractors, designers, architects, and craftspeople, obstacles remain. Systemic racism is still a factor in the construction industry, with Black-owned firms sometimes being dismissed or overlooked for projects. At its most vile, hatred was on public display. Over the past few years, dozens of nooses have been found at construction sites across North America in recent years, an ugly reminder of the history of lynching, especially in America’s south after the Civil War. Sometimes, more than one noose was found at the same building site, in areas where Black construction workers were active.

In the United States, one organization leading the way is the National Association of Minority Contractors. Founded in 1969 in Oakland, California, at the height of the civil rights movement, NAMC is the oldest minority-owned construction trade association in the U.S. Through its local chapters, the Association works in collaboration with members and strategic and corporate partnerships on initiatives including advocacy, contractor development training, and other opportunities.

“We have come a long way as a race from an historical perspective,” said Dan Moncrief, III, NAMC National President, in a media statement. “But recent events such as the murder of George Floyd and too many others to name, coupled with the impact of COVID-19, suggest we have a long road ahead of us. More than ever, NAMC is committed to addressing past wrongs against all minorities and minority construction contractors. NAMC will work to educate and increase awareness surrounding social inequalities in general, and contracting and economic opportunities specifically. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

According to NAMC, over 50 million of the 160 million working in the U.S. make their living in the construction industry (over 31 percent), with African-Americans representing 8.5 million (17 percent) workers nationally.

Past meets present
When we think of famous architects past and present, names like Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson and Frank Gehry come to mind; despite their architectural achievements, few think of Black architects, many of them pioneers responsible for spectacular structures across America. All builders, architects and designers owe a debt to the men and women who came before them, leading the way with their imagination and tireless determination.

In 1971, a dozen African-American architects from across the nation joined forces to create the National Organization of Minority Architects, better known as NOMA. A professional organization aimed at advancing Black architects, NOMA, like NAMC, took a stance after the death of George Floyd and other racist incidents. In mid-2020, the Organization revised and released its new mission statement to read: “NOMA’s mission, rooted in a rich legacy of activism, is to empower our local chapters and membership to foster justice and equity in communities of color through outreach, community advocacy, professional development, and design excellence.”

NOMA also launched its 12-week paid architectural summer internship, the NOMA Foundation Fellowship. Created in partnership with the AIA Large Firm Roundtable (LFRT), the Fellowship matches students and recent graduates with top firms across America.

Architectural legacy
The history of architecture would be incomplete without acknowledging the contribution of the Black men and women responsible not only for homes but larger institutional buildings, including museums, libraries, government buildings, and churches. Attending the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1888 to 1892, Robert R. Taylor earned honours in an array of subjects, from architectural history to differential calculus and trigonometry. A visionary, Taylor’s final architectural course project was “Design for a Soldiers’ Home,” a nursing home for aging and infirm veterans of the Civil War.

A trailblazer, Taylor became not only MIT’s first Black graduate but also America’s first accredited African-American architect. Designing the campus of the private Black land-grant Tuskegee University (formerly Tuskegee Institute), he became one of its first faculty members. A prominent architect for over 40 years, Taylor designed the Carnegie Library, The George Washington Carver Museum (formerly Landry), the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, the Armstrong Science Building, and other well-known structures. He passed away in 1942 during services in the Tuskegee Chapel. Designed by Taylor, the chapel was built almost entirely by students between 1896 and 1898 out of 1,200,000 Alabama clay bricks.

Many buildings designed by Taylor are still standing decades after they were created. Along with his impressive portfolio, Taylor’s legacy includes naming the Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science at Tuskegee University after him, and a 2015 Black Heritage U.S. postal stamp bearing his likeness.

Far from alone in his achievements, history’s Black architects include Taylor, Wallace Augustus Rayfield, William Sidney Pittman, Paul Revere Williams, and many others. Another pioneer, Beverly Lorraine Greene, was not only the first female member of the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, but its sole Black member.

Greene later became the first African-American woman licensed as an architect in the U.S., and was employed at the first architectural firm spearheaded by an African-American in Chicago. Although she was just 41 years old when she died in 1957, Greene’s accomplishments include working on designs with Hungarian-born modernist and furniture designer Marcel Breuer for the UNESCO United Nations Headquarters in Paris, and some buildings for New York’s University Heights Campus.

The next generation
In Canada, another organization leading the way today is BAIDA. Founded in 2020, the Black Architects + Interior Designers Association “is a community organization made up of students, interior designers, and architects dedicated to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession of architecture and interior design through mentorship and community engagement.” By being united in its mission, BAIDA addresses issues including a lack of diversity in the architecture and design sectors, with the hope of minimizing the effects of discrimination while creating “opportunities for other minorities within architecture and design.”

Throughout history, in the face of staggering challenges and adversity, Black architects, designers, and construction leaders have built on the solid foundations of the past. Today, those following in their footsteps have much to be proud of.

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With projects like Tower Four of the World Trade Center, like JP Morgan’s new headquarters, like a two million-square-foot project located north of Grand Central Station, and like 425 Park Avenue, a gorgeous retrofit and tower rebuild, its portfolio is impressive but represents only a fraction of its expertise.

Growth and evolution
Over more than four decades, Roger & Sons has grown significantly, evolving from small projects like house foundations, small commercial jobs, and curb and sidewalk projects to the behemoth the company is chosen for today.

“We’ve come a long way since curbs and sidewalks,” says Peter Rodrigues, Executive Project Manager and a third-generation company leader at Roger & Sons. This is because the company has developed the technical skill and experience to take on the most challenging projects.

The problem is, Roger & Sons has been a victim of its own success. An admiring industry has assigned it a niche that leverages only a portion of its formidable, diverse construction skills: superstructures. So, as the market changes, so must the company’s strategy.

With the current superstructure market in New York tepid to cool, the company is seizing the chance to expand its expertise into other parts of the Tri-State area and as far south as South Florida, one of the hottest markets in the U.S., where it has already, on occasions, executed successful projects over the years.

To ensure the same level of quality and service from the company outside of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, Roger & Sons has put in place a system to secure high-caliber talent to deliver projects with the standards of quality, safety, and performance that its clients have come to expect.

“It was a new market, so we had to bring our managers down there initially to manage our workers and help train local workers in our ways of doing things,” Rodrigues says. This has been a big part of the company’s success in this new market, he adds. And this is how it has to be, as there is a lot at stake.

A family business
Founded by Ocacio “Roger” Rodrigues, Roger & Sons has decades of experience that span generations. Roger operated the company with his three sons Manny, Tony, and Joe, and today, it remains in the hands of the Rodrigues family under the leadership of Roger’s grandchildren.

“The three sons took it over first and now there are three cousins that are involved, one from each father, and we’re in effect running the business,” Rodrigues says. The cousins continue to guide the company by the family values passed down to them.

When asked what the secret to Roger & Sons’ longevity and success has been, Rodrigues suggests that it’s the company’s integrity and focus on relationship building that has made it a leader in its market for so long. And that attitude still delivers.

“We’re known for high quality and on-time services but I’d like to think that we’re very client-friendly, that we take into consideration our clients’ wishes and take them to heart when we execute,” he shares.

Roger & Sons is also committed to investing in the future. The contractor has adopted cutting-edge technology in-house and on-site to ensure that it supports internal growth, as well as growth in the projects it undertakes.

There is also awareness of the environment and the huge impact that construction projects of “superstructure” magnitude can have, particularly in a place like Manhattan. Roger & Sons implements proprietary concrete washout procedures which prevent construction waste from entering drainage systems and enables it to recycle much of the waste generated on its sites.

For Roger & Sons, there is a lot at stake. When it’s your family’s name, history, and reputation on the line, a job done well means much more than just satisfying clients and meeting expectations, it’s your family’s legacy at stake.

Safety and quality
Guaranteeing the quality and the safety of a job is an inherent part of the projects delivered by Roger & Sons. While statutory and in-house training take place, steps to safety and quality are not as rigidly procedural as one would expect; rather, it is a soft approach that produces measurable results.

Quite obvious is the quiet sense of pride not only in a job done well but also in a culture that buys into that collective success. This helps to reinforce a personal level of safety for the collective good of all at Roger & Sons.

“It’s more about an installation of pride in their own work, so making sure that workers take pride in what they are doing. They know that they are part of something bigger and that everything is leading toward the same goal,” Rodrigues says.

“You could read a guy a checklist a thousand times on how to do something, but if he doesn’t care about what he’s doing it won’t matter. So, it’s about making sure the guys care about what they are doing and understanding that there’s a bigger picture and a goal that the entire company is heading toward.” The goal is to make sure the team at Roger & Sons works safely to ensure its members can happily go home to their families each day.

Expanding for the future
Diversity is key to Roger & Sons’ future: from a market standpoint—in terms of its broad capabilities and its impressive portfolio—and as a minority business enterprise. To keep the family business strong and in demand, all of these aspects of the business must be utilized fully and wisely.

“The short-term goal is ensuring there is a long-term. The market is pretty dismal out there, especially for a union concrete contractor in Manhattan, so long-term we’re looking to broaden our market base into different market segments outside Manhattan,” says Rodrigues.

One of the main challenges, he notes, is that “it’s difficult to convince people who think you are one way to think that you are another.” His resolve is to lead clients to take advantage of the company’s broad capabilities across its expanded footprint, and beyond just the superstructures it’s been doing for most of the last fifteen years.

Simply put, spectacular superstructures have set the tone for the kind of work Roger & Sons produces, making foundations and civil work a breeze in comparison. That’s the kind of confidence you want in a contractor. As Rodrigues says, “We’re capable of doing it all,” and doing it all well.

The post Where Superstructures Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg<p class="company">Roger & Sons Concrete Inc.</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Berenyi gives new meaning to doing construction right. Jordan Behringer describes the company as a true design-build firm, meaning that it can take on any industrial or commercial construction project from concept to completion with its own team of in-house architects, engineers, and construction personnel, rather than having to team up with third-party designers or contractors.

To achieve excellence in all its projects, the company is well-staffed with a team of experts, charged with delivering successfully within budget and on time. Across engineers and architects, construction managers and other site professionals, Berenyi has the skills base for the most ambitious projects.

The company is quintessentially relationship-driven, and its many longstanding clients and long-serving staff stand testimony to this. “One of the main pillars of our mission is gratitude. When you look at relationships on a project, the outcome of gratitude is about more than just a completed project. It’s what makes folks come back for more,” says Amy T. Moore, the firm’s Director of Strategic Development and Communications.

Berenyi is a company where people feel heard, a company where the old-fashioned habit of acknowledgment survives. If you introduce or refer a potential client, you can expect a sincere note of thanks from management. “We genuinely care for the welfare of our clients. We look at it as a partnership. Everyone on our team cares about clients and not necessarily our bottom line,” says Behringer.

Cojocaru agrees. “We pride ourselves on being good listeners. We take our time to truly understand the client’s needs, and then we translate and implement them into the design and construction,” he says. “The result is that the team treats communication like the fine art it is—and the results are more than worth the effort.”

Berenyi is also about seamlessness—and it shows. As one would expect from an industry leader in the twenty-first century, the company’s approach to relationships may be based on old-fashioned good manners and evergreen sincerity, but technology forms the backbone of its sophisticated communication network. That includes keeping customers posted on project progress with regular digital updates.

Part of Berenyi’s comprehensive technology suite is an advanced drone technology that provides full survey scanning and images as well as updates of job sites. Virtual reality headsets let clients walk through their buildings virtually, and a full-time, in-house digital marketing manager handles all aspects of each platform, orchestrating the entire client experience for optimum user comfort.

“This streamlines the process. Everyone is working from the same page. Our company is truly unique in the industry thanks to our communication process. It makes for a tighter, more buttoned-up solution,” says Moore.

Having all its professionals under one roof means that team members get to know one another well and are just a door or two away if any challenges or questions arise. That is a tremendous plus when it comes to speed and efficiency on all its projects.

As Moore points out, this open-door culture creates a strong sense of empathy amongst colleagues that supports problem-solving when challenges arise. To its leadership’s knowledge, there is no other firm in the region that offers such a well-rounded, easily accessible working process.

The company’s culture of military precision comes as no surprise when one discovers that its founder, Tony Berenyi, came from an army background.

A civil engineering graduate from The Citadel and a Master’s graduate from MIT School of Engineering in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tony Berenyi was a commanding officer in Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War in the early 90s. A telling part of this time in the company’s history is that every client put on hold during Berenyi’s time in military service returned as soon as he came back from Iraq.

Around 2008, at which time the firm only provided architecture and engineering services, Tony Berenyi and his leadership team made the strategic decision to include construction and general contract services in its client offerings. With a well-established reputation for architectural and engineering excellence, he found that many clients came forward requesting construction services as well. It was the critical key to taking projects from concept to completion, seamlessly.

And so, Berenyi, Inc., as we know it today, came into existence. Today, this trailblazing culture of innovation persists through finding solutions and implementing improved systems. “Our future is also about asking ourselves how to bring more to the table. How can we serve our clients better and in new ways by leveraging technology? We always embrace new ideas,” Behringer says.

Its commitment to continuous improvement allows Berenyi to get into some truly fantastic and exciting projects. You have only to examine one of the company’s current new jobs; this large, next-generation facility—for which the company was appointed as lead architect, structural engineer, and construction manager—boasts an entirely automated clean room packaging space. Entirely customized, this 9,000 square-foot project is also the first of its kind for Berenyi’s client here in North America.

The team recently also completed a 15-million-dollar expansion project for its longstanding client, Symrise, a global manufacturer specializing in food and perfume additives with operations in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The multifaceted project required Berenyi’s engineering and general contracting expertise. Part of the project included a design of a 180-foot tall structural steel tower to support specialty equipment.

Then there is the Hydra ISO yard. This 260,000-square-foot facility in Berkeley County, South Carolina, opened in June 2022 and comprises a brand new 550-foot utility pipe rack complete with two overhead bridges, wash and maintenance racks with custom fall-protection systems, office space, locker rooms, and more. This full-service International Organization for Standardization (ISO) container depot focuses on the bulk liquid transportation industry, offering storage, cleaning, and maintenance for more than 1,000 containers alongside future container repairs, testing, and streaming services.

During COVID-19, Berenyi continued its work and continued to deliver to the standards that its clients have come to value unchanged. “The key to our success was to offer flexibility to our employees in terms of working from home or taking time off as they dealt with illness, childcare, or caring for family members. At the same time, we put in the protocols to ensure we had redundancy in all aspects of our business and operations, in order to be able to continue operating at the high level our clients expect even when not at full strength personnel wise,” says Cojocaru.

He highlights that, at Berenyi, work is not only about construction but also about improving its community. For instance, the two new owners place a marked focus on education as well as giving support to teachers and administrators. It is not rare to see Berenyi team members pitching in and lending a hand at local schools.

Working lean and smart is part of this powerful team’s ethos, reducing waste across all its disciplines and reusing where and when possible. It implements green building practices as a matter of course. That includes energy-efficient fixtures, solar panels, greywater plumbing systems, and the like.

“What I am most proud of in our team is that everybody has bought into and understands what we do and how we do it. That means everybody wears multiple hats. No one is afraid to do what it takes to get the job done,” says Behringer. He believes it is generosity of spirit and strong goal orientation that give the company its secret superpowers of nimble speed, flexibility, and high standards.

To this end, a dedicated in-house program works to ensure that high standards are upheld throughout the organization, both at job sites and office. As part of this initiative, Berenyi created handbooks, training manuals, and other materials that all serve as guides to set the tone for a unified approach to its service delivery model.

Berenyi’s leadership makes no secret of its gratitude to the company’s founder for establishing a solid foundation of excellence for them to build on.

This culture of excellence has won Berenyi a well-deserved and healthy collection of awards over the years. Most recently, it had the honor of ranking at the top of SC Biz News’ list of South Carolina’s best general contractors. It is also a company where women make their mark, as is evident in the award given to its Director of Strategic Impact, Kathy Lewis, as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of South Carolina in 2022 by the national news organization Women We Admire.

Against the backdrop of the tremendous industrial growth South Carolina has seen in the last twenty years, it is clear that when Tony Berenyi’s company hit the market, it was at the perfect point.

With a solid and growing local presence, the company also works further afield, completing umpteen projects across the country. As technological and industry innovation gathers momentum, Moore sees the company—and ultimately, its customers—continuing to benefit from new and improved systems and tools. In her own words, the commitment and forward thinking of the new generation is a promising and exciting aspect of the future.

Behringer sees the regional construction industry growing in terms of increasing numbers of production facilities appearing everywhere. And, as Cojocaru notes, the evolution of technology will also lead to construction evolving. He lists electric vehicle manufacture as but one example. But while sustainable growth is at the top of the company’s priorities list, maintaining quality is the bedrock of progress for this admirable team of industry leaders.

The post Design and Build Done Right in South Carolina<p class="company">Berenyi</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The company was founded by David Hathaway in 1988, and since then, has transformed from Hathaway Development Company Inc. (HDC) into Hathaway Development. Today, it has several sister companies, including Hathaway Construction Services Inc. (HCS); Provence Real Estate, LLC (Provence), focused on property and asset management; and Lynx Capital, its private equity fund established in partnership with Andrew Rosenberg.

David Hathaway’s three children are integral to the company’s success today. Daughter, Anna Hathaway Browning, development associate, is joined by her two older brothers, Daniel Hathaway, owner of Hathaway Construction Services and partner at Hathaway Development as well as Lynx Capital; and Nick Hathaway, partner and director of development. Nick kindly took a moment out of his busy schedule to share some of the firm’s latest news with us.

“We have come a long way. We try to step up and stay with the crowd,” says Hathaway. For this company, real luxury lies in a combination of intelligent design and high-quality finishes. The team aims to add value at every opportunity, and to achieve this, the company has worked with key architects for decades. These include Atlanta’s Dynamik Design Partners and Fred Pucciano’s Studio for Housing Design, LLC.

Hathaway Development works throughout the southern states from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee to as far as Texas.

Despite market fluctuations, the team is as busy as ever, with an impressive number of projects currently underway. “About ten years ago, we were running about three projects a year for our internal GC, Hathaway Construction Services, [alongside] a couple of general contractor jobs done as a third party. Now, we have nine projects going, and each project usually has a unit count of about three hundred, give or take ten units,” Hathaway says.

Six projects are also lined up for the upcoming year, and it is clear that business is looking rosy for Hathaway Development. That is, in a big way, thanks to Lynx Capital as the real estate investment fund allows Hathaway Development to continuously expand its presence, delivering property development and construction across an ever-growing geographic region.

The company knows that just because an area is not currently desirable does not mean that it won’t be in the future. As such, it does a lot of work around Orlando, Florida, due to changing real estate markets and population growth in this area. The approach has stood it in good stead, bringing in lucrative opportunities it would otherwise have forfeited.

In 2021, Hathaway Development broke ground on a luxury apartment community in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Raleigh Exchange Apartments comprises 305 apartments across a mixture of three four-story buildings on a 13.74-acre property.

“This development features our first integrated clubhouse. It was a long process—it is coming out of the ground, it is vertical—and it will open soon. It is one of our finer products,” says Hathaway. The design was in the capable hands of Dynamik Design Partners.

Another recent project, Coastal Exchange Apartments, has just been completed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This premium luxury three-hundred-unit development promises to dazzle with decadent kitchen and bathroom designs, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, generous balconies, and several wrap-around patios. There is a clubhouse, an impressive fitness center, electric vehicle charging docks, an outdoor entertainment space topped off with a resort-style pool, and much more. Another positive is its easy access to the SR-17, only half a mile away.

The Hathaway family has trailblazing in its blood. That is clear in the trajectory David Hathaway’s career took when he exchanged his flourishing banking career for real estate. Hathaway, Senior went from developing single-family homes in Macon, Georgia to erecting multi-family developments across the American Southeast. The recession of the nineties led to the establishment of Hathaway Development.

Hathaway Development Company became the hold-all for its multi-family developments. Following this, he introduced additional service and supply firms under the HDC label to stimulate growth and more opportunity. As the Hathaway children joined the company, expansion opportunities multiplied, and the world became their oyster.

As Hathaway Development recovered from the economic storm of the early nineties, the company turned its focus to in-house deals, building equity, and reinvesting. Anna joined her brothers in 2018. Prior to joining the family in business, however, Anna Hathaway practiced commercial real estate law as an associate attorney at a reputable firm in Atlanta. Today, she handles the legal side of all its commercial and investment dealings. Anna is also the liaison between the company and its investors.

Its central team is comparatively small, especially considering the enormous volume of work it completes and the success it achieves every year. Apart from the immediate Hathaway family, there is also Chief Operating Officer Thomas Gunter, Director of Development and Acquisitions John Spivey, Director of Finance and Portfolio Management Chris Galle, Development Associate Marzena Demko, Development Coordinator Jack Shelton, and the latest addition to the team, Development Associate Patrick Silvia. Although this group is small, its overall workforce is around three hundred strong.

On its building sites in the field, safety is paramount. All relevant team members must complete a compulsory ten-hour OSHA safety training qualification offered in English and Spanish.

Together, the company packs a mighty punch, regardless of circumstances, including COVID-19 and the problems that followed in its wake. Through supply chain issues, labor shortages, price hikes, and the rest, the team has come out on top, consistently adding value to everything it touches. “Most of us have been through this once; it [market downturn] is not new. Enough people know what to expect. At least everybody knows what the worst-case scenario looks like. I do not think it will ever be that bad again,” Hathaway says.

Discussing upcoming industry trends, Hathaway points out a possible shift in lending. “I think the brokerage will have to work a lot harder as far as trying to get the sellers’ side to where expectations are and balancing the buyers’ side, too. I also think we are going back to longer due diligence and permitting periods for land acquisitions and funding,” he says. He points out that, in coming months, development estimations and projections are bound to start leaning more toward the conservative rather than the overly optimistic but he is not concerned. “We will welcome it as it comes and take it in our stride,” he says with a smile.

Looking at the map of the company’s coverage and its growth, one can see that Hathaway Development has Raleigh, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando firmly in its aim. These areas have seen unprecedented growth in new construction, with a record number of large projects exceeding 140 million dollars. While the construction market did take an ever-so-slight dip in 2022, it is predicted to hit over seven billion dollars in fresh builds in 2023. Naturally, such growth will make for a fertile investment landscape in the New Year, a situation that Hathaway Development has a keen eye for.

As the lending market shifts, Hathaway foresees the company moving toward more strategic markets. Having weathered many economic troughs and crests in its time, the company takes such trends as part of the package, adapting and rolling with the changes.

“Currently, the focus is a little bit tighter; we are going to do what we can to get through the next year as far as putting products out goes. Quality projects to markets where we know they will work,” Hathaway says. Whether times call for conservative asset management, fearless forward motion, or both, the company is ready.

The post Creating Value<p class="company">Hathaway Development</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The Appleton, Wisconsin-based business offers general contracting and construction management services as they usher in “the new era of building,” in which the team works closely with customers, who always come first. Embracing this new era requires a highly personalized approach, in which the team views each customer as an individual. They eschew a one size fits all mentality, recognizing that no two projects, or customers, are alike. Instead, the team listens and responds to customers, viewing one another as trusted advisors. They also make sure to pay close attention to all the various project details in order to ensure that every customer need is addressed as expected.

This customized approach requires flexibility on projects, so the team is “not just doing it a certain way that we’re comfortable with, but stepping out of our comfort zone, figuring out what that customer wants for their individual project, and trying to meet their needs the best that we can,” says Marketing Manager Hunter Plamann.

Maintaining communication throughout every stage of the project is key to accomplishing this customization. “We keep checking in with the customer and making sure that everything is going smoothly through the whole process, making sure that the communication is constant,” Plamann says. This approach has earned Millennium Construction an enviable place as one of Wisconsin’s top construction companies.

The company’s flexibility allows Millennium Construction to offer a range of services. The team can handle all components of a project, from hammering out the initial concept all the way through to completion, including comprehensive project management services. They can take on any type of building design or building project, no matter the size or special requirements. This could include anything from a small, brick and mortar retail space all the way to a sprawling, industrial manufacturing facility. The team knows how to make the most of any space—whether they are working within a small footprint or a massive one—to maximize efficiency.

The team recognizes how critical it is to have a comprehensive preconstruction plan before breaking ground. The company’s design-build services cover every aspect of this planning, from determining the scale, materials, and budget of the project to figuring out how to take the first step toward its completion. Safety is another vital consideration, so the company’s safety planning begins long before the construction process starts. Partnering with experienced architects, the team will handle code reviews during the building design to make sure all components of the completed build meet code, from plumbing and electrical to fire safety and more. The team also provides a complete set of plans and building specifications—including civil / site engineering, plumbing, HVAC, architectural plans, and electrical drawings—for customer review and approval. Customers often need to advertise their “coming soon” commercial construction projects, so Millennium Construction delivers interior and exterior color renderings of the building design to display at the site and generate excitement around the new project.

Customers can choose either a lump sum or an open book contract. The team will work with skilled subcontractors or use their own talent; the company maintains a staff of experienced designers, project managers, and tradespeople. Construction services cover everything from site work, masonry, concrete, and steel to framing, finishes, and plumbing / HVAC / electrical.

With so much to offer, it’s no wonder Millennium Construction has a wide variety of projects under its belt. Sectors served include commercial, industrial, agricultural, assisted living facilities, municipal and governmental facilities, and more. The company’s completed design-build projects can be found throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and range from Starbucks coffee shops, hotels, and veterinary clinics to manufacturing facilities, luxury condos, and public works facilities.

One aspect that stays the same throughout this wide range of projects is a commitment to environmental design. The team feels a joint responsibility to keep the health and wellbeing of the planet at the forefront of each and every decision regarding the design or construction of a project. As a LEED-certified company, the team understands the impact their work has on the environment—and wants to actively mitigate that impact. They are “trying to push that area of construction and not just doing it in ways that have worked in the past,” because today that “might not be the most efficient way,” Plamann explains. “[We are] trying to keep pushing boundaries and making a positive impact.” The team is eager to pass their knowledge of green construction practices on to customers and guide their projects to be as eco-conscious as possible.

A tightknit, family-oriented company culture supports the team as they work hard to support their customers. “The foundation of the company is [a] core group that is great together,” Plamann says. “It’s like a family environment in the company. I think that foundation really helps people who end up working with us because it makes them feel like a family. It has a different feeling than a big construction company.”

Plamann experienced this warm, welcoming atmosphere personally when he was a new hire. “I started with the company two years ago, and at first it was just an internship, but then Jesse [Van Boxtel, President] and a lot of the other guys were always super welcoming to me. Any idea I had, they were always very open to it; the culture is really strong that way. No one is too caught up in their own ways that they’re not going to help someone, whether that’s the customer or someone in the company.”

Times have certainly not been easy recently, but the company’s strong foundation helped Millennium Construction weather the storm. “Obviously with COVID in the past couple of years, that was a very big challenge that everyone had to go through,” Plamann says. “But I think for Millennium, we did a great job of getting through it and just trying to keep doing what we could do at that time and trying to find new ways to go about how we do things to still have success.”

As Millennium Construction moves forward, maintaining flexibility will be key. “The company is very open to new ideas and innovation and aims to keep pushing toward being a better company each and every day,” Plamann says. “We’re heading toward the next stage of the company and starting to get bigger and bigger.”

The company’s close-knit culture is another aspect of the business that the team will hold onto as they grow. In the process, they will be focused on “keeping the same values while still expanding,” Plamann says. “I think the company has a very bright future and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

The post Ushering in the New Era of Building<p class="company">Millennium Construction, Inc.</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

“I started working for my father right out of high school,” he remembers. “I worked my way through the business sweeping floors and then framing walls, hanging drywall and pouring concrete.”

For the first three decades, the business operated as a self-performing contractor but then Christopher identified a new opportunity for the business and proposed that he “take the company in a different direction.” Brian Tait, Sr. listened to his son and saw the potential in the plan. “He took my word for it after being in business all those years,” Christopher remembers, “and we’ve had really good success with it.”

B. Tait Builders adopted an entirely new business model based on his vision. “We transitioned to a construction management firm,” he explains. “We don’t touch tools; we have project managers and assistant project managers and site superintendents. We do our due diligence for our clients, and we make sure that we have proper coverage for each trade… We oversee the whole project to make sure it’s going well and staying on schedule, and on budget.”

This approach is by no means unique, but the company puts its own spin on it, particularly when it comes to customer service. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here,” Christopher says. “There are thousands of contractors that do the same thing as we do. We just try to make ourselves available, and we really emphasize communication.”

This commitment requires substantial time and effort. “We try to make ourselves available 24/7,” he elaborates. “We just try to be there, try to be present, try to always make sure we’re doing the right thing.”

The company is small enough to make this possible. “We have the ability to keep it personable.” However, as a mid-sized company, B. Tait Builders is also large enough to get the job done. “We’re nimble enough to go after larger projects too.”

As a family-owned business, company culture is important to the team. “I always watched how he [Brian Tait Sr.] treated people, and in a couple downturns in the economy, I saw that he always treated everyone like they were part of his family, and he always took care of people,” Christopher says. “I’m trying to carry on that torch and treat people the same way; treat them fair.”

This includes pushing for work-life balance by giving employees enough flexibility to spend time with their families and enjoy life. “We just like to make sure that our employees have the freedom to take time off for their kids, personal interests, and vacations.”

B. Tait Builders takes on a variety of projects, from restaurants and warehouses to car washes, hair salons, and shopping centers. The company works closely with several big-name clients such as Crumble Cookies, IKEA, Airgas, LIDL, and Planet Fitness. “We’ve probably done forty Planet Fitness locations between New Jersey and Southern California,” Christopher says.

One recent, unique project was for a luxury car club in Ocean Township, New Jersey. The two-story, thirty-nine-thousand-square-foot, high-end build included a car elevator, bar, and lounge in addition to private garages.

Design-build has become a major component of the company, and the team creates its own projects approximately seventy percent of the time. “We hire our own civil engineers, architects, and [mechanical, electrical, plumbing] as well as structural engineers,” he says. “Clients will approach us from the time that they’re looking to buy a property and we can develop a [record of materials], [develop] a budget for them to determine the feasibility of it, and then, if they say this makes sense, they cut us loose, and we see the whole project through from site design all the way through construction to closeout.”

The majority of this business comes from repeat clients. “We’ve had excellent success with it,” Christopher says. “We’re good at managing the overall expectations, and getting things done efficiently.” He gives the recent example of the luxury car club in Ocean Township, New Jersey as an example. “That’s a design-build,” he says. The project went beyond the client’s “wheelhouse, so they brought us in to manage the whole building design, and we’re right on schedule. It’s just what we do.”

Christopher took over complete leadership from his father at the beginning of this year, so the company is now firmly planted on its new path. “My father and I were on a two-year plan originally, where I probably wouldn’t be taking over for another year and a half,” he says, “but he approached me about just speeding it up and doing it by the end of [2022], and I’m thrilled to take it over. He’s still going to be involved day to day, troubleshooting complex issues as they arise at the project level, and working with our team in the field to resolve issues. I [am the] majority owner now, but I am thrilled to have my father by my side with his vast knowledge base and experience in all aspects of construction.”

The transition has been smooth overall, as was the shift from a self-performing construction business to construction management. “He trusts me, and it’s really great working with him,” Christopher says of the evolving business relationship with his father.

He plans to keep the company’s core values the same but “I’ll put my own little spin on the company,” he says. “We’ve implemented a lot of new policies here. Safety has become very prominent here with our growth. We’re in a lot of high-profile projects, and we want to put our staff and our subs in a safe position and make sure that that’s a priority here.” Technology will be another major focus moving forward. “Technology’s huge,” he says. “We try to track as much as we can through data, and aim to be as efficient as possible.”

Slow and steady wins the race and Christopher is in no hurry to rush any changes. “We didn’t want to just do it in one fell swoop. We’ve been doing it over the past couple of years, and it’s exciting to see it all come together.” As the new owner, he plans to “always try to keep my ear to the floor and see what’s coming into the industry and try to stay ahead of the curve.”

The company is already showing evidence of staying ahead of that curve. B. Tait Builders has begun taking on larger projects with more prominent clients.

Shifting to a new business model hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth the effort and risk. “It’s been a process,” Christopher says. “It was almost like we had a start-up again. My dad had this extremely successful business with a great reputation [for] thirty-five years and then, one day, we just flip the switch and were like, ‘Let’s change,’ and so, with that change, came some growing pains and learning some tough lessons but through that whole process, [we’re] getting stronger.”

In fact, the difficult part of the transition is in the past. “We’re in a good place right now. We’ve been very successful.” After establishing a lucrative new path—while building on a solid foundation—B. Tait Builders is all set for another thirty-five years of growth and industry leadership.

The post A New Direction<p class="company">B. Tait Builders</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Kurt Montagno founded Montagno Construction in 1985 with a vision of developing lasting relationships with clients by collaborating to deliver superior services. This commitment remains part of the foundation of the company to this day.

“Nothing makes us happier than when we meet clients with the same openness and willingness to communicate and partner—to put our heads together and function with the give-and-take of a true team,” says Marie Maia, Director of Business Development and Marketing. “Kurt Montagno—that’s the way he operates. He’s very collaborative. He is very open with his clients. He really wants to help the client’s project be the best it can be.”

This approach yields measurable results that benefit the client, from shortening their timeline to saving on costs and materials. “Their projects always end up better than they had hoped,” Maia says. “They very often cost less than they thought, and many clients use the cost savings to add scope that was in their original wish lists but that they didn’t think they’d be able to afford.”

Montagno Construction’s ability to provide that superior outcome starts in the preconstruction phase, when the team sits down with clients and carefully walks them through the process, advising and guiding them through each aspect of the build.

“An architect or an owner may have an idea, and Kurt can come in and say, ‘Well, you know what, from a contractor’s point of view, if we do it the way you’re asking, it would involve this, this, and this but if you choose this other method, we could save time; we could save cost, and we could achieve the same goals that you’re looking to achieve,’” Maia says.

Creating a viable timeline and setting expectations is one preconstruction goal at which the company excels. “If the owner needs to have his or her project done by a certain date, we will see how we can back that up and see if we can set dates where everyone needs to achieve certain things by a certain time in order to achieve the schedule,” Maia says.

Safety is another key aspect of a build that the team begins to tackle during preconstruction. “Whatever project it is, we do a project-specific safety plan for that project in preconstruction,” Maia says.

Logistics planning also begins in pre-construction so that complications are dealt with before they cause a problem or slow down a build. This consideration is vital even on a site that looks relatively straightforward. “Logistics are important. Where are the perimeters going to be? Where do we have to secure the property? Where are we going to have subcontractors’ deliveries come in? Where are we going to have staging areas? Where are we going to have our field office? Where can we have our utilities coming in? These things are really important, and they vary depending on the scope of work for the project.”

The critical importance of logistical planning was particularly highlighted in a recent project to restore the abandoned, fire-damaged, historic St. Patrick’s Hall in Waterbury, Connecticut. The team had to plan carefully to contend with a lack of space.

“The city gave us two parking spaces,” Maia remembers. “That’s what they allotted us for the duration of the project. We had to use those two parking spaces to deliver materials, to [transport] products in and out. We had no parking. We had to figure out parking off-site.”

The build was completed despite the logistical challenge—as well as an additional, unforeseen curveball. Only after the work started did the company discover that the project required additional steelwork.

“When we mobilized and power was turned on, it was discovered that the existing steel had delaminated during the fire, which required the additional work,” Maia explains. When the preconstruction process does not uncover all the complications, the team is always prepared to handle the unexpected.

When it comes to design-build, the team gives their all to ensure smooth execution. This is ideal for clients who are too busy or inexperienced to coordinate the process on their own. “Kurt has stepped up,” Maia says of projects in which clients felt they were in over their heads.

For example, when a group of surgeons needed a new office building, “He helped bring in the architect. He helped bring in the engineering firm because they just were too busy… managing a surgery practice.” In situations like this, clients can rely on Mr. Montagno to jump in and take the reins. “He’s very trustworthy, very dependable.”

In addition to offering a full suite of services, Montagno Construction Inc. shines due to the long tenure of its employees. The family-owned business cultivates a positive work environment with a supportive company culture that attracts and retains workers—oftentimes for decades. “We’ve had a lot of our superintendents with us for over thirty years,” Maia says, “and project managers over twenty years with us, so that really makes us stand out.”

Montagno Construction Inc. has completed a wide range of notable recent projects—far too many to mention in one article. The company’s portfolio covers numerous sectors including healthcare and assisted living, multifamily housing, private education, historic and adaptive reuse, and more.

Several fresh projects have been for nonprofits such as the WYSH House in Meriden Connecticut’s historic district. The 10,000-square-foot building provides twelve efficiency apartments as well as lobbies, offices, gathering spaces, and a research center for young adults up to twenty-four years old who are no longer eligible for foster care, but not quite ready to handle life on their own.

“They age out of the foster home system at eighteen years old and it’s really difficult for eighteen-year-olds to be able to just land in the adult world and support themselves,” Maia points out.

To provide these young adults with the support they need, the team had to overcome many challenges. The project had to be constructed on a tight urban site with a century-old culvert running underground just beyond the building footprint, and special precautions had to be taken to preserve the integrity of this culvert. Despite the complications, the project was completed in just nine months and won the first-place Team Project Award from the Connecticut Building Congress in acknowledgement of the success.

On another nonprofit project, Montagno’s client won a preservation award for work involving the renovation of a church building to provide shelter and support for people experiencing homelessness. The team transformed the Housing Navigation Center for ImmaCare Inc., an organization that strives to eliminate homelessness in the Hartford, Connecticut region. The center now boasts modernized spaces, improved accessibility, and new facilities that allow ImmaCare to provide expanded services.

Montagno Construction’s cost-saving strategies allowed the client to add more to the build and still stay within budget. “We saved them so much money, they kept adding scope,” Maia remembers.

Montagno Construction Inc. has enjoyed organic, sustained growth. “We’ve grown steadily throughout our history,” Maia says. “We take the time to develop personal relationships and nurture those personal relationships with clients. We look forward to continuing to get repeat business with clients.”

The growth from this client-first approach has led to an increased capacity of approximately 30 percent over the last eight years, allowing the team to take on larger and larger projects. Currently, “The sweet spot I’m looking for is over $30 million, $40 million per project,” Maia says. “Those are the ones that I’m spending time developing the relationships and getting opportunities.” Bolstered by a dedicated team offering comprehensive services and a strong commitment to clients, the company’s growth and success can be expected to continue far into the future.

The post A Collaborative Solution<p class="company">Montagno Construction</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

With a focus on quality, safety, and workmanship, Lorneville, a unionized contractor, has established itself as an industry leader, having executed major projects for some of North America’s most reputable companies over the past 45 years.

The company’s expertise extends through the petrochemical, power generation, energy transition, pulp and paper, and minerals and mining sectors.

Currently, it has a staff of 120: engineers, project managers, and superintendents in addition to the management team, and is in the process of transitioning to an employee-owned company. Additionally, depending on the number, size and scope of jobs they take on, the Lorneville team can include anywhere from 1,200 to 3,000 unionized tradespeople, including pipefitters, boiler makers, millwrights and industrial mechanics.

In 2021, Lorneville was welcomed into the Platinum Club, having been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for seven consecutive years. This prestigious award is sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, Canadian Business Magazine, the Smith School of Business, and the TMX Group.

Back to the beginning
We speak with CEO Styve Dumouchel, who takes us back to 1978 when the company was started by his father and uncle, Rosario and Rejean Dumouchel.

“They were tradesmen, originally from Quebec, and my father worked for an international boiler company, travelling across the country, building boilers for power plants, and installing big steam generating equipment,” shares Dumouchel.

“I was a construction brat and grew up travelling from one end of the country to another,” he recalls, noting that the families had lived in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick before they got tired of moving and decided to start their own boiler maintenance company in Saint John. By that time, Rosario and Rejean Dumouchel had developed real expertise in the field.

The Lorneville Industrial Park, on the boundary of Saint John, was a logical choice of location, as the city and surrounding area has a large industrial infrastructure where the brothers had built up a good relationship with clients who recognized their outstanding workmanship.

During the early years, Lorneville remained predominantly a Maritime company, with boiler maintenance work performed in pulp mills and power plants in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Smart growth
When Styve Dumouchel joined the company in 1992, armed with an engineering degree from McGill and several years’ experience working for an international company, he decided Lorneville needed to expand its market, which it did gradually in the years leading up to 2000 when he took the reins as CEO. He started by tapping into other industrial projects outside the boiler maintenance industry and started bidding on the construction of industrial equipment facilities.

A big advantage to being based in Saint John, he says, “is that the area is a great industrial incubator. Within a 100-kilometre radius, one can pretty much touch every industry found in Canada.” He references the nuclear power plant at Point Lepreau, three pulp and paper facilities, steam and natural gas-generating power plants at Coleson Cove and Bayside, the largest oil refinery in Canada, a brewery, hydroelectricity, and potash mining.

“Around 2004, Saint John was going through a boom, and we capitalized on that and managed to secure the contract to build Canada’s first LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, and at the same time secured the massive nuclear power plant refurbishment (working with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. AECL at Point Lepreau), and a large upgrade at the refinery,” Dumouchel explains.

“To do that, I had to hire quite a few more than the small original team of engineers and project managers, and so, over five years, I built up a very capable team. But then the market dried up, and I had to do something to keep them working and that was what drove us out of our geographical area. We had to chase the work.”

Chasing the work led Dumouchel to divide the company into three regional offices.

The Atlantic Office is managed by Derek McGraw, who has been with the company since 2005 and oversees all work performed in the four Atlantic Provinces. The Central Office, located in Burlington, ON, is led by Khalil Asal, P. Eng., who has been with the company since 2004 and manages operations in Quebec and Ontario, while the Western Office, located in Edmonton, AB and led by Carrie Quaschnick, P. Eng., manages work in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Brown energy going green
For the time being, at least, the Atlantic and Western Offices remain mainly focused on what has become traditional work for Lorneville—refineries and power plants—however, they are bidding on and building biodiesel plants in Newfoundland and British Columbia that use agricultural waste products.

Meanwhile, the Central Office is focusing on environmentally friendly industry, with less emphasis on fossil fuels, and has taken on a lot of light industrial work. For example, it recently completed building an asphalt shingle plant in southern Ontario, something it has not done before, and is in the process of building another plant to produce ethanol from agricultural products.

“These are not strictly Green,” Dumouchel says, “but they are the first stages of green energy transition, more what I would call brown energy, in that they are carbon neutral. In addition, there are lots of opportunities in production plants to use hydrogen which is stored and transported safely in specialized tanks as liquid ammonia, so that presents more opportunities for us,” he says.

“There will always be a need for pipes, tanks, and rotating equipment; it is just a matter of what energy source industry wants to transport or burn. I see this is a transition because there will always be work for us. I think it will be a great opportunity and I’m quite bullish about it.”

Shaped by values
We ask Dumouchel to showcase one of Lorneville’s outstanding projects (and there are many) but he declines, preferring to tell us about something that he says, “speaks a bit to where our values are. It is not how you manage your successes; it is how you manage your failures.”

To illustrate his point, he harks back to 2007, “when we had a lot of work with the LNG project here in Saint John, building tanks for installing equipment.” The construction for the three massive steel lined, concrete tanks was done on site, “but we also assembled some modules in our shop and they required a fire-proof coating, which was applied by a sub-contractor.”

Fireproofing is critical, he explains, because if ever there were a fire in that unit, the coating would protect the steel from melting and the building from collapsing, giving people time to escape. The coating was supposed to last for 10 years, but within two years it started peeling and flaking.

“It’s a situation where some contractors would have said that the warranty is from the subcontractors and we’re not honouring it, so go and fight with them. But we took the decision to fix it on our dime,” he explains. “It was a significant investment, close to $6 million to repair what was originally a $600,000 job. But we have long-term relationships with our clients because we always do what we say we will do, and today that client is still our client because we honoured the relationship.”

Dumouchel goes on to speak of other core values, such as the meticulous planning that goes into all their projects, no matter how long it takes. For example, the planning for the refurbishment of a refinery, which is critical to have up and running within a six-week turnaround, would have started 20 months in advance to ensure that every detail, including stringent safety protocols, is in place when the work begins.

“Our job sites are very safe because of our core values. We preach safety 24/7—it is almost a religion, and I get emotional when I say it. It is not only about being safe on the job but a mindset that extends to everything—how you drive to and from work, how you spend time on the weekend. If you can develop that culture in your workers, then you get that at the job site,” he says.

“It is also about excessive planning, over-preparation, and always having safety as part of the planning conversation. How many workers will be in the space? What tools do they need? Will there be a conflict? What safety equipment do they need? It’s a step-by-step process to make sure no one gets hurt and everyone goes home,” he shares.

“We measure safety to such a degree now that we consider it a failure if someone gets a sliver in a finger and needs a bandage—that’s the level to which we take safety. We work with some very demanding clients in the nuclear industry and in power and refining, and if we’re not safe to that degree, what does that say about our workmanship and the safety of their environment when we’re finished? A safe job site is also integral to our ability to survive as a company, so we’re adamant about that.”

Hands-on leadership
Four years ago, Lorneville began transitioning to an employee-run organization, with 24 former employees now owners after buying into the company. “The program is open to anyone deeply involved in profitability, performance and growth, and willing to share responsibility and profits,” Dumouchel explains, saying that the hands-on leadership model fits perfectly with the company’s core values.

“There is always at least one owner on the job site, developing relationships and responding to clients’ needs. It gives a better sense of responsibility and urgency to the job, as owners want their company to perform well. It was important to us to make this change as owners always have the best interest of the company, and hence the clients, at heart.”

Another level
After the regional offices were formed, Dumouchel spent considerable time travelling, but in 2020 took a step back and hired a president, Jim Brewer, who brings to the position 30 years of education and industry expertise, having worked for companies across North America. “I brought the company to this level, but he’ll be taking it to another level and putting us in a position to succeed for the next 20 years,” says Dumouchel.

“I am leaving the daily operations to Jim and now focusing on company culture, stepping in only where I can offer my experience, and looking for talent to promote from within the organization. My career over 35 years was an evolution; it was hard work, and it never stops being hard, but if you don’t make the effort, you won’t achieve,” he says.

“Our focus for the future is making sure the processes we put in place under Jim’s direction are well established, and that we develop an organization that can repeat our success with new people. We want to have the right people and the right systems in place as we move to the next level, taking on larger projects, diversifying, and preparing for the transition to green energy. And maybe even a foray into the U.S. sometime in the next five or six years,” he shares.

“If we look at Canadian construction companies, there are many that are significantly larger than us and thousands that are quite a bit smaller, so we’re in a transition phase in size as well. We want to be in a situation to take on even larger projects than we have in the past and increase diversification, and we want to be prepared for the next stage of our evolution.”

The post The Proven Choice for Industrial Construction, Turnaround, and Maintenance Projects<p class="company">Lorneville</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, with a local and national division and two additional local branches in Fort Myers and Cocoa in the same state, the company’s status as a leader in its field is quite an accomplishment, given its humble origins. ASP was launched in 1992 by Michael ‘Mickey’ Curry, with the same focus as today but with a minuscule staff.

“It was a small pavement maintenance company that originally started out with about five people. We had your typical growing pains. We’ve gone from five people… now we have 450. It’s a twenty-five-year-plus overnight success, I would say,” says Michael Curry, Jr.

Michael, the son of the founder, is now the Chief Executive Officer. Mickey remains with the company but has largely stepped back from day-to-day management. A second son, Dan Curry, currently works as Vice President.

Michael attributes ASP’s longevity and success to the simple formula of “people, core values, doing the right thing the right way.”

Those core values are “excellence, teamwork, and passion,” states Chief Operating Officer Terry Smith. “The success we’ve had as a company is all because of the culture that Mickey established in 1992 and we’ve continued to focus on. This is the reason we’ve been able to grow and add employees who are interested in the same vision we’re interested in.”

The company’s services include asphalt milling and paving, asphalt and concrete repairs, crack sealing, sealcoating, drainage, and site development to name a few. While it has a small division devoted to pavement construction, the company does not design parking lots, leaving that work to civil engineers. Most of its work centers on pavement maintenance with the majority of it being self-performed, although there are a few things that are contracted out.

Thanks to a series of recent acquisitions, ASP now boasts a coast-to-coast presence with a total of 450 employees. “We’ve done eight acquisitions within the last two years. We are built on a hybrid model, where we have a national sales team that sells into all fifty states and our local divisions and acquisitions that complete work local to their areas,” says Smith.

These acquisitions consist of two California-based companies: Emerald Paving Company and Black Diamond Paving & Concrete, with a North Cal and a South Cal branch; Murphee Paving, with three branches in Mississippi; Massey Asphalt Paving of Alabama; Paradise Pavement Maintenance of Missouri; C&T Paving and the Pavement Exchange of North Carolina, and Superior Blacktop Services of South Carolina. Once acquired, firms “maintain their brand,” but are “now an ASP company,” adds Curry.

While ASP is based in Florida, its sister companies are mostly located in Southern and Western states where warm weather predominates. This geographic footprint makes good business sense; the absence of snow and ice in such locales allows for year-round pavement maintenance.

However, the company can take on assignments anywhere in the country through its national division. The team’s partnerships with trusted, certified partners in every state, and the different divisions, allow them to provide competitive nationwide services. A map depicting national projects completed by ASP and affiliated firms features entries in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii. Major clients include KFC, Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and FedEx. While management is eager to continue expanding, there are no plans to establish branches outside the U.S.

Retailers, restaurants, hotels, municipalities, and government properties are the sectors served. According to Curry, big-box retail brings in the most revenue. The company works with various vendors who supply asphalt, concrete, and other materials for projects. Each Florida branch maintains an equipment yard stocked with pavement maintenance and/or construction vehicles and machines.

“Preventative maintenance is what we focus on. That allows our customers to extend the life of their parking lots with lower costs of ownership,” states Smith, with Curry adding: “Preventative maintenance is where sealcoating, crack sealing, restriping, and sometimes asphalt repairs come into play.”

Quality is maintained through attention to detail, an attribute with which every employee is encouraged to engage. “We really look for the little things that make a difference. In doing that, it’s driven all the way down to the field level, to make sure [staff are] doing what they’re supposed to be doing. There are supervisors and quality control people that oversee the work,” Curry says.

In the same manner, safety is ensured through vigorous training and strict adherence to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Training for new hires is conducted in the classroom and with computers and videos.

In addition, “A lot of the training is job site training with foremen and superintendents overseeing the crews, working with new people or less experienced people, to make sure they understand how everything works,” Smith notes.

Training does not end either once new staff are brought up to speed on company processes, services, and policies. “We are continually doing training. Each week, we do toolbox talks, where we talk about safety and training. We’re wearing all the gear that needs to be worn on the job. It comes down to the training and doing the right thing while on the job and always being cognizant of your surroundings and looking out for your teammates,” he continues.

In addition to educating its staff, ASP also works hard to educate clients—and the public in general—about the importance of pavement maintenance. To this end, the company website has a section featuring tips, a blog, and company videos.

“We try to partner with our customers,” states Smith. “We’re supposed to be the experts in the asphalt paving industry. We help by providing knowledge. We try to educate the customers on what’s going on with their parking lots and concrete and sidewalks.” He adds, “People understand landscaping. They understand roofing. But paving is something that the knowledge isn’t quite out there.”

The company shares a free, downloadable parking lot budgeting guide, and recent blog posts have discussed topics such as parking lot liability maintenance and various aspects of asphalt sealcoating.

During the COVID shutdowns, ASP was deemed to be an essential business and allowed to stay open. Still, the virus represented a considerable challenge. The pandemic caused “a ton of adversity that we had to endure. Bottom line, we fought through it and did really well but there were a lot of challenges along the way, especially from a health perspective and keeping everyone healthy and safe,” Curry recalls.

Laborers in the field were provided with masks and hand sanitizer, and workplace health protocols were followed. In addition to COVID, Florida is prone to hurricanes. These storms do not directly affect the company, but team does do “clean-up work to help our clients,” after hurricane events, he says. Hurricanes do have an indirect effect on operations, in that debris, flooding, and downed power lines sometimes make it difficult to access parking lots owned by clients.

Customers like what ASP is doing, as the company has earned a slew of industry honors in recent years. The firm has made the ‘Florida Fast 100’ list of rapidly growing companies compiled by the Tampa Bay Business Journal and the prestigious Inc. magazine Inc. 5000 list on several occasions. It was ranked number 3881 on the Inc. list in 2021, rising to the 3462 spot in 2022.

Being honored in such a fashion “is a testament to our employees and our team,” states Smith.

In addition to a work hard ethos, the company tries to maintain a friendly atmosphere with staff, featuring get-togethers and social and recreational activities. Given the company’s rapid expansion, it takes a careful approach when evaluating potential hires.

“We focus on the human being themselves. People who communicate well, are respectful, things of that nature. They don’t have to be industry-specific, as far as their knowledge. We like to hire the human and then train them in the industry,” explains Curry.

Besides COVID, finding quality staff remains ASP’s biggest challenge. This is in part due to economic conditions; a low unemployment rate means there is not a huge pool of people looking for work, and the pool that does exist is being tapped by many companies, all eager to attract new personnel.

For all that, Curry and Smith remain highly optimistic about the future. The basic idea is to keep on keeping on. There are no plans to add new services, but rather the focus is on enhancing existing services while continuing to bring on new acquisitions and grow both locally and nationally.

“We’re going to continue on the path we’re on right now. As far as growing organically as well as through M&A (mergers and acquisitions), it could be five years from now that we’re a $500-million to $750-million company revenue-wise,” states Curry.

“With that type of growth, it would probably put us with 1,000 employees,” Smith adds.

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