Tompkins Excavating is based in Putnam Valley, New York. The team mainly serves the lower Hudson Valley region, including Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, and Dutchess Counties. Most commonly collaborating with developers and general contractors, the company is an expert in earthmoving, site utilities including water, sewer, and drainage, site concrete, asphalt paving, and rock crushing. In an industry where large projects take time to come to fruition, this team is proud to be the preferred service provider for a number of repeat customers.

As the first trade to arrive on site and the last to leave, the Tompkins Excavating team is guided by doing the right thing and honoring its word. The company is respected industry-wide for delivering on its promises with outstanding quality on everything from midsize to impressively large excavation projects. To achieve this, having the best people for the job is key. “We value the people who work with us, whether they are trade partners, clients, or, first and foremost, our employees,” says Owner and President, Stacey Tompkins. “I love our team. They’re phenomenal.”

As a token of appreciation, its ownership enjoys celebrating the hard work of everyone in the company (including those Stacey laughingly calls moving targets—truck drivers moving between locations) with pizza on Fridays. Tompkins Excavating’s annual awards ceremony recognizes employees with monetary prizes for consistency and excellence. And an annual picnic at the Tompkins residence welcomes a happy crowd of employees and their families, alongside a holiday party and team-building events throughout the year.

“For a comparatively small company, I feel that is amazing. Few people our size do that,” Tompkins says. Indeed, the firm treats the people who give its work meaning with real generosity and warmth.

Always learning, always growing
To ensure that a focus on healthy relationships is strong throughout its ranks, Tompkins has created a field leadership team that meets weekly. There are also monthly training sessions, where this group joins with the company’s management team to share in refresher leadership sessions guided by multimedia content.

The company’s dedication to being a source of growth and support for its people has translated into incredible growth inside the company itself. Quadrupling its staff over the past eight years has resulted in company revenue also skyrocketing, taking its annual earnings from under $1 million a decade ago to more than 10 times that today. Working toward building optimal efficiency with its existing team and asset base, the company has its sights set on achieving ever-greater goals at a responsible pace.

While every project is a proud moment at Tompkins Excavating, works that benefit communities at large are especially close to the company’s collective heart. One such project in collaboration with Turner Construction is for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an organization in Yorktown Heights, New York that provides guide dogs to people experiencing challenges to their vision. The project is ongoing and, Tompkins says, has been a joy to work on.

Another project the team is especially proud of comprises affordable housing, while a mixed-use development with Unicorn Construction is bringing beautiful condominiums to the center of town, and new life to the area.

The company is also proud of the rock crushing and recycling capabilities afforded by its use of ProMac’s equipment and service. Few people know that, thanks to ProMac, Tompkins Excavating can reuse materials from jobsites on new projects, reducing waste and improving efficiency. Another exciting collaboration is with TRAYD, an innovative payroll software company dedicated to the construction sector, whose cutting-edge platform Tompkins Excavating is proud to help test and refine—gaining valuable efficiencies in its own payment structures while supporting TRAYD’s mission to transform payroll solutions for the industry.

A leap of faith
Starting as a landscaping business, which saw Co-owner and Vice President Mark Tompkins investing in a lawnmower when he was in his teens, the company has flourished and prospered in ways he never could have foreseen. Responding to a customer request for structural work, Mark leased his first excavation equipment, and the young business took an entirely new direction.

When the couple met in 1990, Stacey was secure in her career as a successful Food Service Director, with clients like Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms. Overseeing the dining arrangements for around 3,000 people each day, the young go-getter was thoroughly versed in the complexities of organization under pressure by the time Mark’s right-hand administrator announced her departure from his company, around the time the firm had just entered landscaping construction.

Stacey decided to say farewell to the path she was on and join Mark in his venture. “My husband was brought up in the entrepreneurial world,” she says, but for her, exchanging a secure career for a position at her future husband’s business was a new experience. “I took a leap of faith, contrary to how I had been brought up.”

The unorthodox decision raised eyebrows amongst her closest friends and family. It all worked out well in the end, however. “We got married and it was a great opportunity to help out in the business and raise children, too,” she says, describing how the Tompkins siblings grew up largely on site.

Taking up her duties in the office of the then-residentially focused company meant taking many pressing phone calls and becoming closely involved in customer care. Stacey quickly came to understand the business, what people really needed, and how their pain points could be alleviated. From this position, she helped establish the company’s reputation for service excellence and turn it into the thriving business it is today.

Tenacity became her trademark in the process, something that would serve her well later on. Her hard-earned Minority or Women-owned Business Enterprise certification is just one case in point. Although it took 11 years to obtain and required the services of an attorney, Stacey now advises women in the same situation to stay the course and not give up.

Hampered in the process by the simple fact that Mark started the business, it took years for Stacey to convince the board that, as the majority owner, she was the leader making the cogs turn at Tompkins Excavation. What seemed like an endless mission at one time turned out to be worth the exercise in resolve, however. “I was denied three times. You just can’t give up,” she advises.

Family matters
Being a good mother, wife, boss, and business partner is a complex task, and the Tompkins family wisely navigates the waters with the guidance of a business coach. Despite being utterly in love with their work, talking shop in their downtime is minimized—a habit that is easier to quit for some than others, Stacey notes with a smile.

She is sanguine about their life as family entrepreneurs. “It really doesn’t matter what you’re doing; you just need to connect with people,” she says. “They want to feel that they’re valued, and they want to follow somebody whom they feel inspired by.”

Today, two of Stacey and Mark’s three sons follow in their parents’ footsteps. Operations Manager and Lead Estimator Kevin Tompkins is a civil engineer, while Resource Coordinator and Development Associate Justin Tompkins comes from a background in real estate and asset management. “Our three sons, two of whom are in the business, grew up in it,” says Stacey (their youngest chose to pursue a career in finance outside the company). “Kevin learned how to operate a machine when he was a three-year-old sitting on dad’s lap.”

Working full-time in hands-on positions in the field alongside the rest of the onsite teams, theirs is not a family culture of detached privilege but one of pragmatism and personal involvement on the jobsite.

Women in construction
As a board member of the Building & Realty Institute, Stacey enjoys the ability to give back to the industry through her work. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Business Council of Westchester and her local town board.

Driven to help improve access to good careers for youngsters—especially young women in the industry—Stacey served as a mentor in the Her Honor Mentoring program for a year and founded Women in Construction, a small organization focused on mentoring young women in the industry through monthly luncheons.

Thanks to her untiring efforts, Stacey has been honored with a number of awards for herself and her company. “That has been exciting,” she shares. “Awards bubble up from work we don’t even realize we’re doing.” A case in point is the Walk in Her Shoes Award, which she is receiving this December, courtesy of United Way, and which she did not anticipate. There was also another surprise honoring of her work at a dinner hosted by the Women’s Enterprise Development Center (WEDC).

As the leader responsible for cultivating team spirit, Stacey is open about the challenges and the joys. In a business where people’s lives are at stake, keeping everyone safe is a priority. “You have to just get up and keep doing it—and have a good attitude,” she says. “It isn’t easy; it’s way harder than it sounds.” This is where good self-care and a bit of healthy perspective come in: “As long as everyone’s safe, the rest can be fixed or replaced,” she says.

New challenges, new offices, new future
Beyond the constant pressure to expand Tompkins Excavating’s range of capabilities and maintain its place at the forefront of its industry, the company is also building new offices, a project that will unfold over the next three years. With its crisp design, the new facility will be adjacent to the existing operation, providing much-needed space to expand. In the meantime, fine-tuning workflow is a priority to ensure that every project receives the attention to detail it deserves.

Aiming for 20 to 30 percent growth over the next two or three years, preserving and improving efficiency remains pivotal to all the company’s operations. “We want to be the best that we can be. We can definitely do a lot more work with what we have,” Stacey says.

And to her team, her message is simple and heartfelt: “Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’re so grateful for you every single day,” she says with a smile.

The post Powered by Values<p class="company">Tompkins Excavating</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

To ensure every project is finished on schedule and within budget, a construction manager is on hand to supervise and resolve any potential issues, a key factor for success in the challenging field of occupied renovations in South Coast’s many senior living and senior healthcare accounts.

“My brother Tom Quinlan started South Coast Improvement as a commercial painting company, and we evolved it into what we are today, a successful construction management general contractor,” says President Henry Quinlan, who credits the company’s impressive growth to his brother’s singular focus of keeping clients happy.

“To please the client, not nickel and dime the client, and build the company up for repeat business is something we’ve been able to do for 27 years by listening to what the client needs,” he says. “The single biggest reason for our success is my brother’s ethos of starting off by satisfying customers.”

A fast-paced company, South Coast prides itself on being both a client-centric and growth-minded business. “We do not portray ourselves as a family; we portray ourselves as a team of professionals,” Quinlan says. “We want people who come in to understand what’s expected of them and work in a professional, clean work environment. We’re performance-based and evaluate our folks based on pure performance. We also want professionals, and we’ve been so fortunate because that’s what we have.”

Those professionals also comprehend the vast importance of focusing on the client, asking the right questions about the goals for the projects, and, of course, really listening. “Whether it’s an estimate for a budget or actually doing the work, we have to adjust our process to make sure we’re meeting their goals. That’s so important.”

As for the company’s continuing success in working in occupied buildings, Quinlan says the key factor is understanding the function of that building, its use, what’s important to the residents, and what’s important to the operators.

“We always want to make sure the residents are safe and have an ability to do the programming they need on a daily basis,” he adds. “It really goes back to understanding the goal of the client, the purpose of the building, how to be the least disruptive possible, and, most importantly, go as quickly as possible. That’s the biggest thing for us.”

And these projects are not simple. Most recently, South Coast worked on its most complicated project to date, and the one Quinlan is most proud of: Gardner Terrace, a $24 million fully occupied renovation of an existing senior living affordable housing complex in Attleboro, Massachusetts, taking on eight phases of 12 units per phase and turning them in a seven-week clip.

“We introduced an entire new mechanical system and sprinkler system to the building and did apartment upgrades while the building was fully occupied, which was an amazing feat,” Quinlan says. “We stayed on budget, we stayed on time, and we actually finished a bit early.”

This was a project that spent a year and a half in pre-construction, and South Coast capitalized on this time. One thing that separates South Coast from other firms its size is having a dedicated pre-con department that solely focuses on the planning of the project to properly phase it, including how to get the materials released on time and how to negotiate the contracts, before turning it over to its ops team. “That project, in and of itself, is the best example of our system that I can speak of,” says Quinlan.

Working on occupied buildings, he stresses, produces a number of additional unique challenges. “When you work in an occupied building, the building’s already there, along with the mechanical systems from the original construction. It’s a challenge for the design team because they don’t have the luxury of opening up walls and poking around when they’re doing the design phase.”

Either way, the work revolves around a pre-con department, he adds. South Coast goes in and looks at the existing conditions from a constructability and a feasibility standpoint and works within these conditions to head off any unforeseen challenges that may lie behind the walls, above the ceilings, or underneath the flooring.

“There’s no single bigger cost driver and schedule driver than unforeseen conditions, and we do everything in our power during the pre-construction phase to unearth those, so it gives our client the best value on any changes that need to be made,” Quinlan tells us.

South Coast aims to unearth these unforeseen conditions while still negotiating with the trades, incorporating them into the buyout while negotiating the final cost, which can make a big difference not only cost-wise but also from a schedule standpoint by finding issues, proposing solutions, and having them integrated into the plans so no time is lost to the unknown. “We unearth the unforeseen conditions. We understand how to get distribution for the mechanical systems and the electrical systems from A to B, and it really cuts down on costs and time for the client.”

Indeed, the team’s extensive experience serving senior living, multi-unit dwellings, affordable housing, and hospitality—all focused on occupied settings—has resulted in understanding how to phase projects, how to keep people safe, how to include safe traffic controls, and how to allow the business entity itself to continue to generate revenue. Working across 18 states, the company has recently completed a number of national rebrands of senior living facilities to the tune of about $1.5 million per building, completed in three to four months, which again speaks to the performance of the company’s pre-con and operators.

A big challenge over the last two years has been dealing with a huge groundswell of work coming out of work delayed due to COVID, especially in occupied spaces. While there was a huge spike in revenue in 2022 and 2023, rising interest rates made it cost-prohibitive for many South Coast clients to have the work done. “We had to pivot to make sure we kept our talent in the seats and were able to continue to generate revenue,” Quinlan says. “We pivoted pretty quickly to occupied public work and were very thankful and fortunate to have success doing public work in the state of Massachusetts due to, I think, our company’s ability to understand and listen to what our clients were telling us.”

Now, with interest rates slated to come down and private money activity come back, the company is well poised for 2026.

In terms of milestones, the company’s contracted work along with projects in the pipeline are very strong going into 2026, pointing to South Coast breaking through the $100 million mark in revenue. “That’s a big deal to us as a company. When you reach that benchmark, it puts you in a new stratum, with more opportunities for our folks to grow.”

Upcoming work includes a number of large, occupied renovations in the senior living and affordable housing space kicking off the first and second quarters, along with expanding its maintenance work. This is the actual work that got South Coast to where it is: refreshing the paint, the carpet, the millwork, and the fixtures. The company will also be expanding its CapEx division, where it can again serve its clients’ maintenance needs.

“It’s going to solidify the company in this senior living and affordable housing space,” says Quinlan. “That type of work is low risk, low competition, with really great returns on client satisfaction.”

Having vital maintenance work done while managing to keep facilities open and operating is ideal, and if companies come to South Coast for the work, it can be done easily, giving them one less thing to worry about, he says. “That’s really how we built the company. In 2026 we’re really making a hard push to expand our CapEx division as well as our construction management services.”

But what continues to make South Coast Improvement Company stand out, Quinlan stresses, is its client focus. “I think my brother has done a great job. We have five matrices of success, and they really define what success looks like at South Coast.”

The first is ensuring that every job site is kept safe. “Safety is number one. We want everybody going home the way they came to work,” Quinlan says. “The second one is, is your client happy? Are they going to use you again? Are they a reference?”

Number three is, as a for-profit business, holding margin and maintaining the margin set in pre-con, and the fourth element is staying on schedule. “Staying on schedule, a safe site, the client’s thrilled, we’re making money, and then the last one is subcontractors: are they performing? Those are the five things our people can ask themselves every day on their projects.”

A lot of people don’t know what success means in construction, he adds. “It’s a really hard business, and I think my brother did a wonderful job of laying out what that looks like, and we stick to the plan,” Quinlan says. “We have clear expectations, a clear definition of success in our pre-construction department, and I really think that separates us from the rest of the industry.”

The post Safety, Satisfaction, Expertise<p class="company">South Coast Improvement Company</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Founded an impressive 80 years ago, the current management team has been in place since 2002, and since that time, the company has grown significantly, boasting a mixed portfolio of retail, light industrial, office properties, and multi-family.

“We’re in an age where many real estate investment firms are specializing in one specific property type or another,” says Rich S. Johnson, Chairman, President, and CEO. “We found that our strategy works well for us to have a diversified portfolio, and that’s a format we’re committed to and think is very beneficial, particularly when there’s a lull in a certain type of property.”

He explains that during the Great Recession, for instance, warehousing vacancies skyrocketed but the company’s diversified, residential portfolio was strong, serving as insulation for Wilton against a certain degree of market risk.

“That makes us a little bit different, and we consider it to be a strength as we move forward with our operations,” says Mr. Johnson. “We’re always in a buy mode; we rarely sell a property… for the most part, we’re buyers and long-term holders.”

The Wilton Companies’ strategy is a bit unique, he adds, where a lot of investment firms hold a property for several years before flipping it. “We’re long-term holders, and that’s worked very well for us, and we’re committed to continuing that strategy,” Mr. Johnson says.

In terms of proposed developments, Canterbury Green Apartments and Armitage Apartments are two that are now in the permitting and zoning stage. “It’s going to be done in two phases,” says Vice President B. Hunt Gunter of Canterbury Green Apartments, a 180,000-square-foot, brick, five-story, mixed-use apartment complex. “We’ll have 132 units in total when it’s all said and done, and just shy of 10,000 square feet of office space.”

Offering studios, and one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, the building will also feature a number of amenities such as rooftop pickleball courts, rooftop sitting areas, barbecue areas, and a dog park on the ground level. “We’re going to have something very unique, not only for Richmond, but for Virginia and maybe the country,” adds Lindsey Johnson, Director of Human Resources, Corporate Governance and Executive Support, and Corporate Secretary.

The second project, Armitage Apartments, was originally built in 1890, an impressive historic property that is being developed with up to 160 apartments offered in sizes from studios to two bedrooms. This two-story warehouse structure situated on a 4.56-acre plot of land was originally the Armitage Manufacturing Company, later used in other manufacturing and storage operations.

The Armitage—also mixed-use with some retail space—will feature a full range of amenities that include a workout room, a pool, a coffee bar, and a dog walk area as well, adds Mr. Gunter.

“Also, because the Armitage property was built in 1890, we will be pursuing historic tax credits on that as part of that development, which is very significant,” Mr. Johnson explains. Although it’s challenging to outfit historic buildings with modern-day sustainable features, both of these apartment complexes will offer ENERGY STAR appliances as well as Low-E glass.

Aside from the pride it takes in its longevity and its numerous impressive projects, Wilton is also “extraordinarily proud” of its employee base and credits them for the company’s ongoing success. “We have a lot of long-term employees; some have been with us for decades,” says Ms. Johnson. “When we run a workforce that not only includes the office staff but everybody from landscape crews to our maintenance team and a brokerage operation—our turnover rate is extraordinarily low [across the board], and we’re quite proud of that,” she shares.

“We recently had an employee retire who came to work at The Wilton Companies when she was 18 years old, retired at 72, and never worked anyplace else,” Ms. Johnson says. “It’s unusual that people stay with one company their entire career. The Director of Maintenance worked for the company under the previous ownership, and now he oversees all of our maintenance operations, and his son now works here as well. That legacy situation is something we take pride in.”

Clearly, finding and retaining employees isn’t a challenge for Wilton, but the team does remember the difficulties faced during COVID and the impact the pandemic had not only on the company as an employer but also on its tenants.

“When everything was locked down, we took great pride in the fact that we had a plan prior to the big shutdown, and we executed the plan and saved a lot of tenants from going out of business,” says Ms. Johnson.

Wilton’s rent suspension program also worked well for tenants during the height of the pandemic, Rich Johnson adds. “It seems like things had just gotten back to normal after the Great Recession when all of a sudden the pandemic hit. Now in the current period of time with both of those largely in the rearview mirror, we’re coming into economic uncertainty with the tariffs and the political climate, domestically and internationally, in turmoil. It certainly makes it an interesting time to be in business and an interesting time to observe how we need to react and watch how others react.”

Challenges abound for sure, but so do opportunities, and The Wilton Companies, with their decades of experience through numerous uncertainties, have persevered through commitment to each other and to the surrounding community.

“We live in your neighborhoods, we shop at our tenants’ stores, and chances are our kids are in school together and play soccer and are on sports teams,” says CFO Cameron “Chip” Vaughn. “Even though Richmond has grown bigger over the years, we’re still kind of a small town, a tertiary market, and we’re not an out-of-town landlord who doesn’t care about out tenants and neighbors.”

Looking ahead, Wilton is focused on its two new apartment developments, on which the company is working with the County and the City of Richmond to navigate the permitting and zoning process. Once those elements are complete, then over the course of the following 12 to 18 months, getting those projects built and stabilized will be at the forefront for Wilton, while continuing to renovate and reimagine some of its other properties.

“We have a revolving program of upgrades where there’s always significant renovation going on, between repaving parking lots, replacing roofs, and refacing buildings,” Mr. Johnson tells us. “We’re committed to keeping our buildings attractive and modern, and therefore better investments for us and better parts of the community.”

At the moment, the team has a number of parking lots on the docket for this year, next year, and the year after, along with a recycling shop and a few shopping centers in play. “We are absolutely committed to making sure all the properties stand in very positive, strong tradition.”

Wilton employees are also committed to a number of philanthropic efforts, with many serving on community boards and the company offering internships to young men and women every summer via the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. “We like to give back to the community that has made us successful,” says Mr. Gunter.

Wilton also strives to support nonprofits in the form of a rent discount so they can better achieve their goals, adds Mr. Johnson. “We have some very large, well-known nonprofits that we rent to, and some small ones that nobody ever would have heard of in the past, but our recognition levels are if you’re 501(c)(3), recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, you qualify.”

It all comes down to the fact that The Wilton Companies work diligently to support the entire community whenever possible, a fact that is clearly reflected in the company’s success, longevity, and employees’ desire to remain there for their entire careers.

“It signals to us that this is a good place to work, and we certainly take pride in the fact that our employees are very important to us, and they’re the reason we’ve been as successful as we’ve been,” says Rich Johnson. “We’ve got a staff that we try to take the best care of, and in turn, the staff takes care of our tenants and clients accordingly, which makes it a win-win.”

The post Longevity, Community, Loyalty<p class="company">The Wilton Companies</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

From public buildings to mansions, townhouses, and apartments, there is almost nothing the company cannot build in this way. Avalon is even building hotels for some of the biggest international names in the hospitality industry. To date, it has erected nearly 2,000 durable buildings along the East Coast since its inception in 1999.

Despite Avalon’s longevity, there is still confusion about what modular homes are. In the United States, it is common for people to mistake manufactured and hybrid modular homes for genuine modular homes. While both types of structures are prefabricated in factories, a truly modular building comprises a collection of wood-framed cubes, or modules, expertly engineered and fitted together to render beautiful, custom homes and even multi-story buildings up to five floors high, all while adhering to high-quality building standards. None of these attributes are a given when it comes to manufactured homes.

Avalon Building Systems’ structures are so well-designed and fabricated that it is easy to confuse them with site-built ones. That is, of course, in contrast with manufactured homes which are traditionally one-story high. And since the building codes in the area are of such a high standard, the company’s modular construction automatically complies with most Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specifications. Beyond relying on its own expertise, the company partners with longstanding suppliers throughout the Northeast.

At times, it also happens that the team gets called in to do renovations on existing, traditional buildings. In many cases, President Paul Oliveira points out, the renovation cost is so high that, while still following strict local building regulations and code, demolishing and replacing them with modular homes often results in lower or similar expenditure for a brand-new home.

“Every home is engineered and stamped to meet local and national codes—which is not required in site-built construction,” he says.

As part of complying with energy efficiency ratings, Avalon’s modular buildings are as tightly sealed as well-built traditional buildings. Naturally, that means adding thorough ventilation to meet health and safety codes. “Our buildings are probably tighter than most,” he continues.

Many of Avalon’s clients are in highly urbanized areas like New Jersey, Boston, and New York, where labor costs are higher to match the cost of living but benefit from the company’s strategic, more rural factory locations. Since this allows for a considerable reduction in construction costs, it is also ideal for affordable housing.

Beyond the financial, environmental, and speed advantages, modular construction is far less disruptive to communities. Sites are becoming trickier to navigate in urban areas, so without the months of noisy construction and hardly any additional traffic, modular construction is a godsend. Adding to this is the added gain of incorporating recycled materials into modular construction.

After a quarter century of the exciting possibilities of modular buildings, the market is now increasingly accepting of this modern, more environmentally friendly building method—but this was not always the case. Oliveira saw the writing on the wall with regard to traditional construction—and the accompanying labor and cost challenges—more than two and a half decades ago. As an engineer, he decided to take matters into his own hands by building a company that is not just future-proof but also progressive in its methods.

Now, as fewer young people train in traditional trades, factory fabrication makes more sense every day. To Oliveira, modular buildings are superior in every way. “We can build anything,” he says. Modular buildings, he says, are superior “in terms of construction, efficiency, speed and timing.” With taller buildings, like hotels, featuring parking garages beneath and topped with as many as five stories, load bearing is typically solved by fortifying the base structure or podium with steel and/or concrete. That is then loaded with room boxes stacked on top of one another. As with the company’s homes, these buildings are completed in record time, with a standard hotel assembled in one week on average.

The value Avalon offers speaks for itself. Through high-volume bulk purchasing and fabrication by expert hands in a controlled environment according to strict specifications and quality control, these buildings stand head and shoulders above traditional wood and concrete construction, particularly in the current economic and environmental climate, Oliveira believes. “All the inefficiencies of site-built construction are gone. Many people think [modular] is very limited when, in fact, it is very expansive,” he continues.

Avalon Building Systems not only specializes in fabricating modular buildings; the team also uses modular foundations made of purpose-specific, pressure-treated lumber combined with concrete panels. These usually take only a day to place with a crane, further improving lead times. Furthermore, the company ensures that its equipment stays current, and this includes the software it uses to provide customers with a range of drawings and visualizations of future buildings. “Once people see the manufacturing process, they understand the quality of the product,” Oliveira says.

Growth in the industry continues to be driven mainly by cost considerations and striving for shorter lead times, and because of this, the company’s clientele and the size of its projects are also growing. This benefits Avalon, as doing business is not about hard selling as much as sharing information with prospective buyers. In essence, the selling is done by the product itself.

Acquiring one of these homes from the company is a process that is made exceedingly simple. Instead of selling clients an ideal, the team works to discover what people need. Initial meetings where exact customer needs and budgets are mapped are followed by preliminary designs, and once the client is happy, the engineering process starts. A professional engineer signs off on the plans and the building phase starts, with an approximate 10-week fabrication lead time.

The best part is that delivery day means these homes are complete with utilities, cabinetry, and absolutely everything they need to function as a home. “There’s nothing more amazing than having a family walk into a brand-new home. We have had people cry from happiness,” Oliveira shares.

Another great joy is, of course, the speed at which labor progresses. Clients may leave the building site with nothing but a memory of the foundations, only to return to an entire building welcoming them a day later.

As a result of its many happy customers and suppliers, Avalon has been honored with a number of industry awards. But the business would be nothing without its team of diligent, hardworking people. Following the firm’s established ethos of honesty and a clear work ethic, its staff members are all here because they excel at what they do. Priding itself on doing good, honest work has meant a lot of repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations as satisfied customers refer friends and family to Avalon Building Systems.

The team takes customers’ needs to heart, with expedited service for disaster survivors being one way in which it gives back to the community. One case in point was when Avalon completed and delivered 30 homes to replace residences after Hurricane Sandy, the Category 3 Atlantic hurricane that cost New York and New Jersey over $69 billion in damage. Oliveira feels strongly about supporting disaster victims. “We’re happy to help people. They should come to us when there’s an issue like fire or some type of catastrophe; we will take proper care of them. We won’t take advantage of them,” he says.

Increasing numbers of developers are turning to Avalon Building Systems for solutions in the wake of rising subcontractor costs and the labor crisis, so there is an even more promising expansion on the horizon for this visionary firm. As its projects grow in size, the company continues to refine its systems and improve its processes, all to meet and exceed its customers’ needs.

The post Affordable and Modern Modular Buildings<p class="company">Avalon Building Systems</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

As the business developed, it expanded its services under the management of Frank’s son, John Franklin Hurckman, moving toward heating and ventilation. In 1983, the company’s name was changed to Hurckman Mechanical Industries Inc. following the acquisition of Lindsley Plumbing and Heating Company. It grew in success as it grew in size and has been overseen by President and Chief Executive Officer Brad Hurckman since 2003, the third generation of the family to lead the eponymous company. Brad has played an incremental role in leading the company to its current position.

Hurckman has expanded its services to become a comprehensive mechanical contractor that customers can rely on for numerous services such as design/build, engineering, industrial refrigeration, industrial piping, and insulation, as well as the installation of sheet metal, piping, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems. Specifically, HMI’s insulation services have helped Hurckman stand out from its competitors.

Chief Operations Officer Jake Warden has been a part of Hurckman for nine years, and even in that relatively short time, he has seen the company more than double in size. This boom within the past decade and a half can be attributed to several factors including the company’s growing presence in federal work, biogas, and industrial piping, a presence that has both bolstered its operations and given it the opportunity to look at other types of industrial and federal work.

Mechanical systems work at a federal level often involves a great deal of preplanning, paperwork, and commissioning. This work can have a steeper learning curve and a more demanding timetable than typical opportunities, making the challenges considerable. However, with a few of these projects under Hurckman’s belt, the company has become much more comfortable with them, and has leveraged this experience into further success, making Hurckman stronger and better adaptable to preplanning, paperwork, and commissioning.

Warden says, “With all the lessons learned and our newfound strategies in preplanning and commissioning, it only makes us a stronger mechanical contractor, prepared to take on additional challenges.”

Another factor to which the company attributes its successes has been the emergence of markets related to the biogas sector. Projects involving biogas often come with objectives like turning waste on farms into fuel sources, an endeavor that the company has been involved with since its earlier days. “Helping find ways to turn waste into energy, as well as doing our part in finding ways to be green, underscores our commitment to sustainable practices and the advancement of biogas projects.” Warden continues to say that the broad age range among staff, from newcomers to veterans with over 30 years in the business, has allowed the company to enter more diverse markets like biogas and beyond, as well as keep up to date with new technologies like Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Hurckman has continued to see great accomplishments in the size of its projects; a couple of years ago, a typical large project was valued at around $2 to 4 million, while its biggest project on record from last year was in the $10 million to $20 million range. Warden says this is a big feather in the company’s cap and shows that it can achieve something of that large scale within a client’s required timeframe.

The size of these projects requires a bigger staff and facilities. To meet this demand, the company has expanded from its previous Green Bay headquarters into another building in the downtown area that houses its sales and estimating teams. The official ribbon cutting on the new building is scheduled for later this year. Warden says the company now adds this Broadway location to its existing locations in Green Bay, Marinette, and Weston, thereby expanding its operations into four distinct locations.

A more proactive approach to marketing has been taken recently, especially when it comes to reaching new clients. Additional work with its online presence has allowed the company to further improve this marketing push, which is part of the work for which Marketing Coordinator Peyton Daul was hired about a year ago.

Daul says that a common theme in today’s construction industry is that many companies have outdated marketing practices that need updating, an area that Hurckman identified as one that it wanted to improve. It was able to mitigate this sector-wide weak spot by focusing on its advertising strategy, hiring Daul to take advantage of the online marketing channel by boosting social media engagement and upgrading its graphics and websites. This type of marketing work is simple and self-explanatory, he says, but sets the company apart from the pack.

The construction industry is remarkably busy right now, with lots of work to bid on and consider. Hurckman is winning its fair share of work with no slowdown in sight; however, COVID continues to play a role in both the cost of goods and increased lead time. These issues, as well as a general lack of available and skilled workforce, are a challenge, but Hurckman continues to develop innovative solutions to stay competitive on pricing and to find ways to meet or exceed customers’ timeline expectations.

Broadly speaking, there has been a strong push for young people to obtain a college degree, while workforce development has not received adequate attention, even though skilled trades have historically been an appealing career path for younger workers, offering both financial stability and job security. Warden underscores the importance of regularly building the team by tapping into the younger generation’s talent, stating that failing to do so will put the industry at a disadvantage.

Creating a secure workspace for new team members is part of this effort, and Warden says that, as a business with over 70 years’ experience in the market, Hurckman Mechanical Industries does everything possible to ensure a safe environment for its workers. In fact, just last year, it celebrated the milestone of one million zero-lost-work hours. On the rare instances when mistakes do happen, all levels of the company work together to figure out what and why they occurred to prevent issues from happening in the future. Warden says that communication is imperative. “We do a good job of understanding markets and interpreting feedback from all levels.”

The team wants to continue its growth through the upcoming decade and beyond, building on the avenues it has set up for its success, like its newer locations. There are sectors that Hurckman has yet to find its way into, and an area of interest is to see how company growth keeps up with moving into these new areas.

Hurckman Mechanical Industries has seen the industry grow from its pen-and-paper roots into a field that is heavily computerized, meaning that everything has sped up considerably across the 70-plus years it has been in business. The company is now on the forefront of utilizing artificial intelligence wherever it can in its processes, so bringing in the younger generation that knows modern technology and marketing is imperative to continued growth.

Warden says that current President Brad Hurckman will soon be stepping further away from his management position and allowing new leadership to step up. This is an exciting prospect for many, as there currently are many younger leaders within the business who will have the opportunity to be the faces of the company in the decades to come after Hurckman takes his leave. Warden says that this represents a great opportunity for the entire company to further unite and carry on the work into the future: “New Year, New Hurckman was the motto going into 2024, and what that means is when we all work together well, we see what the future could be, and we are excited for that growth!”

The post Spreading the Word and Reaping the Rewards<p class="company">Hurckman Mechanical Industries</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

But as an independent giant in the Canadian industrial and commercial equipment supply sphere, CanLift Equipment Ltd. prides itself on being—and would rather be seen as—a close-knit, family-run outfit specializing in providing customers with the best deals in earthmoving, material handling, and airlifting equipment available for sale and rent in the country.

Primarily serving the construction and manufacturing industries, the company is known for its personable, face-to-face approach to business and warm welcomes. Established by siblings Marko and Johnny Dragicevic, Managing Partners; childhood friend Ryan Fitzgibbon, Director of Technology and Marketing; and Jacob Fuller, this Burlington, Ontario-based operation celebrated its fifteenth anniversary on May 14 this year.

A good start in a bad year
Jumping into the industry with vision and much courage during the economic slump of 2008, the four partners took advantage of rental possibilities resulting from the volumes of equipment available due to units being rushed onto the market during that troubled time as owners looked to free up their capital and banks reclaimed property.

Today, the company offers 24/7 service support, quality parts, and financing. Its customers also benefit from a satellite office in London, Ontario. Opening this facility in 2012 has helped the company expand its reach significantly, ensuring that its customers in towns like Tillsonburg, Strathroy, Stratford, St. Thomas, Simcoe, Sarnia, Listowel, Kitchener, Ingersoll, Goderich, Exeter, Chatham, Cambridge, Brantford, Aylmer, and others all receive the top-quality service they’ve become accustomed to.

CanLift represents a number of well-respected equipment brands like Genie, JLG, Haulotte, and others. Its product portfolio includes everything from forklifts, scissor lifts, telehandlers, graders, and skid steers to wheel loaders and compactors. The CanLift team provides customers with new and used equipment alongside its other services.

Ensuring the absolute safety of client sites, staff, and the public, the company also offers Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)-compliant safety and operating training at its customers’ facilities or its own. By giving operators firsthand experience with the equipment before launching machines in the field, seasoned and novice operators get the opportunity to hone their skills in aerial, forklift, and scissor lift safety, skid steer safety, and more.

The company’s courses also include educating staff in fall protection and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), the official Canadian hazard communication system for Canadian workplaces and a trusted source of health and safety information on hazardous products in local places of employment.

While some aspects of its courses are available for completion online, the theory modules of every course must be completed by each applicant in person in the presence of a course instructor. Customer needs remain a priority at every step of the process.

Leasing, a strategic option
Doing business with CanLift Equipment is also significantly eased for firms preferring to hedge their cash-flow situations by leasing equipment rather than committing precious working capital to the expansion of their fleets.

Working hand-in-hand with CWB National leasing, the firm established this option for customers who need material handling machines to expand their outfits while remaining out of the red at the bank.

To make access as easy as possible, CanLift even offers a handy lease calculator on its website, giving potential customers an idea of the cost before they reach out for assistance. There is also a direct application option with CWB National Leasing to speed up the process further.

Telehandlers in a hurry
To be sure, this is a proactive firm that adapts to market trends fast—like last year, when a telehandler crisis meant expanding its range to support customer operations by ending the shortage.

To achieve its goal, CanLift introduced a couple of new models to its portfolio, making both the XTF1256K and XTF1056K models—favoured for outstanding reliability and operating prowess by Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd (XCMG)—available for purchase and rent. The metal titans’ specifications are impressive. Complete with a 130.1 hp Cummins engine and several easily attached accessories fitted via a hydraulic quick coupler, the XTF1256K provides 56-foot reach, an average levelling range of 10, and a lift capacity of about 12,000 lbs—impressive by anybody’s measure.

“We are excited to announce the latest additions to our fleet, two telehandlers that are set to enhance CanLift’s product line,” Johnny Dragicevic told GlobeNewswire.com. “With a current telehandler shortage, we are confident that these machines will not only address the pressing need but also provide our clients with exceptional performance and reliability.”

A people business
Another result of the company’s agility, combined with the attention it pays to customer needs, is the quality of its relationships with longstanding staff as well as everyone it works with external to its own ranks. The company is openly proud of the calibre of its knowledgeable team of nearly 50.

“We strive to maintain the highest ratio of qualified service technicians to products served in the market, and our goal is to build long-lasting relationships with each of our clients and all equipment rental companies to ensure their complete satisfaction with every interaction,” says company management on CanLift’s website.

Set apart
Success breeds success, and CanLift is no exception. By building an equipment fleet of well over 1000 units, the company’s strength has become obvious and undeniable. “In a market dominated by multinationals and private equity, our accessibility, hands-on approach, and commitment to customer satisfaction sets us apart from our competitors,” says the company website.

Now, CanLift has achieved 100 percent growth over just eight terms in 2022 and 2023. The company ascribes its upward mobility to being versatile, giving customers sufficient choice, maintaining sound business strategies, and sticking to its traditional good values.

As is evident, continuing investment leads the way here. Recently acquiring more than a hundred various boom lifts that can reach increased height ranges, CanLift aims to support customers in their projects in new and innovative ways as part of steadily growing its presence throughout the country. And, with sincere relationships, excellence, and authenticity at the forefront of everything CanLift does, maintaining growth appears to be a signed and sealed deal for this trusted equipment supplier.

The post Raising Up Canada<p class="company">CanLift Equipment</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

“There’s a reason we are the #1 remodeling company in Arizona,” the company website states. “We provide quality and professional services at the lowest price, guaranteed. Our high-end bathroom remodeling Phoenix and kitchen remodeling Phoenix are top-rated in Arizona for a reason.”

Danny Holtzman and his son, Brandon, founded the company in 2006. As a family-owned and operated business, Holtzman Home Improvement emphasizes long-lasting relationships and communication. Site visits with the superintendent keep homeowners up to date and fully involved throughout every stage of the project.

Via a link on the company website, clients can track the company’s progress via a personal, online project calendar. They can log in to approve selections and stay abreast of daily progress. These updates include photos of the construction site.

This open communication allows the company’s craftsmen and designers to carefully customize each client’s project to their individual needs while maximizing space and keeping within the budget. Three-dimensional designs give clients the opportunity to preview the project so they know exactly what to expect before the work begins. Whatever the project, design, or budget, all of the company’s work comes with a five-year warranty in addition to any manufacturer warranties.

Holtzman Home Improvement offers free consultations so that clients can get an idea of what to expect before they commit. Clients are invited to visit the company’s showroom, where the team will share information on current trends, show completed projects, and provide 3D renderings. This lets clients envision the end result of a job before the work begins, helping them to make the best decision on how to proceed with their individual project. The showroom is also open to the public, so anyone is welcome to come in, meet one-on-one with a designer, and browse options for potential projects.

These efforts have paid off, earning the company a number of coveted industry awards. Holtzman Home Improvement is a Top 500 2023 Qualified Remodeler, the recipient of ten Houzz Awards for both design and service, and a 2023 Quality Business Awards winner with a quality rating of over 95 percent.

The team provides interior remodeling services that range from a quick painting project to entire room additions. This might include flooring, painting, fireplaces, bookshelves and cabinets, wet bars, lighting, or all of the above.

When it comes to kitchens, the company has expertise in a breadth of work, from custom islands to complete chef kitchens. It prides itself on balancing practical use and style. Taking full advantage of space is always a focus. From renovations to building an entire custom kitchen from the ground up, Holtzman Home Improvement is well prepared for the challenge.

As a deeply rooted part of the Phoenix area, Holtzman’s team members understand the design needs and tastes of the area’s residents. They observe and respond to local trends, utilizing the latest designs as well as local elements to create spaces ideal for the market. The use of premium materials ensures the company’s work will stand the test of time.

“Phoenix is a city that seamlessly blends tradition with innovation, and at Holtzman Remodeling, we mirror that ethos in our approach to kitchen design,” the company website details. “Drawing inspiration from the city’s rich history and the modern vibes of its bustling downtown, our kitchens are thoughtfully designed to be the centerpiece of your home.”

The company also specializes in bathroom remodeling and new construction, handling all aspects from design to completion. Specific elements include bathtubs, plumbing, countertops, flooring, mirrors, showers, sink and shower fixtures, and tile. The team works hard to simplify the process and shorten the timeframe for complete bathroom designs and remodels. Clients have a wide variety of options, from modern to traditional. The design team focuses on making the best use of functional storage while maintaining style and a high level of craftsmanship—all while staying within the client’s financial plan. Collaboration is welcome as the team works with clients to create the bathroom they want.

Home additions, meanwhile, are complete, turn-key solutions like bedroom, family room, bathroom, kitchen, second story, and bonus room additions. These bonus room additions allow clients to add virtually any space to their home, from offices to gyms or game rooms. Some clients are looking for more space to house a growing family, while others want to add new features to their homes. Whatever the goal, Holtzman Home Improvement is committed to meeting it, from start to finish.

The process of adding to a client’s home is easy and streamlined, even when the job is large. The team handles every aspect of the room and home addition, beginning with the design phase. After receiving final approval from the client, its remodeling specialists work hard to complete the installation on time and within budget.

After nearly two decades in business, this family-run company has earned its place as a fixture in the Phoenix area contracting scene. From a commitment to communication and quality craftsmanship to the ability to deliver customized solutions, the Holtzman team knows how to bring a project to life and has the awards to prove it.

The post A Balance of Practicality and Style<p class="company">Holtzman Home Improvement </p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

With a background in multi-family apartments, Rosenwasser initially focused mainly on Class C value-add properties, renovating them after purchasing. When that became a less attractive option, he looked to explore something new, resulting in single-family homes for rent, a new asset class. However, upon speaking to several builders, some of the larger ones were not interested in doing a site deal, while the smaller ones were unclear whether they’d have the scope or capacity to do it.

“We have a very strong focus on our market, which is what we call today in politics the Forgotten Middle,” says Rosenwasser. “In government there’s a focus on affordable housing and having places to live, but what about the middle class, which is what America is really driven by and what makes this great nation unique?”

A lot of INB buyers are teachers, firefighters, police, and engineers, he adds, so while the company strives to make its homes affordable, it also ensures certain finishes raise the bar with more modern styling.

“I was consulting to one of the builders [Mark] talked to, and that’s how we met. Then we thought we’d do it the hard way and start our own home-building company, contracting from a general contractor or a homebuilder. So that’s what we did,” says Richter.

The company started off in a “more-or-less abandoned” call center with just two people discussing business planning and growth strategies before adding a part-time accountant and someone who could build, purchase, and permit.

“We started with a relatively small team, then once we got off the ground, we hired a builder, field managers, superintendent, and grew from there,” says Richter.

Growing from a tiny company to a larger one created some challenges, he adds. “Initially you need all generalists because everybody has to do a little bit of everything. Then as you expand, you can start to specialize and now you have somebody who just does permitting or purchasing or construction management or construction administration.” On top of that, there was COVID to deal with, which exacerbated the typical challenges of developing a startup.

“We really wanted to do a built-for-rent company,” explains Richter. “We designed our product with a focus on that, where everything had resilient hard surfaces, flooring, and countertops—nicer features than just bottom of the barrel. No carpet, no laminate countertops, no one-piece PVC.” These choices benefit both future resale value and the tenants living in the home.

Before going to market with a built-for-rent model, Richter suggested selling a few units to make sure they were a good product. “If you build something and basically sell it to yourself, you can always pretend it’s great, but maybe it isn’t,” he says. “Instead, we put them on the market, and it was very successful.”

Realizing the company was meeting with more success than anticipated, the duo decided to continue on this path and for the first six months, sold homes instead of putting them into the rental pool, recycling the money, and enjoying “pretty nice” margins.

“Then we decided that’s really not what we’re all about. We really wanted to do built-for-rent, and we switched back to the original plans of building up a rental pool of single-family homes,” Richter says. “But as the product seemed to have a good acceptance, we brought in a second investor who’s interested more in built-for-sale, not built-for-rent.”

Beginning in 2020, the company morphed into dual-track built-for-rent and built-for-sale, showing impressive growth from a very modest 20 to 30 homes in the first year or two in the “scattered lot” markets in Palm Coast and Palm Bay, to 150 units last year.

2020 also saw the introduction of the company’s more traditional subdivision business—where Richter’s background in home building shines—in addition to the scattered lot areas in Palm Bay and Palm Coast.

“This is a new-ish area for us. To some degree, when those opportunities came down the pipeline and were ready to build and go active, the built-for-rent market had slowed down very significantly,” Richter says. “As of early 2023, new projects have been extremely challenging, between high cap rates, project finance, construction, and rent. As cost went up, cap rates went up, construction costs went up, and it became more and more difficult.”

While building permits are generally a lengthy process, Florida has also always been more challenging due to numerous regulations and environmental concerns. Municipalities tend to be understaffed and there’s always the “wild card” of a municipality changing its mind and turning down a project after a company has done everything they’ve been told to do, Richter explains.

But INB has continued to find success. Its first project at Bimini Bay was intended to be built-for-rent but ended up selling to a homebuilder for a solid profit that was put back into the company for growth. At this point, the company owns two subdivisions in the Orlando area, with 151 units and 250 units.

Perfecting the building of a home in a short period of time is a challenge, of course, but one the company has continually invested in and is proud of.

As a newer and fast-growing company, other challenges include breaking into an industry and trying to disrupt it. “Obviously, the pandemic was probably the most difficult time to build, and then there were high interest rates,” Rosenwasser says. “We’re really appreciative of being a builder able to not only survive during that time, but really thrive and see our team coming together.” Indeed, what began as 19 homes in the company’s first year now stands at 500.

In terms of product design, the company’s offerings were initially designed as built-for-rent and planned as efficiently as possible, with smaller floor plans of 1,500 square feet and no wasted space. “We try to minimize wasted space as much as possible to save money and still offer a very livable three-bedroom in the smallest possible footprint,” Richter says. “Some of the money we save there can be put into nicer finishes, like quartz or granite countertops and luxury vinyl plank flooring. Showers are not one-piece PVC; they’re tile to the ceiling. We use nice light fixtures, and our faucets are a level above the builder grade that you might see in some of our competitors.”

The philosophy behind this approach is practical: even rentals eventually are sold, perhaps several years down the road, at which point slightly nicer features will make a big impact. “Even though they’re entry-level price points, they are homes that I think most people would look at and say: ‘that’s a really nice house,’” Richter says. “They can live in this house without spending anything other than maintenance for the next few years.”

Costs are also kept low by keeping it simple. “A lot of small builders will develop tens of different products for different communities, but we’re really focused on keeping our model count low in order to keep that cost down and deliver the most bang for the buck,” Rosenwasser explains. This means three models maximum that all look different and all feel different, but ultimately, when looking at the bones and the core of the home, it’s really three core floor layouts.

INB Homes is also looking to widen its subdivision offerings in the coming years, with a new single-family home 74-unit subdivision community slated to begin construction in Q4 of this year or Q1 of next year. “It will be a really beautiful community, still affordable luxury,” says Rosenwasser.

“The growth is going to come from the subdivisions, and right now we have a strong focus on Central Florida,” says Richter. “That’s the whole Orlando area and then the East Coast, with moving over to Tampa Bay the next logical step.”

While high mortgage interest rates make it difficult for potential homebuyers, Central Florida is still a very vibrant market where land acquisition is extremely competitive. “We’re unique in the fact that we focus very much on good acquisition,” Rosenwasser adds. “We’re very bullish on buying and building. We have a 1,000-unit pipeline because we’re very focused on the future.”

INB knows when the market turns and when interest rates start going down or stabilize and is ready to jump. “Getting good land positions is key,” Rosenwasser shares. “Every good project will have lots of homebuilders going after it, so being a private builder is an advantage because we can close on a property at preliminary site plan (PSP) approval, which most public builders can’t or won’t do.”

If a seller has a piece of land and says they want to see money within the year, chances are there won’t be final development to the point where you can start “moving dirt” and putting infrastructure in, he says, which is where almost all public builders want to be before they close.

“We can close at PSP when it’s entitled but not engineered yet. That typically saves anywhere between six months and a year,” says Richter. “If you have a seller that wants to see money a little bit earlier, we can close with a PSP—albeit at a lower price, but it’s attractive for many sellers. So that is an advantage that we have.”

While similar private companies could do what INB is doing, many of those smaller companies don’t have the acquisition, entitlement, and engineering expertise, meaning they avoid the subdivision segment unless they can buy finished lots. “We have that [expertise] in-house, so we can go through the process from an unentitled piece of dirt to a developed lot,” Richter says. “It’s an expertise you have to build up, and many of the smaller outfits don’t have that; they just build houses.”

And the entire INB team is on board with the company vision. “We treat employees like family and partners. Everybody really feels like a partner in this, and our goal is to keep that going even as we grow,” Rosenwasser says. “Sometimes as you grow that can dissipate a little bit, but we’re really trying to push that very, very hard. Because we really feel that way,” he says.

“Ultimately, we’re really looking ahead and investing in our future,” says Rosenwasser. “We’re working to get our hands on the lots that we need to really build out those communities that we want and get to that size that we want to be.”

The post Quality You Can Afford<p class="company">INB Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

For the past 50 years, this Indiana-based company has held the distinction of being America’s largest spray foam contractor. SPF roofs as applied by Insulated Roofing Contractors—a seamless system that has an impressive 35-year average lifespan—have many benefits over other products like modified bitumen, Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO), urethane, acrylic, and other applied-liquid roofing.

In addition to SPF roofing, the company has also incorporated many other roofing solutions including single ply, and has been recognized with awards in that area of roof servicing as well.

Family values
Since opening its doors in 1974, Insulated Roofing Contractors has completed between 10,000 and 12,000 jobs, installing at least 150 million square feet of insulated roof. Working across all 50 states and taking on some jobs in Canada, Insulated Roofing has consistently been the #1 choice of building owners, and for good reason.

“We’ve always done commercial roofing, and never tapped into the residential market,” says Marketing Director Justin Baird of the company started by his grandfather, Melvin Stumler, Melvin’s brother, and another partner in 1974. Over time, some investors sold their shares in the business while other family members joined the company, which remains proudly family-owned a half-century later.

“My grandfather was presented with this business opportunity, saw that everybody needed a roof, and the rest is history,” says Baird, who started working summers at the business.

Starting out with just a single truck and trailer and a lot of polyurethane foam, the business today employs between 130 and 140 field and office employees, depending on the season. While displaying impressive growth, IRC has upheld its reputation for quality, customer service, and adherence to family values.

“Loyalty goes a very long way,” says Baird of the company’s high staff retention rate. “We treat everybody like family here at Insulated Roofing. I have actual family members who work for me, but I consider every single person in the office and in the field our family as well. I feel like everybody here at Insulated has a sense of belonging. They feel appreciated. We always look out for them if they need anything, and we’re always there for them—and that’s outside of work as well.”

Benefits of SPF
For existing and new roofs alike, there are many advantages to sprayed polyurethane foam.

Once the original roof has been inspected and any necessary repairs made, the team at IRC applies SPF directly on top of the roof system. This means heavy materials don’t have to be hoisted onto rooftops. Since the application is made in a single, roof-applied monolithic sheet without seams or fasteners, the chances of an SPF roof leaking are extremely slight, and thermal bridging is eliminated. Able to withstand brutal weather like wind uplift and hail, SPF roofs perform well year after year while also providing some noise cancellation.

Quicker to install than traditional roofing, SPF conforms to irregular shapes and expands to fill cracks, ensuring a weatherproof seal. Serving as a moisture and air barrier, SPF also has the highest R-value on the market, making it a great insulator and keeping out extreme temperatures.

“Although other systems might be cheaper upfront, in the back end, SPF will actually save you money, because it decreases all your energy expenses,” says Baird. “So it keeps the heat in when it’s cold outside and keeps the cool in when it’s warm outside.”

Customers can also purchase IRC’s annual maintenance agreement. Trained staff come out twice a year, in the fall and spring, when they clean and inspect the roof to ensure its peak condition. Clients can also take advantage of the company’s 10, 15, or 20-year warranties.

“In the unlikely event of anything happening to your roof, we come out, assess the damage, and fix the problem,” says Baird. As long as the sprayed polyurethane foam is maintained, the application will last for decades.

And one of the greatest perks of an SPF roof is that once it goes out of warranty, a new silicone coating applied on top puts the roof back under warranty. “It saves you money that way as well because you don’t have to replace your entire roof with a new roofing system. We just go through and spray on the coating.”

For the initial process, team members assess the existing roof. This includes power washing the roof and laying and securing insulation board. A minimum of one and a half inches of SPF is applied and sloped toward drains, creating a watertight barrier. The coating is then sprayed with granules to offer traction and safety.

Projects big and small
As experts in sprayed polyurethane foam, Insulated Roofing Contractors can take on jobs of all sizes. While most projects are straightforward, others are massive and present unique challenges, as happened in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the United States, tearing off roofs, knocking down entire buildings, and leaving many without shelter.

One of the biggest casualties, in roofing terms, of the hurricane’s brutality was the ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber roof of the Louisiana Superdome, one of America’s biggest stadiums. On installation, it had been confidently asserted that the roof would withstand winds of up to 200 mph (322 km/h).

This turned out to be a rather optimistic estimate and Hurricane Katrina, with windspeeds of 74 to 95 mph (119 to 153 km/h), made short work of the stadium covering. With the National Football League fall schedule fast approaching, there was an urgent need for repair.

Says IRC: “At the end of the day, after researching all available roof systems on the market, the architects, engineers, and consultants for the state recommended the installation of a spray polyurethane foam roof.” Bids were put out and, while a different roofing contractor was actually awarded the project, the accelerated timeline and difficulty of the scope of work led that contractor to subcontract IRC to complete 50 percent of the work in order to meet deadlines.

The company deployed crews, many of whom stayed in rented trailers. With 20 to 30 team members working day and night, 300,000 square feet of roofing was replaced ahead of schedule. “That project had to be completed within 90 and 120 days,” says Baird proudly. “We were one of the first to be down there, with the hurricane relief workers.”

Another unique work that truly shows IRC’s capabilities is the historic Indianapolis Union Station. Located in the city’s Wholesale District, the structure was the first in the world to be designated a Union Station in 1848. Over the years, the three-story building, with its massive Romanesque brick arches, was converted into office space. A striking structure made from brownstone, brick, and granite, it required not only a new roof, but one matching its existing aesthetics. This saw IRC apply a durable, leak-free custom-color roof, matching the way the original looked all those years before.

Safe and sound
Over its many years in business, one of the things that IRC has meticulously and finely honed is its safety protocols. Under the guidance of safety team members Rich Allen and Zabdiel Ramirez, IRC has a reputation for being one of the safest roofing contractors in America. Allen and Ramirez regularly visit job sites, perform inspections, and ensure workers, clients, and the public are protected.

Every year, the company hosts a two-week safety conference, and all field employees undergo comprehensive training and are certified in Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA-30, along with forklift, CPR, and other training.

“We make sure we are proactive in safety, and not reactive,” says Baird. “We want everybody to have all the knowledge and capability to use when they are on the roof, and make sure everybody gets home safe at night. That’s our main priority.”

The next chapter
Continuing to uphold the values of founder Melvin Stumler, Insulated Roofing Contractors is looking to the future with anticipation. Revamping the company logo for its 50^th anniversary, IRC is giving out t-shirts and other branded merchandise. On May 23, the company will host a party for employees, friends, families, and vendors, celebrating the milestone with music, food, and giveaways.

“I see more crews in our future, and hopefully expansion,” says Baird. “We have this location here in New Albany, Indiana, but I see us growing as a company. I believe we will have future locations in other cities so we can service people quicker. We want to expand our territory, get out to where we are not, and try to get into more territories.”

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Jupiter Protective Flooring’s owner and President Scott Gaylor had been working for eight years for another company in the flooring industry, but when its management moved in a different direction, he was faced with the choice of going with them, looking for work at another company, or starting his own.

“I talked to a couple of the installers I had worked with and asked them if they’d like to jump on my team,” he shares. “They were optimistic we could make it work and here we are eight years later, averaging between 25 to 35 percent growth every year.”

We asked Gaylor to what factors he attributes Jupiter’s success, and he cites his dedicated team, the high-end, CFIA-approved coatings and mortars the company installs for customers, and his own work ethic. “I can’t over-emphasize hard work,” he says, noting he’d worked all his life—first delivering newspapers at age 10 and later studying business technology at Durham College while working full-time at GM in Oshawa, all before getting into the flooring industry.

“When I started this business,” he says, “I knew everything was on the line and I needed to have my finger on the pulse. I trusted the people I was working with, but I had to be available to do all the little things I needed to do to make sure we succeeded.”

Today, Jupiter Protective Flooring enjoys an enviable reputation for finishing its projects on time and within budget, and for ensuring that every step of the installation, whether it’s new construction or repair to an existing floor, is done professionally.

“The manufacturing industry accounts for about 85 percent of our accounts, and it’s a market that my team and I feel comfortable in and where we focus our attention, although we do a little bit of residential and commercial work. But nine times out of ten, when we get a call, it’s because a manufacturing facility has a problem and we need to isolate it and provide the solution,” he explains.

With close to two decades of experience in the industry, Gaylor shares with us the capabilities and benefits of the different types of protective flooring, epoxy, and urethane, and how they can be customized to suit specific needs.

“For example, a logistics company might be storing a lot of equipment and finding it covered with dust just as they are getting ready to ship it, so we could come in and install an epoxy floor, which is going to mitigate the dust coming up from the concrete substrate.”

Among the many benefits of the seamless floor coatings—which make cleaning easy—is the ability of the coatings to withstand the harsh chemicals and acids used in food processing plants. Epoxy coating is a popular sealant for many work environments and by its nature is resistant to chemical spills. It can be tinted almost any colour to create traffic aisles, safety lines, and no-walk areas and with the introduction of silica, results in a safe, non-slip work environment. Epoxy also lends itself to a mortar system, with the mortar troweled to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch that can exceed 10,000 PSI, which is then sealed with an epoxy coating. It’s useful, Gaylor says, in areas such as loading docks and logistics warehouses.

Jupiter can also install and guarantee Electro-Static-Dissipative (ESD) epoxy floors that work in conjunction with ESD footwear and are required to eliminate static electricity in the microelectronics industry.

Another area where epoxy—or rather, vinyl ester, a highly chemical-resistant form of epoxy—is beneficial is in waste management facilities. It stands up to aggressive chemical attack and to the chemicals needed to break down the waste so that it won’t leach through the tanks and into the ground and instead will be contained and properly dealt with.

Meanwhile, the company’s Residential Epoxy Flooring division offers a range of styles, from sleek, modern designs to classic elegance, with a variety of colours and a choice of high-gloss or matte finish. It’s suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, living areas, and garages alike.

In addition to residential epoxy coatings, Jupiter also offers epoxy-layered floorboards with the wood grain finishes some homeowners prefer for living rooms and bedrooms. “Carpet cleaning costs are very high,” Gaylor says, “but an epoxy floor only needs a mop to look brand new again.”

Another option is urethane, which, although primarily used in food and beverage environments, can be used in any facility. It has a chemical resistance superior to epoxy and is specifically designed to withstand the higher temperatures from industrial ovens and thermal cycling—the hot and cold washdowns associated with food and beverage plants.

Just how important is having superior flooring in a food processing plant? Gaylor points to a nationwide outbreak of listeriosis some years ago, resulting in 23 deaths, that was traced to bacteria mixing with concrete dust from the floor of a meat processing plant. “If something gets into concrete, which by its nature is porous, then the dust can spread and transfer the bacteria to food or the people working there. That incident really put industrial epoxy and urethane flooring on the map as a crucial part of a manufacturing facility,” he explains.

“With a proper seamless floor coating, it’s not possible for that to happen, because the bacteria can be washed away. All the substrates in a food or beverage processing plant must be protected to meet food safety standards and epoxy and urethane do that,” Gaylor says.

Whether an existing slab or a newly poured floor, Jupiter Protective Flooring can grind and polish the surface. It’s an economical way to finish a floor; it’s durable and attractive and is trending in restaurants and bars as well as in condos and art galleries, giving those spaces a sophisticated, urban vibe. At a practical level, the ground and polished surface eliminates concrete dust and is easier to clean than untreated concrete.

In terms of installation, “The actual length of time depends on the material and the square footage,” Gaylor says, “but we do a lot of weekend work with industry. Facilities will close shop on Friday and want to be open Monday morning, so we start a lot of projects on a Friday afternoon, put in long hours on Saturday and Sunday, and do the final coat curing on Sunday night. That means they can be back in business as usual on Monday,” he says.

“We have three crews working with us, each led by a professional installer, and they can bring in as many workers as they need to get the job done on time. It could be three or four, it could be up to ten. It all depends on how big the job is and how tight the timeline.”

We asked Gaylor about the company’s role in the broader community and he told us that his company sponsors sports teams for kids—specifically hockey and soccer—to alleviate some of the costs for parents, because he believes in creating a healthy community.

“I was raised playing sports and I credit a lot of who I am as a person to working in a team environment, so I would like to give back that way. You grow as a human being by playing sports. It doesn’t matter what the level is; once you play in a team environment, you realize you have a job to do, you work hard, and everyone does what they are supposed to do, and the team is successful. When that happens in real life, we build a functional and successful society,” he says.

“I’m excited about where we’re going. We are experiencing some nice growth and looking at hiring a couple of salespeople to further penetrate the GTA market, which is growing. I would love to see offshore manufacturing return and more manufacturing starting up, because we have a skilled labour force and intelligent people living here in Canada, along with the technology, so I would like to see more capital invested in manufacturing. We have the opportunity to be a world leader in manufacturing, but we need the political will to do it, and people need to realize Canada is open for business.”

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