Builder credits industry relationships for success

GETTING TO THE POINT: Jeff Lipshires, center, president of J2 Construct Inc., discusses a construction project with his team, from left, John DeRuosi, chief financial officer; Leanne DePaul, director of marketing and estate management; Sam Hardy, operations manager; and Marc Nouman, chief estimator. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
GETTING TO THE POINT: Jeff Lipshires, center, president of J2 Construct Inc., discusses a construction project with his team, from left, John DeRuosi, chief financial officer; Leanne DePaul, director of marketing and estate management; Sam Hardy, operations manager; and Marc Nouman, chief estimator. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PBN 2021 Fastest Growing Companies Awards
$25 million – $75 million:
1. J2 Construct Inc.


CEO (or equivalent): Jeff Lipshires, president
2020 Revenue: $25 million
2018 Revenue: $1.5 million
Revenue growth: 1,567.5%


J2 Construct Inc., founded in 2018, is a construction firm that focuses on residential, commercial, luxury and institutional construction, as well as property management for its clients.

The firm, located in Middletown, has grown to have more than $25 million in revenue in 2020, hitting this impressive milestone only 2½ years after its initial opening. The company currently services all of Rhode Island, as well as southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands area.

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Its founding came after President Jeff Lipshires, who had been working for a local construction firm as vice president for 15 years, teamed up with business partner Sean Burke to establish J2 Construct. According to the firm, within one year the company had completed $1.5 million in sales and within 1½ years it had acquired Advanced Building Concepts, a construction company also located in Middletown, in early 2020. Burke died shortly after the acquisition. But Lipshires and the team at J2 Construct persevered.

J2 Construct credits its success to its relationships, especially Lipshires and his work over the past 20 years in the industry. As for financial success, Lipshires said, “There is no doubt the boom in the luxury residential construction market has contributed to our growth. However, the continued development of our collaborative and experienced team has made us the go-to that a homeowner is looking for – a partner in their project – as well as the commercial client requiring experience and expertise in delivering challenging programs within their time and budget constraints.”

As for the COVID-19 pandemic, Lipshires said J2 Construct, like many others, has faced difficulties in labor shortage, material delays and the volatile cost environment of those materials. Still, the company has thrived, even as the challenges to obtain materials and keep up with the demand for workers have continued.

As for its biggest projects, J2 Construct has completed a 40,000-square-foot technology center in Warren that Lipshires described as “structurally challenging.” The company is currently in the process of converting a school in Newport to 34 apartments. J2 Construct’s residential division has included luxury residences ranging from $1 million to $12 million.

J2 Construct is also innovating in the construction industry, by holding a company value of gender equality. With construction as a typically male-dominated field, J2 Construct features women running the administrative side of the business, with the company also having female project managers and leads, and a goal of continuing to bring more women onto the team.

“We value women in the construction industry and love what they bring to a project team,” Lipshires said.

Lipshires estimated the company has 70 years of combined experience on its team.

“We aren’t your mom-and-pop shop. We are highly professional with multiple experienced project managers, superintendents and foremen,” Lipshires said. “We have a tremendous amount of expertise in pre-construction, budget and scope development, and work closely with architecture, engineering and other specialty consultants in developing the most efficient approach to each and every construction project. But, most importantly, we are absolutely the most transparent construction firm, and our goal is to earn the highest level of trust and confidence with our clients.”

Work is not slowing down either.

“We continue on our consistent growth trajectory again due to the high volume of work we’ve completed, the satisfaction of our clients and ultimately the quality projects we are delivering,” Lipshires said. “We are very bullish on our future and invested heavily in our infrastructure for accounting and project management … as well as the continued development and training of our dedicated staff.”

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