The year 2000 was a good one for area general contractors.
The average percentage increase in revenue for companies listed in the Providence Business News general contractors list was 15.85 percent. While some companies showed profits of at least 60 percent more than in 1999, and some had the same intake as the previous year, only three companies reported earnings that were less than in 1999.
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One of those companies, North Attleboro’s Westcott Construction Corporation opted not to be listed at all this year. John Ciardi is the president of the company, which ranked seventh in the 2001 Book of Lists.
“The only information I can give is that we’ll be phasing out over the next three months,” said Ciardi.
Almost all of the companies listed also increased their number of employees this year. Some companies kept the same number of employees on staff, and only Bacon/Agostini Construction reported cuts in staff.
Paul Choquette, Jr., chairman and CEO of Gilbane, the top ranking company on the PBN general contractors list for the last 10 years, said his company continued to prosper because of strong market conditions and increased geographic expansion. Regionally, the company saw a 6 percent increase in billings, which translates to an extra $1.2 million. Choquette said he is aware of cutbacks in other industries but that Gilbane remains unaffected.
“We all read the newspapers about what’s happening with layoffs,” he said, “but we have not felt any falloff in prospects.”
Frederick “Rick” Hall, president of Lincoln-based French Design Builders said his company is able to keep a staff of 11 by hiring subcontractors. FDB reported a $6.8 million increase in billings this past year.
“The construction environment has been very good this year,” said Hall, “and around New England it’s still in good shape.”
He said he thinks a portion of French’s success can be attributed to the fact that the company does not go after public contracts.
“A lot of people go after that and bid on that work, but we really stay away from that and deal with the private sector,” he said. “We control our own destiny and go after the exact jobs that we think fit our niche, and those people seem to find us through past customers and references, and that’s just where we find our market.”
George Agostini, president of Bacon/Agostini Construction said 80 percent of the work his company goes after are public contracts. Specializing in schools, Bacon/Agostini was rated top school contractor in New England by St. Paul Insurance in Minnesota. Agostini said there is no specific reason that public contracts have become the company’s forte’.
“It’s just kind of in our field,” he said, “and our people are very good at it.”
Agostini said he expects to increase employment to about 165 within the next two months, attributing the decrease in staff to routine winter layoffs.
