PBN FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES 2020 $25M – $75M
1. Pariseault Builders Inc.
CEO (or equivalent): Brian Casey, president
2019 Revenue: $30.2 million
2017 Revenue: $16.6 million
Revenue growth: 82%
FROM ITS LABORERS to its president, Cranston-based construction firm Pariseault Builders Inc. is known to “do what whatever it takes [to get the job done],” said Senior Vice President Tom Rezendes.
Pariseault operates in several arenas. In addition to constructing buildings for universities, hospitals, religious institutions and commercial venues, Pariseault Builders will build an 8,000-square-foot home, which Rezendes called “a mini-mansion,” on Warwick Neck in Warwick. The price tag: $7.5 million. Pariseault, a fourth-generation, family-owned company, saw its revenue grow 82% in three years, from $16.6 million in 2017 to $30.2 million in 2019. President Brian Casey, great-grandson of company founder Raymond Pariseault, credited such growth to its leadership team’s strategic planning.
“We’re focusing on strategic markets, identifying areas where we can excel, concentrating on bringing in new work, over-satisfying existing clients and building on those [relationships] to bring in new clients,” Casey said.
Hiring Vice President Kyle Lloyd was a key factor, too, as he established processes and procedures and landed larger building projects.
“With additional employees skilled in business development, accounting and cost-estimating,” Rezendes said, “Pariseault is showing owners and architects the value of our construction management expertise.”
For one longtime client – a local hospital system – Pariseault now allocates one project manager and 15 employees to its projects each day. “Ten years ago, we might have earned $1 million to $2 million a year from that client; now it’s over $10 million a year,” Rezendes said.
Ironically, Casey said that he never intended to enter the family business, which began in 1946 as a one-person tile company. After graduating from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., in 2005, Casey spent the summer digging ditches and discovered he enjoyed the work. He rose through the ranks, working in carpentry and project management before being named president in 2015.
Pariseault slots its wide array of subcontractors into A, B or C categories, and assigns almost exclusively A subcontractors to its fast-track, larger jobs. When customers preselect subcontractors, they pay Pariseault management fees to manage them.
“They don’t want to work for anyone else other than us; we have the knowledge,” Rezendes said. “We pay our vendors at the same time we get paid … we do a better job of never robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Evolution and growth were inevitable. The first three generations ruled by authoritarian management. But, as Pariseault grew, Casey recognized how cumbersome that approach was.
“We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time maintaining and improving our culture,” Rezendes said. “Getting input from all levels and seeing more employees in decision-making has helped us catapult.”
Watching employees progress through the ranks and recruiting talented new hires who have great ideas and enthusiasm make for a great day for Casey, who added, “If you show up with a good attitude, we can teach you the rest.”
In addition to health insurance and other routine benefits, employees also experience other benefits. Office employees, who are entitled to two “free Fridays” each summer, are expected to do something fun and bring evidence of such, with a photo and a brief description.
Deemed an essential business, Pariseault didn’t escape COVID-19’s impact. It derailed this year’s annual nonprofit adventure, in which several employees travel to Jamaica in March to help build facilities for adults with disabilities. With some employees fearful about coming to work, management talked with employees individually and at Sunday afternoon meetings. Proud that Pariseault managed those and other pandemic challenges, including some larger projects’ temporary suspension, for its 70 employees, Casey said, “Today, we’re as busy as we’ve ever been. I don’t know what 2021 will look like, but we’re charging along and continuing to grow.
“Whether it’s led by family members or not, we’re placeholders to advance the company for the most success in the future,” Casey said.
