Case Studies June 2011

One of the unfortunate results of the current recession is that the number of unscrupulous contractors who cut corners and perform substandard work is on the rise. There are, however, still those companies that are against cutting corners to try and generate jobs. Lee’s Welding Inc. – out of Murdock, Neb. – is one company […]

In 1978 Harold Shumate began an HVAC company, Shumate Mechanical LLC, in a 3,000-square foot office in Stone Mountain, Ga. Setting a good example of hard work, Harold often performed service work while making sales. With the support of its employees, the company grew quickly and in 1984 moved into a new, 20,000-square foot building […]

Since 1950, J.L. Roberts Mechanical has been serving the great state of Mississippi with its expert plumbing, HVAC, process piping services and more. Founded by James Leland Roberts, and now including Leonard Roberts as owner/president and his son James L. Roberts, Jr. as vice president/project manager, this family-run company got its start in the residential […]

Excel Electrical Technologies, Inc. (Excel) was founded in 2002 by Alan Green and Steve Fowler. A few months later Excel purchased the assets of Encompass Electrical Technologies of Georgia, Inc. (EET f/k/a Regency Electric Company Atlanta Office, Inc.). EET’s management team, support staff and field employees immediately transitioned to Excel. Fowler had been the President […]

Ritchie-Curbow Construction Company Inc. is a classic example of a company that has sustained the ups and downs of the market by offering clients super customer service. The Virginia-based company was founded in 1973 by Joe Ritchie and Gary Curbow on the premise that treating clients like partners would help grow a customer base. Ritchie […]

No job is too big or too small for the sheet metal manufacturers at Blue Diamond Sheet Metal. Vice President Al LaBella explains, “All the jobs are important to us, we’ll do a $500 job or a $10 million job, and we treat both of those clients the same. All of our clients are important […]

It’s a promise that has been handed down from generation to generation of Americans: If you work hard, success will come in the end. Sonny Tresco, owner of Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Tresco Paving, did exactly just that and is living the American Dream. “When I started Tresco in 1973, my first job was patching potholes at […]

The Buckingham Routh Co., a mechanical contractor in New Haven, Conn., embodies the history of the industry. The company was founded in 1854, incorporated in 1896, and “we are the oldest mechanical contractor in continuous operation in the United States,” says Tim Taylor, Buckingham Routh’s current president. Buckingham Routh is known throughout its local area […]

“My wife, Jennie, and I started Weldin Construction in 1991 in the laundry room in our house.  We had one computer on the folding table, next to the washer and dryer.  She was still working a full-time job, and I would take whatever contracts I could get. We just kept our overhead very low, and […]

Steve Russell believes the strengths of his construction company, Russell Construction of Alabama Inc., stem from the ability to adapt to a multitude of different sectors. “We have been flexible over the entire course of the company’s history and done quite a bit of different construction,” he says. Steve founded his company in 1983, and, […]