Cardoza Plumbing Corp.

Raymond (Ray) Cardoza and his sister, Marie Pontillo (Morena), grew up in the plumbing business. Their father, a master plumber, owns and has operated his own company for many years. Ray has been working in the industry for 27 years. He completed high school and a year of college before working full time with his father. Ray eventually became a master plumber and decided to branch out from the family business, so he and Marie founded Cardoza Plumbing Corp. (CPC) in 1999.

For over a decade now Ray and Marie have applied business and technical experience to a number of projects in New York, designing, installing and maintaining complex plumbing systems for several medical centers and other commercial facilities. CPC operates out of two locations, with a headquarters in Westbury, N.Y., and a shop in the Jamaica neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. The company’s team of experienced plumbing professionals works in all of the five boroughs on new construction, retrofit installation and warranty work for commercial buildings.

Superior Services

The CPC team is comprised of 85 field employees and 30 office staffers. The company offers full design-build service and can oversee a facility’s plumbing from initial concept through estimating, drafting and installation to completion. A host of in-house engineers, specialists and project managers work closely with clients to develop systems that fit the end-function of a new building or accommodate growing businesses. Many of the team’s projects are with medical centers, and CPC has designers on staff specializing in medical gas systems. The diversity in experience allows clients to use CPC as a one-stop shop for facilities piping systems.

CPC is licensed and insured, and all of the company’s field employees are fully trained and certified, ensuring quality, lasting installations and repairs to property owners and tenants. The company has performed projects at hospitals, universities and other specialty projects, building a reputation for friendly, professional service and experience. CPC works directly for owners as well as under general contractors.

The team has been involved with several unusual projects in the last few years. “We completed a huge project at Citi Field stadium in 2009,” says Ray, who remains owner/president of CPC. “We’d never done a stadium before.” CPC’s portion of the project totaled over $26 million over a span of two years. Other recent projects that stand out in Ray’s mind include work at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center Katz Women’s Hospital and the Collaborative Research Center at Rockefeller University.

Maintaining a Market Share

The construction industry has taken hits in New York throughout the recession, but Ray and the CPC team are working hard and tightening their belts to ride out the storm. Competition has gotten fierce and Ray says the bidding process has been brutal for the last few years, although things are starting to turn around. “The market downfall due to the economy has created much tighter margins,” he explains. Despite smaller profits, CPC is hanging onto employees and pushing harder than ever to secure bids.

Ray has made a few other adjustments to keep finances in line. “We buy in bulk when it’s beneficial to us,” he explains. “We’ve also hired another project manager to create more oversight on our projects.” Even with small margins and a tough, competitive market, he says CPC is still growing.

The team has developed a strong network over the last 13 years with clients, contractors and suppliers. “Our customers rely on us for our experience, quality of work and employees,” explains Ray. “We’ve built a reputation.” And that reputation is what keeps an influx of projects on the company president’s desk.

Ray says the company has quite a few new projects in the pipeline over the next few years. “I think these will help us grow as a business,” he explains. Potential upcoming opportunities include major projects at New York University’s Medical Center and Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus. These are large endeavors, and CPC is taking into account complex logistics, which are the company’s specialty.

CPC has amassed a large portfolio of involved plumbing projects to which Ray says they plan to keep adding. The company employs some of the best-trained professionals in the industry; they are the kind clients have come to rely on for quality, professional service. Engineers and project managers communicate openly with general contractors and owners, creating full systems that meet building specifications as well as the needs of the organizations using them.

Ray, Marie and the entire CPC team are dedicated to providing lasting solutions for medical and natural gas, water and sewage in New York City. The company is building on its reputation for reliability, as well as a tradition of family business. Integrity, expertise and communication have helped the CPC team to build a business that leaves a good impression on clients. Cardoza Plumbing Corp. is a local legacy that will continue to grow in scope and experience for many years.