Professional Drywall Construction Inc.

John Kendzierski established Professional Drywall Construction Inc. (PDC) in 1995 after leaving a business he and his brother, Bill Kendzierski, had operated since 1979. With more than a decade of experience in the industry, he was prepared to take on a new challenge, providing high quality and efficient drywall, framing and finish carpentry service to customers throughout western Massachusetts. From a single office in West Springfield, Massachusetts, John’s crew serves building owners and general contractors on commercial construction projects throughout the southwest quarter of New England.

In Massachusetts, the team of 150 professionals operates from Framingham west. The crew works as far south as New Haven, Connecticut, effectively providing leading interior construction services to customers in both states. PDC competes with few other businesses. The company’s size, capabilities and it’s union relationship make PDC a leading choice for a broad target market, including higher education, health care, commercial retail and others.

PDC has a strong reputation for performance and service, a factor that attracts more business and larger contracts than similar operations with an emphasis on building relationships with repeat customers. The company’s added technologies, such as having all foremen equipped with Ipads, and investing in a Panelmax drywall prefabrication system, the crew is able to perform drywall, metal framing, door and hardware installation expertly with all in-house employees. The company’s size allows the business to take on higher volume work without being so large as to compromise flexibility and individualized service.

A strong commercial portfolio

Recent work for the team includes a project at Eastern Connecticut State University, which at the end of 2014 is roughly halfway done. “This is a good sized project,” John explains. “It involves a new fine arts center with interesting details both exterior and interior. We are performing metal stud framing, insulation, drywall, doors and hardware installation. Because of the fine arts and music end use for the building, a lot of work was designed by acousticians. We have walls with three to five layers of drywall. This project is fairly complex for the footprint of the building, although we have done a few other theater projects and we work for schools frequently.”

At UMass Amherst, the PDC team is working on the new Academic Center, a large four-story building that houses classrooms and auditoriums. “This is a beautiful building, right in the middle of campus that attaches to the student union, the hotel and other facilities in the central campus,” John says. We do a lot of work at this school and we are glad to be part of the process. Our scope of work includes interior and exterior metal framing, all the drywall work, taping and finishing, doors and hardware there.”

John goes on to note that the company has recently finished the new Football Training Facility at UMASS. The team is also currently doing the new Basketball Champion’s Center.

Toward the end of 2014, PDC wrapped up a project at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. The three-story building is privately owned and leased to doctors’ groups on the adjoined campus of Mercy Medical Center, run by the Sisters of Providence Health System.

“That was a nice building, approximately 100,000 square feet, privately owned and leased back to hospital groups, built by one of our regular customers,” John notes. “We delivered the standard package: framing, drywall, insulation and taping. Also on that campus, we just started working on an addition to the Sister Caritas Cancer Center, putting an addition on to create more space. I am on the foundation board for the Sisters of Providence Health System and we enjoy working with and helping out this organization.”

Staying ahead

John and his team were able to stay busy throughout the recession despite a challenging market. The company’s breadth of capabilities became easily applicable to a market that leaned more toward public work. Meanwhile, management kept close tabs on margins, working out efficient ways to reinvest in the company while compensating dedicated employees for their hard work. The company runs many crews of employees from the main office, balancing equipment, labor and materials expenses carefully to keep margins in line.

“It’s not about the revenue, it is about how it is spent,” John explains. “We were very strategic throughout the downturn with our spending. We were able to secure public work and win bids because we had the money available. We were able to maintain our relationships with our bank and bonding companies to keep going through the recession.” Because of the company’s consistent stability, PDC is still on track and able to compete with larger businesses throughout the region.

Into 2015, PDC is on track for continued growth. Over the coming years, John and his crew are focused on strategic expansion throughout southwestern New England by reaching new customers and integrating new services. “We want to get more into acoustic ceiling work,” he notes. “We are also building our market presence in Connecticut.” With a reputation throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut for quality, service and efficiency, Professional Drywall Construction Inc. is building and maintaining customer relationships that are built to last.