Case Studies Education

As the general contracting company’s history shows, Paige Industrial Services Inc. is not afraid to try something new. When President Devroux Paige founded the company in 1990, it was a residential cleaning services company called Paige Cleaning Services. After a few years, the Washington D.C.-based company evolved into a commercial and industrial janitorial services provider. […]

According to George Pacheco, president of Pacheco Brothers Gardening Inc., nothing is as dangerous to athletes as sliding over a sunflower seed stuck in synthetic turf. Not only does it cut “like glass,” but it can cause infections. Sunflower seeds aren’t the only thing hiding in the plastic turf. “On a regular soccer or football […]

Before 2007, most general contractors self-performed at least a few different trades. This involved hiring a larger staff of skilled workers and giving them work through busy and lean periods. But after the financial crisis in 2008 killed projects and forced thousands of workers out of the industry, many contractors started subbing out almost all […]

Back when he was in high school, Brent Pence recalls hearing teachers tell students “you don’t want to be a ditch digger” all your life. His response now? That ditch digger may be making $35,000 or $40,000 a year, without going into overwhelming student debt. A fourth generation contractor, Pence honed his chops working for […]

When a former competitor asked Michael Thomas to start a construction business during the height of the economic recession, he said yes. It wasn’t the logical response—at the time, other companies were laying off or going out of business—but it’s worked out nicely. President and CEO Michael Thomas founded Pier Construction & Development LLC in […]

Almost two decades ago, Bob and Paola Pizzano’s son, Joey, died in a drowning accident while the family was on vacation. It was a terrible blow to the tightknit family, but the Pizzanos made the best of it. Buoyed by what Bob Pizzano Jr. called an “outpouring of support” from friends and their community, they […]

Since 1954, Peterson Mechanical Inc. has been serving customers throughout North Dakota’s Red River Valley with a full slate of professional mechanical contracting services. Located in Fargo, North Dakota, Peterson Mechanical operates within a 150-mile radius of Fargo-Moorhead, completing projects for industrial and commercial clients from western Minnesota to western North Dakota and across the […]

Pave-Rite Inc. started as a residential paving company with just three employees and three pieces of equipment. More than 64 years later, Pave-Rite consists of 25 employees and is a full-service site work contractor handling land clearing, earthwork and grading, utility installations, retaining walls, curbing and sidewalks, final paving and landscaping. Located in Bridgewater, New […]

Prime Electric Inc. (PRIME) is a premier union-affiliated electrical contractor located in the Puget Sound region in Bellevue, Washington. PRIME and its diverse operating groups strive to deliver superior electrical construction, design-build services, outside plant services and cutting-edge industry technology. PRIME was founded in 1987 by three service electricians and their families, who sought out […]

Dotting Florida’s northern Gulf Coast shore from Panama City to Sandestin to Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola is Peaden Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Electrical (Peaden), a full-service mechanical-electrical-plumbing (MEP) contractor. After 45 years in operation, Peaden has emerged as one of the top-rated HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors in the Florida Panhandle. Peaden employs a […]