by Andrea Palmer
People in the building trades and conctruction industry continue to say there is a shortage of skilled labor.
Kevin Maynard, owner of Kevin Maynard Construction in Fort Ann, said older skilled workers are aging out of the industry and there are not enough younger workers to replace them.
By Jill Nagy
In the late 1990s, when acquisitions fever was high, a group of venture capitalists made an offer to Fred Giardinelli, owner of Eastern Heating and Cooling, a thriving company that does work throughout the Capital District, including the Glens Falls and Saratoga areas: They would buy his company, but he would continue to operate it.
He accepted the offer, as did enough other business owners, to form a 12-company conglomerate that is now Comfort Systems USA, a national company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that has some $2.1 billion in annual revenues.
By Rachel Phillips
Legacy Timber Frames Inc., a local boutique timber frame company that has clients all across the country, recently just finished a project for an RV showroom in Iowa.
Though they’ve worked in Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Maine and more, the majority of their work is local and their headquarters are located at 691 County Road in Stillwater. The company recently celebrated its 30th year in business.
Legacy Timber Frames’ president Annemarie Mitchell described the company as more of a sub-contractor, as they do not general contract an entire home or building. Instead, the company provides timber frames for various projects.
By Maureen Werther
Master craftsman Will LaRue has operated LaRue Woodworking (part of LaRue Enterprises) on his family farm for nearly 20 years and he continues to expand.
His most recent expansion of business comes in the form of a relationship with Curtis Lumber, an area business with its own history of longevity in the region. LaRue said that he is currently doing custom moldings, custom millwork, wood countertops through Curtis.
“They pretty much send over anything wood-related,” said LaRue.
By Maureen Werther
People in the building and trades industry—union leaders, business owners and educators—continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades.
At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio talked about the need for skilled labor industry-wide. Bonacio Construction, formed in 1988, is a major residential and commercial builder in the Capital Region.
“It’s been a challenge for the last 15-20 years getting plumbers, roofers, framers. We’ve noticed in our own company there are way too many people who are in their 40s and 50s and not enough in the 20- and 30-year-old range,” said Bonacio.
By Maureen Werther
Lee Keirstead, project manager for Stone Bridge Iron and Steel, Inc. in Gansevoort, is the new president of Northeast Subcontractors Association (NESCA).
NESCA is a nonprofit trade association based in Albany. It represents nearly 500 subcontracting companies, specialty contractors and suppliers of construction material and equipment, making it the largest subcontractor group in the country. Its members include both union and open-shop companies.
By Maureen Werther
Whether it is high-end luxury homes or older homes in need of renovations or additions, most residential builders and remodelers in Saratoga County are doing well in 2017, with no signs of slowing down.
Jim Sasko, owner of Teakwood Builders, has been in business for 21 years and he has seen his company grow from hands-on carpentry—dismantling and restoring historic homes—to building high-end luxury homes.
Sasko said he learned a lot about how older homes are built during his first few years as a small operation. He also learned that there were better craftsmen out there than he was when it came to historic restoration. So, he began to hire those highly skilled people as his business progressed.
Today, Sasko has a team of 10 carpenters, an interior designer, estimators, administrative staff and a client coordinator, which he says is a key position in the company.
The coordinator “keeps order in all aspects” of a construction project, said Sasko. She is responsible for ensuring open lines of communication between the homeowner and the construction team.
Masonry contractors in Upstate New York have formed a new organization to assist in marketing their trade.
The Upstate Masonry Institute (UMI) is the contractors’ new outreach division with the mission to advocate, educate and promote use of masonry in construction projects that span from the Capital Region to Syracuse in the west and up to the U.S-Canadian border.
Upstate Masonry Institute was designed and is dedicated to improving the overall utilization of masonry materials of all types in the Upstate New York area in commercial, industrial and institutional construction projects, officials for the new organization said.
“UMI is here to represent the masonry industry by educating the developers, owners, architects, engineers and contractors involved in the success of masonry construction applications, providing the knowledge and means of increasing efficiency and productivity in masonry, and advocating the increased use of brick, block and stone,” the group said in a news release.
©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Susan E. Campbell
After nearly three years of anticipation, local union officials say the economy upstate may be on the verge of a healthy growth spurt.
Recent years have been slow for the building trades. But technology firms throughout the Capital District and parts north have played a big part in projected business growth, said Scott B. Martel, business manager of the U.S. Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773.
“As tech firms expand, more businesses come to the area to supply what those firms need,” Martel said, furthering the demand for qualified tradesmen across the commercial building industry. Lately most contracts for Local 773 have been in the public works sector, he said.
From September 2015 through April 2016, 90 apprentice plumbers and steamfitters took part in the most recent training school, meeting for three hours, three times a week, following a full work day, Martel said. The apprentice program lasts five years, but even the most experienced journeymen continue classroom training and practical experience to keep up their skills.
Courtesy Suburban Services Group
By Maureen Werther
Craig MacDonald, owner of Suburban Services Group in Burnt Hills, started his company 36 years ago, and he doesn’t mind saying that the first 15 years were a struggle.
In fact, MacDonald’s career path took a lot of twists and turns before he was able to build the successful business he runs today, which has been providing heating, air-conditioning and stand-by generators area residents and businesses since 1980. He knows what it is like to start out in one direction, only to find out it may be the wrong path.
MacDonald has gone from working for a telephone company in the New Jersey town where he grew up, to serving in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, to selling fire hydrants in upstate New York. Each of those experiences played a role in guiding him along the slow, often circuitous path to success.
“I wasn’t terribly happy selling fire hydrants and I started thinking of other things I could do,” he recalled. He knew he didn’t want to work for anyone else. “So, I started my own remodeling company.”
“I did everything from foundation to roof” in the remodeling business, he said. This was during the early 1980s, and it coincided with a large number of GE layoffs. “It was a tough business anyway,” he said. “But, on top of it, you had all these GE guys out there now, looking for work. Basically, anyone who had a pickup truck became a contractor.”