Page 22 - BusinessWest December 8, 2021

Collins-Crochiere
Continued from page 20
don’t do a whole lot of marketing, and work just seems to come to the surface. When we’re fin- ishing a job, someone else calls and has bought a building or is looking at a building or is plan- ning a major renovation. That’s how work seems to fill our schedules. That’s how we got to this point. It’s worked out reasonably well.”
Work to Be Done
Crochiere noted several jobs from recent years to give an idea of the company’s work, including a renovation and addition to Ralph’s Blacksmith Shop in Northampton, similar
work on a building purchased by Fire Detec- tion Systems in Chicopee, and a renovation and upgrades to an older building purchased by
Fire Service Group in Palmer. At Multicultural Community Services in Springfield, Collins- Crochiere tackled an office renovation two years ago and is currently working on a group home for the organization.
“A typical job is, somebody buys a building or is about to purchase a building, and they think they got a great deal on it, and then they invite me to do a walk-through, and I start to think about building codes, ADA codes, energy codes, and I inform my potential client that their budget is about a third of what it should be because the building codes require a certain amount of updating,” he explained.
“They look at me initially with ‘this isn’t part of my financial plan this year,’” he went on. “But we work through it. I work with local archi- tects and engineers to do a full code review and
come up with design requirements and upgrade requirements, and then we typically work with the owner to put together a team of subcontrac- tors and suppliers to complete the project.”
In addition, Collins-Crochiere has been
a subcontractor to some large electrical and mechanical contractors on state and federal jobs, Crochiere said. “We act as support; some- times a large mechanical job requires two months of carpentry spread over six months. So we might be that supportive subcontractor to a larger mechanical contractor.”
Over the years, plenty of business has been of the repeat variety, he noted — maybe a for- mer customer is growing and is buying a second or third building, or a first renovation was good for 10 years, and now they call looking for more upgrades or a new addition.
“That’s been nice. And our relationships
in Western Mass. have been helpful. We often find that a new customer will call and say he’s spoken to two close friends, looking for a con- tractor, and our name comes up in both con- versations. So he says, ‘I guess you’re someone I should talk to.’ That has led to a few jobs over the years.”
Consistency has been king when it comes to the company’s core of subcontractors and suppliers as well, many of which have been the same for decades.
“It’s been an asset for our business to be able to rely on our relationships with these local sub- contractors who bring extra expertise in each of the trades, whether it’s electrical, mechanical, or plumbing. That means fewer surprises. That’s one factor that’s helped us with our consistent delivery of jobs.”
Thomas Crochiere at the Chicopee property he purchased, renovated, and tenanted up almost two decades ago.
Even at the Chicopee property, the company has done plenty of tenant buildouts and reno- vations over the years. Crochiere knows proper- ties everywhere are crying out for upgrades, but business owners often don’t realize it.
“In a perfect world, property owners would have a contractor or architect or engineer walk through their building every five years just to give them insight into how far behind the 8-ball they are, because codes change, technology
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