Page 23 - BusinessWest December 8, 2021

changes, things wear out,” he explained. “And yet, when someone goes to sell their building or someone buys a building or someone plans an upgrade, the owner is frequently shocked at how much they have to do and how expensive a project might be — they only wanted to do
where we have some essential businesses that manufacture products here, so it was nice to be able to do some things to support them and keep our employees busy,” he said.
That was especially fortuitous because the firm had an office renovation in the planning stages, and the client — another essential service — called and decided they didn’t want anyone working in the building for a few months.
While work eventually restarted for contrac- tors during the pandemic, this past year has seen a global supply-chain crunch impact firms of all sizes, and that remains a serious concern (see story on page 15).
“It’s hour to hour — it’s no longer planning for the week, it’s ‘what happened last night? What product isn’t going to get to the job this week that was supposed to be delivered, and it’s now six weeks out?’ It throws a wrench into everything,” Crochiere said.
“But it’s a nationwide issue, and everyone’s aware of it, so customers have been understand- ing when I send them an e-mail indicating we’ve had a wrinkle in this week’s plan or this month’s plan,” he went on. “Fortunately, our subcontrac- tors are looking forward and trying to purchase long-lead items as early as possible to try to avoid significant effects on jobs. It’s a weekly — no, it’s a daily inconvenience, but everyone is trying to work through it.”
Like other contractors BusinessWest spoke with for this issue, Crochiere said demand for work is plentiful, and once the global issues clear, the future seems bright.
“I think people will continue to want to improve their buildings and make capital improvements to facilitate the changing busi-
ness environment. Manufacturing has changed
a bit over the last two years, and certainly office usage has changed the way we use our spaces. So I expect there will be continued work in the pipe- line as a result of people adjusting their business needs.”
The other hindrance to taking on that work is, of course, persistent workforce shortages in con- struction — an issue that long predates COVID.
“The labor shortage is certainly an issue,” he said. “It does affect us. It would be nice to find another experienced, capable carpenter or labor- er or employee, but I’d say those that respond to ads aren’t really employable for the work we do. They either don’t have the skills, don’t have the experience, or they don’t have the driver’s license that’s necessary. The labor shortage is affecting all of our subcontractors and everyone we speak to.”
Crochiere is a believer in construction as a career, though, and would like to see more young people catch the same vision.
“Very few young people are showing interest in the physical labor, but one has to be not just physically capable, but smart — technology is changing in every trade, every business, so it’s
a great opportunity for young people who are motivated and want to work, with their hands and with their brain. There’s a lot to learn, but the opportunities are limitless. The lifestyle is good, the income level is good, they’re physically active during the day ... it could be a good thing.”
It certainly has been at Collins-Crochiere Con- struction Services, for 26 years and counting. u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
“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.”
a conference room and a bathroom, and itturnsouttobea whole lot more.
“After so many years in the business, we’ve come to expect it, but unlike getting your car inspected each year, no one inspects their own building each year. And it would be help- ful, I think, for own- ers to do that,” he went on. “Even with efficiencies, there
are some products out there that have a short payback time,
but they’re never considered until someone considers a major renovation or is purchasing a building.”
New Normal
While, as Crochiere noted earlier, some years have been stronger than others, no one was pre- pared for the chaos of the early days of COVID- 19, and its lingering economic effects.
“When COVID hit, we were here for probably four months during that initial shutdown period,
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