Page 31 - BusinessWest May 12, 2025

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shifting to meet emerging needs in the
market, Stone and White said COVID
added several exclamation points to
that line of thinking.
And as he got into that discission,
Stone flashed back to a meeting with
some administrators at Baystate Health
about work the company was doing for
the system, and what it could do mov-
ing forward.
“I was ready to shake their hands
as they were coming in, and they said,
‘we can’t do that anymore,’ he recalled,
adding that this was very early in 2020,
before most in this region had a good
understanding of what COVID was.
“They said they could tap feet or
bump elbows — that was it.
“We did our presentation, talked
about our services and projects we’d
done with them,” he went on. “I asked
the group if there was anything out-
side of what they know we do that
they would have a need for. And one
of them said, ‘do you guys make those
sneeze guards?’”
The answer was, essentially, ‘no
but we could,’ he went on, adding
that a few months later, those acrylic
shields — as well as ‘stay 6 feet apart’
signs and other items — not only res-
cued the company at a time when the
phones simply stopped ringing, but
contributed to what was its best year
to that date.
And that pivoting represents per-
haps the best example of how the
company has responded to change
and created new markets for itself.
“We changed our business model a
number of times over the years,” said
Stone. “When things were going well,
we went in that direction, when they
didn’t go well, we went in a different
direction. And I think we grew smart-
ly; we didn’t grow too big too fast. We
did it in a smart way where we added
people and added equipment as need-
ed and went after markets where we
thought we could be the best.
“Jim and I are both guys where we
never got up any morning in our lives
and said, ‘let’s be mediocre today,’” he
went on. “We’re two guys who get up
every day and say, ‘if we’re going to do
something, we’re going to be the best
at it.’”
White agreed.
“I’ve never been able to really
relax,” he explained. “We’re always,
always fully focused and looking at
everything closely. Maybe it’s over the
top, but it’s the only way to keep this a
top-notch organization.”
Another element of the company’s
growth is team building, said Stone.
“A key part of our success over the
years has been to surround ourselves
with good people who wanted to be
here every day, who enjoyed the work
we do, who really bought into our
purpose and our mission, and saw
opportunity working here,” he said.
“Our clients really enjoy working with
team behind us that is focused on those
same goals.” BW
“Jim and I are both guys where we never got up any morning
in our lives and said, ‘let’s be mediocre today. We’re two guys
who get up every day and say, ‘if we’re going to do something,
us and with our people; we know that
business is built on relationships, and
we’re done a really good job of building
relationships and building loyal clients
over the years.”
Another key part of their success is
we’re going to be the best at it.”
continuously setting the bar higher.
We had a great year in 2024, and we
celebrated,” said Stone. “But we start at
zero at the start of the next year; we’re
always looking to go above and beyond
what we did previously, and we have a
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