Page 40 - BusinessWest September 14 2020
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The new Maple Elementary School, a Fontaine Brothers project, takes shape in Easthampton.
Construction
Essential Work
Despite the Pandemic, Area Contractors Stay Busy
By Joseph Bednar
ack in March, ‘essential’ was a magic word for employers across Massachusetts. It meant they could continue to work, provide services, and generate revenue
during a time when so many sectors were completely shutting down.
But to Laurie Raymaakers, the word means more than that, because construction has always been essential to communities — par-
ticularly the infrastructure and civil-engineer- ing projects her Westfield-based company, J.L. Raymaakers & Sons, is known for.
“Through the pandemic season, we’ve con- tinued to get new jobs, and we have been able to keep all our employees working,” she told BusinessWest. “We are considered essential workers because we do a lot of infrastructure work for municipalities, which is very impor- tant to every community. We do all kinds of infrastructure — sewers, water, drainage, pump stations, culverts.”
40 SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 CONSTRUCTION BusinessWest
