Page 47 - BusinessWest September 15, 2021

“Everyone needs a living wage, so we’re really conscious about paying fairly,” the owner of Summerlin Floors in Amherst said. “That’s what’s kind of got me through this — and people have been very loyal to me.”
Shifting Gears
Like Sweitzer, Bronner worried at the start of the pandemic whether the company would stay in business. Instead, business boomed.
“I’ve never seen anything like it — it’s crazy,” she said, noting that numer- ous homeowner trends contributed to that, such as families shifting spend- ing money from vacations to home improvement or simply staying home more and being more likely to notice needed repairs.
“And now the costs of houses have risen so high, people are saying, ‘I’m going to stay here and fix this place up.’”
Bronner’s workforce challenges aren’t in house, but rather come from suppliers and shippers.
“We have all this business, but it’s
a challenge for us with the supply chains right now,” she explained. “The big one’s freight, getting materials. It used to take us five days to get carpets; now it’s three to five weeks, if we’re lucky. That has been a challenge for scheduling.”
Customers have been patient, she was quick to note. “Before, we told cus- tomers they’d have to wait two weeks for an order to come in, and now we’re saying two months, and they say, ‘OK.’ That’s been interesting.”
“We’re trying to make construction one of the careers people can get connected to — because I think good opportunities are there.”
Supply shortages have led to price increases as well — and constant fluc- tuations. “It got so bad, I had to take the prices off everything in the store and quote people as they came in and picked things out. I couldn’t keep up with it.”
It’s an issue that could linger post- pandemic, she noted. “I’ve never seen prices just go down. With the exception of gas, costs tend to stay up.”
In short, the world of construction, home improvement, and associated trades are grappling with workforce shortages in different ways — and most business owners say they could, and would, be even busier than they are now if that wasn’t an issue.
But Fontaine believes a tight work- force will continue to be an industry problem, and he hasn’t been lax in
looking for solutions. “We’ve been very active trying to promote the trades and bring people onto the unions.”
One novel strategy has been to
hire Liz Wambui as director of Diver- sity, Inclusion & Community Impact. She plays a critical role in leading the company’s projects and project teams to maximize opportunities for minor- ity- and women-owned business enter- prises, but also in attracting a more diverse workforce. Fontaine Bros. aims to partner with unions, trade schools, and others to more actively promote and provide opportunities for diverse and local residents.
“Part of what Liz is doing is work-
Ann Bronner (right, with daughter Lori Zumbruski) says the flooring business is robust — but workforce issues along the supply chain
have been frustrating.
Mainline Drive, PO Box 358, Westfield, MA 01086
Tel: 413-568-8624 Fax: 413-562-7136 www.forishconstruction.com
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SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 47
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