Page 58 - BusinessWest September 19, 2022

John and Laurie Raymaakers say there’s an understanding between contractors and clients when it comes to supply- chain issues because everyone is dealing with them.
“When we bid on jobs, usually eight to 15 people are bidding on that job,” Raymaakers said. “When you look at things, it’s really not that many compa- nies. Even though there doesn’t seem to be many projects to be done, there is still a lot of work to be done in those projects. Right now, we’re very busy.”
The Westfield-based firm is current- ly working on a C5 hangar at Westover Air Reserve Base, a cannabis dispensa- ry in the Whip City, and several pump stations. The company also has a few emergency contracts with the city of Westfield in case of emergencies.
Just like J.L. Raymaakers, many con- struction businesses are surviving in the current economic state. Sweitzer Construction, based in Monson, has been filling its backlog with projects going into 2023.
The family construction business specializes in work ranging from zon- ing and permitting for customers to acquiring sites for them to find, as well as helping customers secure financ- ing. Its projects range in geographic location from Greenfield to Spring- field; from Southwick to Lenox. Over the summer, it worked on projects in
a number of its specialties, including medical, dental, high-tech, education,
“Some of these jobs have had to be pushed off for almost a year because
it’s just about nine to 12 months to get product in.”
and cannabis facilities.
“We have a multi-year high-tech
customer, IMI Adaptas, in Palmer Industrial Park,” explained Craig Sweitzer, general manager of Sweitzer Construction. “We’ve done six build- ings for them, and again, it’s all high- tech manufacturing, from clean rooms to research and development to mass spectrometry labs.”
Springfield-based Gagliarducci Construction has been working on
a multitude of projects this summer also. Projects range from site work
in Springfield and Amherst and road work in Easthampton and Northamp- ton to the Newman Catholic Center at UMass Amherst and the new Aliki Per- roti & Seth Frank Lyceum building at Amherst College.
Jerry Gagliarducci, the firm’s presi- dent, said he’s got “a lot of stuff going on at Amherst College and UMass.”
Tim Pelletier, president of Raymond R. Houle Construction in Ludlow, said his business performs commercial and industrial construction, primar- ily working on medical facilities in the Western Mass. area. The firm has been busy this summer, “renovating said medical facilities and a few other pri- vate projects on the outside, but still
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SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
CONSTRUCTION
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