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Rhode Island Contractor Triples Volume In Three Years
-Catalano Construction outpaces national economy with torrid growth in public
and private site work
story by Paul Fournier ( article taken from
New England Construction,
May 24, 1999)
In just three years, a Rhode Island site contractor has tripled its work
volume - much of it repeat business from many of the largest building
contractors in southern New England.
"This seems to be taking on a life of its own" said Diane Catalano, president of
Catalano Construction of Cumberland. Diane, 45, and husband Bernie, 47,vice
president, have seen their ten-
year-old
firm experience skyrocketing growth in the last few years.
"We grossed $1.8 million in '95, but last year we topped $5.4 million," said
Diane, a registered nurse and mother of three, who continued to practice nursing
on a part-time basis until last year.
So remarkable was this young company's growth that Entrepreneur Magazine ranked
Diane as one of the nation's top ten woman entrepreneurs of the year last year,
based on a business list prepared by Dunn & Bradstreet.
Bernie, her husband of 20 years and a graduate civil engineer with more than 30
years experience in heavy construction, said much of their business is from the
same customers.
"We have a lot of repeat work, as much as 50 percent," he said.
Persistence has paid off for the Catalanos, as large building contractors whose
business they sought for some time have begun employing the Cumberland firm for
site work, parking lots and other earthmoving tasks.
"It took us eight years to get our first site contract with O.Ahlborg & Sons,
and in the last two years we've had four big projects with them. Another large
and reputable Rhode Island contractor, E.W. Burman, Inc., has used us for at
least 60 jobs in the last few years. We're doing five site jobs for them right
now," he said.
Other regular contractor clients include such well-known firms as J.L. Marshall
& Sons Inc., Dimeo Construction Co., H.V. Collins Co., Housing Systems Inc., and
Berkshire Construction.
Site work preformed by Catalano consists of general excavation and backfilling,
installing sewers and drains, demolishing structures, clearing and grading, and
forming and placing concrete foundations. The company subcontracts paving to
others.
The Catalanos cite their employees as the number one reason for their success.
"We have 38 full-time employees, and they all do good work," said Diane. "They
don't tolerate shoddiness themselves. They're dedicated and proud of what they
do. And this leads to a lot of repeat business."
Employees possess wide-ranging skills. There are equipment operators, cement
finishers, bricklayers , carpenters, and laborers. And they're all union
members.
"We're an all-union company," said Diane. "Most of our work is on prevailing
wage jobs, for example, federally financed public projects. However, we do a lot
of private work and we still pay them union wages. We get some concessions from
the unions which allows us to compete with non-union companies."
At the management level, key personnel include manager / estimators Bob
Fruggiero and George Damiano, P.E., general superintendent Tony Costa, carpenter
foreman Mark Sherman, and site foremen John Garcia, Joe Santos, Ed Cordeiro,
Alan Cordeiro, and Carlos Carvalho. Site layout is done by surveyor Ron Moore.
There are no fulltime mechanics on the payroll. Preventive maintenance and
repairs are accomplished by an outsource.
"Almost all of our equipment are John Deere," said Bernie, "and we send them to
a local company, Steve's Equipment and Repair of Bristol. Each week,
superintendent Costa gets the hours and comments on each machine from the
operators. Equipment needing maintenance or repair is sent to Steve's. He's
really knowledgeable about John Deere, since he was employed by a John Deere
dealer for about ten years before he started his own business. He's also expert
in repairing and maintaining trucks."
Several of the employees came with Bernie when he left an area site contractor
to start up his own company with Diane.
"Bernie just got tired of doing work for others," said Diane. "We set up the
business with me as the majority partner, but I still had to work in nursing
three days a week because we needed the income in those early days. The company
grossed just $12,000 the first year."
Bernie had worked for a half dozen site and foundation contractors over a period
of 20 years, following his graduation from Roger Williams University with a
degree in civil engineering.
"Over the years I had worked for many contractors. I started with Forte
Brothers, and worked for them all through college on the cooperative education
program. Later, I was employed by Campanella Corp., D'Ambra Co., Pasquazzi
Construction, and Fleet Construction, to name some, so by the time we started
our own business I had plenty of field experience in site and road work,
demolition, concrete foundations and paving."
The Catalanos' children are all involved to some extent in the business.
"We have three children, Jason, Lauren, and Corinne," said Diane. "When we
established the company, Jason was only nine and Lauren seven, and Corinne
wasn't even born yet. Now Jason is studying architecture at Norwich University,
and he works for us during breaks doing surveying, working as a laborer-helper,
or going for parts and equipment for job superintendents. Lauren does
secretarial work on school breaks, and helps with invoicing and office
paperwork, and Corinne does filing, makes copies and does other office chores
for us."
Even Bernie's parents are involved. Retired architect Frank and wife Yvette do
payrolls, typing, general bookkeeping and other clerical work for the company on
a part time basis.
Business administration is handled by Diane, which includes general finances,
payrolls, job costing, union reports and other paperwork, while Bernie draws on
his long construction experience to oversee estimates and project management. He
also personally manages selected projects for longstanding customers. This
division of labor seems to be mutually satisfying as their personal
relationship, which goes back many years. They grew up together, attending the
same elementary school.
"I started dating Bernie when I was just 13 and we've been together for many
years. We're best friends, and we work very well together."
As for the future, the Catalanos are content to let the market determine their
company's rate of growth.
"We have no grandiose plans for expansion," said Diane. "A lot of the volume
depends on the status of the clients and the general economy. But judging from
the amount of repeat business we're getting, it appears we'll continue to grow
as our reputation does."
Woman earns national ranking as entrepreneur
-Diane Catalano's family-run construction company ranks third on a national
scale.
by Sumathi Reddy (article taken from the
Providence Journal-Bulletin, January 4, 1999)
CUMBERLAND --- Diane Catalano looked up from her desk with a start. What was
this? She was ranked the number three woman entrepreneur in the nation?
This was news to her. But glancing at the paperwork, there she was.
Diane Catalano, president of Catalano Construction Inc., 10 Nate Whipple
Highway, ranked number three in Entrepreneur Magazine's top 10 woman
entrepreneurs of the year.
The list was compiled by Dun & Bradstreet, based on 1997 sales revenue.
According to the list, Catalano's construction company started in 1989 with
$12,500 and ended 1997 with $4.7 million in sales.
Yes, that was correct, Catalano said, nodding her head. As the news settled in,
she smiled, showing the paper to her coworkers, most of whom are relatives.
She vaguely recalled filling out paperwork a few months ago, but had heard
nothing from the magazine or Dun & Bradstreet.
She scurried around the office. It's a homey office where the family cat, a
huge, black cat named Lucky, resides.
This was a busy time. Christmas shopping for three children. She'd have to talk
later.
A week later, a more relaxed Catalano settles in the main room of the company's
office. Sitting nearby is her husband, Bernie, who is the vice president of the
company. The two share the duties of running the business as partners, without
regard for titles.
Diane, 45, takes care of most of the paperwork, such as the payroll, union
business, and finances. Bernie, 47, is trained as a civil engineer and deals
with most of the construction work, such as estimates and project management.
Both say they were shocked and pleasantly surprised by the award. Who would have
thought their business would be the third most successful woman-owned business
in the country?
They admit that the business has expanded and grown over the years, but note
that $4.7 million represents total sales, not their profit for their year. They
won't get into exact numbers, but say they live comfortably, certainly not
luxuriously.
As the two chat about the business, they sometimes finish each other's
sentences.
That is not surprising since the two not only work together and live together
now, they grew up together in Manville.
They attended elementary school together and started dating when Diane was 13
and Bernie was 15.
He went to Roger Williams College and she went to Newport Hospital School of
Nursing.
They got married about 20 years ago and three years later moved into their
Cumberland home, on 195 Bear Hill Rd.. They built the house themselves, Bernie
says proudly.
"I was the project manager on that one," Diane says chuckling.
Building his own house was one of Bernie's dreams. The other was to start a
construction company.
And so Bernie and Diane set out to start their family-run business. Until last
year, Diane also continued to work sporadically as a registered nurse at Rhode
Island Hospital.
The construction company works on projects throughout the state and in
Massachusetts and Connecticut. It functions as a general contractor and as a
subcontractor for other companies.
The two rattle off projects they have completed, ranging from site work at the
new Fleet Skating Center in Providence, to playgrounds, parks and parking lots.
Business is really good right now, both Catalanos say, and they are averaging
about 45 projects a year.
It wasn't always like this.
The business started in 1989 with about four employees and seven jobs a year.
The company was run out of their house on Bear Hill Road.
"It got to be crowded and too busy really fast," says Diane. "There was no room
for equipment."
So they moved to a red barn across from their current office space. But they
outgrew the office space there as well, finally moving into their current
location about four years ago.
Business was good the first few years, but in the early 1990s it was tough,
Bernie said.
"There was not a lot of construction, prices were down," Bernie said. "We ended
some years with negative numbers."
"Running a business is like riding a roller coaster," he added. "You have good
years and you have bad years."
Now they have a solid customer base, many of whom come back for repeat business.
Bernie's mother and father also work in the business, as well as the couple's
children: two daughters, ages 8 and 16, and an 18-year-old son. All three help
out in various ways.
"It's really a family affair," Diane says.
Jason, the eldest, is currently an architecture major at Norwich University, in
Vermont.
"He called the other day and mentioned that he was thinking about changing his
major to construction management," Diane said. "He asked us if we'd like a
second-generation company."
The Catalanos say they would.