Category Archives: Building Trades

Eastern Heating And Cooling Becomes Part Of 12-Company Group: Comfort Systems USA

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A training session is put on by Dennis Choiniere, right, at Eastern Heating and Cooling.
Courtesy Eastern Heating and Cooling

By Jill Nagy
In the late 1990s, when acquisitions fever was high, a group of venture capitalists made an offer to Fred Giardinelli, owner of Eastern Heating and Cooling, a thriving company that does work throughout the Capital District, including the Glens Falls and Saratoga areas: They would buy his company, but he would continue to operate it.
He accepted the offer, as did enough other business owners, to form a 12-company conglomerate that is now Comfort Systems USA, a national company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that has some $2.1 billion in annual revenues.

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Building Trades Industry Is Working To Combat Shortages In The Labor Pool

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Officials in the building trades fields say a shortage of skilled laborers still exists.

People in the building trades and construction industry continue to say there is a shortage of skilled labor.
Kevin Maynard, owner of Kevin Maynard Construction in Fort Ann, said older skilled workers are aging out of the industry and there are not enough younger workers to replace them.
“It’s hard to find young people who want to learn the trade and want to do it well. Everyone who has talent, already has a secure job,” said Maynard. “We do everything with all of our heart, and we want to find guys that follow suit with that level of work quality.”
“It’s impacted how much work I can take on because I just don’t have the manpower,” he said.
Maynard stated the shortage has increased the need for full-service construction companies to use sub-contractors. But those sub-contracting companies are facing the same shortage in skilled workers.

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Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Field Is Among Those Utilizing New Technology

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Dave Simons co-owner of Simons Heating and Cooling in Queensbury, works on a boiler replacement project. The company says HVAC technology is advancing at a rapid rate.
Courtesy Simons Heating and Cooling

by Christine Graf
“One of the recent changes in the industry is that it’s not all about spinning wrenches and getting greasy and dirty. There’s a lot of technical stuff that needs to be done within the trade,” said Dan Keating, president of BPI Mechanical in Waterford.
His company does HVAC work as well as installations of mechanical systems and equipment.
Jason McCormack, co-owner and operations manager of Simons Heating and Cooling in Queensbury, agreed that HVAC technology has been advancing at a rapid rate.

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Recruiting New Workers For Jobs In Building Trades Continues To Be A Challenge Locally

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Union leaders, business owners and educators say that recruiting workers or for the building trades is a challenge, but young people can make a good living if they choose to enter a trade.
©2018 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Maureen Werther

People in the building and trades industry—union leaders, business owners and educators—continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades. 

At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio talked about the need for skilled labor industry-wide. Bonacio Construction, formed in 1988, is a major residential and commercial builder in the Capital Region.

“It’s been a challenge for the last 15-20 years getting plumbers, roofers, framers. We’ve noticed in our own company there are way too many people who are in their 40s and 50s and not enough in the 20- and 30-year-old range,” said Bonacio.

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Gansevoort Company Official Is NESCA President, Replacing Local Business Woman

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Cathy Morin of Niatrust Drywall in Wilton, was the third female president of NESCA.
©2018 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Maureen Werther

Lee Keirstead, project manager for Stone Bridge Iron and Steel, Inc. in Gansevoort, is the new president of Northeast Subcontractors Association (NESCA). 

NESCA is a nonprofit trade association based in Albany. It represents nearly 500 subcontracting companies, specialty contractors and suppliers of construction material and equipment, making it the largest subcontractor group in the country. Its members include both union and open-shop companies.

NESCA’s goal is to serve the needs of commercial, industrial and institutional subcontractors, specialty contracts and material suppliers in the Capital District, Hudson Valley, the North Country and west into Binghamton. It works on issues affecting its members and it provides education, advocacy and networking opportunities to its members.

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Local Plumbers Union State-Of-The-Art Training Center Key To Filling Jobs In Region

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At the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773 training center in Queensbury, instructors teach the current technologies for the fast-changing industry. Here, they work in a ‘clean room’ setting.
Courtesy Local 773

By Maureen Werther

For the 450 members of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773, the outlook regarding the future of jobs is good. Its state-of-the-art training center in Queensbury continues to prepare journeymen for the fast-growing list of jobs in and around the region, union officials said.

Located at 37 Luzerne Road in Queensbury,  the team of expert instructors and support staff at Local 773 serves seven counties that span from Saratoga County to the Canadian border. They provide qualified pipefitters, welders, plumbers, HVAC workers and fire-suppression experts to industries ranging from commercial and light industrial to high-tech companies such as GlobalFoundries.

The $5-million facility was built in response to the rapid increase in apprenticeships the union experienced seven years ago, officials said. It was located on Bluebird Road in South Glens Falls but was no longer able to accommodate the union’s growing membership.

“Our members decided to invest in growing,” said Nelson Charron, marketing representative for Local 773 and longtime member of the union.

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Organization Formed To Help Upstate NY Masonry Contractors Market Their Trade

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Masonry contractors in Upstate New York have formed a new organization to assist in marketing their trade.

The Upstate Masonry Institute (UMI) is the contractors’ new outreach division with the mission to advocate, educate and promote use of masonry in construction projects that span from the Capital Region to Syracuse in the west and up to the U.S-Canadian border.

Upstate Masonry Institute was designed and is dedicated to improve the overall utilization of masonry materials of all types in the Upstate New York area in commercial, industrial and institutional construction projects, officials for the new organization said.

“UMI is here to represent the masonry industry by educating the developers, owners, architects, engineers and contractors involved in the success of masonry construction applications, providing the knowledge and means of increasing efficiency and productivity in masonry, and advocating the increased use of brick, block and stone,” the group said in a news release.

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