Complete Confidence & Customer Focus
The comprehensive services of Iacoboni Site Specialists Inc.
Companies that offer comprehensive site services are few and far between. The reason is simple: It takes time to acquire the expertise to consistently do great work and build trust with clients. Family-owned and operated, Iacoboni Site Specialists Inc. has had time and talent on its side—since 1991.
That year, Tom Iacoboni built on the independence, expertise and entrepreneurial ambitions of his grandfather, Camillo, and father, Thomas, before him, and launched a full-service site work and utility construction business with 12 employees, maintaining the character and spirit of the Iacoboni name.
The Complete Package & Total Peace of Mind
Today, Iacoboni Site Specialists, based in Baltimore, has more than 125 highly skilled workers with unique skill sets. It also has adaptability to keep pace with innovation and new processes, and an impressive equipment list of 200 pieces of heavy machinery.
The company’s full-spectrum site services have developed from a confluence of expertise and consistency over time—inspiring great collaboration, superior project management, excellent communication and a keen customer focus. The firm’s level of expertise has evolved within a close-knit culture that honors tradition and quality.
“Our company is very family-oriented,” says Jim Birchfield, director of risk management. “We have a lot of father-son and uncle-nephew teams. Tom Iacoboni started the company, and Tom’s brother-in-law, William Francik, is our Vice President. It’s a very close-knit company and everyone looks out for each other. A lot of guys have been here for two decades and that says a lot to me about the company.”
Iacoboni Site Specialists grew from comprehensive and transformative site packages, and an emphasis on safety, transparency and strong client relationships, to create an impressive portfolio of offerings. These services include clearing and grubbing, demolition, terrain preparation, paving, water/sewer installation and snow removal.
Jim explains that, when it all comes together, the client can rest easy knowing that every aspect of an exterior site construction project—from installation services, waterlines, storm drains, curbs, sewer systems, site paving and more—will be taken care of and handled with exceptional skill. Iacoboni Site Specialists also strives to ensure the best in comprehensive utility services, and has the experience, referrals and a portfolio to back up its claims. “All of it adds up to total peace of mind for the construction client, knowing that everything will be taken care of so they can begin their job on time,” Jim says.
Some of the firm’s private- and public-sector clients include: Bozzuto Construction Company, Whiting-Turner, Commercial Construction, LLC, James G. Davis Construction Corp., Lendlease, Scott-Long Construction, Monarc Construction Inc. and Camden Development Inc.
For the members of Iacoboni Site Specialists, every job is special and unique. Their mindsets reflect a commitment to serve the construction client, to understand and fulfill the client’s vision, and to earn the client’s respect and referral by providing exceptional work and superior customer service.
Going Green—the Camden Complex
Not all projects are created equal. The Camden Shady Grove apartment project for Camden Development, for instance, challenged the Iacoboni team to take on a job driven by efficiency, optimal energy performance and sustainable solutions.
“It is a project we were especially proud of,” Jim says. “Camden Development is the general contractor and owner of the property and they are a longtime customer of ours. When the opportunity came up, our project manager, Greg Anderson, submitted a bid and we were successful and provided all the site work for it.”
Constructed in 2016, Camden Shady Grove “is an apartment complex with 457 units, located in Rockville, Maryland. It was a unique project for the Iacoboni team. The facility was pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which represented the green building standards that aligned with the developer’s priority for environmentally responsible practices.
The team put energy-efficient details into the site design, such as stormwater drains to sustain bio planters. Skilled in all aspects of site preparation, it was well within the company’s wheelhouse to complete the project while maintaining a dual focus on quality and safety along the way.
“It was a very difficult job,” Jim says. “We worked with the county and the city of Rockville. The county had one idea of how things should be done, and the city had another. It was challenging from a code standpoint, from both the city’s and county’s perspectives, but we got it worked out. There were some issues with quasi wetlands. It was in a wooded area and all the trees had to be removed. It was congested with two major thoroughfares right at the corner, and at some point, we had to close road lanes.”
He adds further, “There were three buildings around a courtyard, and the courtyard had to be perfect before they put the last puzzle piece together, because once they closed that in you couldn’t get another machine in there. Everything the team did had to be fit together and the team had to think three to four moves ahead of the construction.”
Safe & Sound
The Iacoboni motto is: “We work safely, honestly and efficiently.” The ability to start and complete a project with excellence begins with a plan, but the process requires flexibility and talent, great communication and a commitment to safety every step of the way.
Jim offers a compelling testimony: “Duane Canter, Director of Construction and Sr. Project Manager at Camden Development, came up to me and said, ‘I’ve worked with a lot of trades and I have to tell you, your guys are the most conscientious about safety that I’ve ever worked with.’”
Jim’s tenure in the risk management industry and his role as a safety trainer both have a lot to do with the team’s focus. “I’ve been doing this for 48 years,” he says. “I’m like the Farmers [insurance] commercial, ‘I know a few things because I’ve seen a few things.’ I’m the trainer for all safety issues and subjects. Most of our employees go through OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) 10-hour standards training, and many of our foremen have OSHA 30 cards. Anytime it rains, we have a training class. From confined spaces to silicosis to defensive driving, we train on the full gamut of safety issues.”
With approximately 70 employees in the field, Jim has deputized every worker on the ground to be the safety eyes of the company.
“They’re not afraid to call one another out,” he says. “It’s part of the culture of the company and everyone embraces it. No one wants to be hurt and to be off work.”
There’s something akin to a generational promise for a company to maintain the high standards of quality and safety that the Iacoboni Site Specialists leaders have instilled in their employees. Maybe it stems from their depth of perspective and talent, or maybe it’s just a shared commitment to imparting the spirit of the past to inspire the next generation to live up to the Iacoboni name.