A Commitment to Renewal
ARC Construction Services, Inc. takes rehabilitation personally
To restore, renew and reuse—that’s the passion and promise of environmental remediation experts at Baltimore, Maryland-based ARC Construction Services, Inc. whether talking projects or people.
Established in 1988, the firm provides environmental remediation, demolition and reuse services on commercial and industrial properties throughout the mid-Atlantic. Its services include interior and exterior demolition, asbestos, lead and mold abatement and remediation, firestopping, and concrete floor preparation.
While those services may seem straightforward or even commonplace, its dynamic leader, Nick Thrappas, and his team stand apart for their dedicated focus on transforming the world, one project, one person at a time.
Asbestos Beginnings
Thrappas’ introduction to the environmental remediation business came through a firm that his parents founded called the Asbestos Removal Company (ARC) in 1983 while he was in the U.S. Air Force. The company provided asbestos removal services primarily for the Baltimore area.
After completing his military tour of duty, Thrappas returned home with an eye on expanding his parents’ company beyond the world of asbestos. He studied the current best practices, tools and technologies and, in 1988, he formed ARC Construction Services, a companion company to his parents’ firm that would include asbestos abatement and remediation.
“The idea was to maintain the continuity of the ARC brand while adding non-asbestos-related services, such as lead paint and mold abatement remediation, demolition and concrete floor prep,” explains Thrappas. “In those early days, we were one of the first environmental remediation companies in the area to use shot blasting to remove asbestos mastic from concrete floors.”
One of the first jobs of the new company was the nearly $2 million demolition and asbestos removal project at the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland’s (formerly 300 St. Paul Place) in downtown Baltimore in 1989.
Thrappas recalls, “My project manager and I worked that project seven days a week for seven months, but we finished and the client was completely satisfied. That job leapfrogged us from small mom-and-pop shop to a legitimate regional company.”
By 1991, Thrappas took over full ownership of his parents’ company and began to build a team with ideas and excitement to push the boundaries beyond abatement and remediation. By 2000, the company, with a dozen team members, was working throughout the mid-Atlantic on jobs of all scopes and scales.
Expanding Opportunities
One of Thrappas’ fundamental business tenets is to build stronger relationships with clients by completing jobs with quality and timeliness…and adding new services.
Thrappas confirms, “We’ve built a team that is open to exploring new opportunities. We look for ways to build on or add a new service that helps our existing client base and expands our people’s skills. We believe that mentality helps build stronger relationships and repeat customers. If they have a need and we can figure out how to fulfill it, we do it.”
One such example occurred in 2008 when a client asked about fire stopping or the sealing of any openings to prevent fire from passing through multiple building compartments. One member of Thrappas’ leadership team knew an individual who had been trained in firestopping life-safety services, and who might be looking for an opportunity. Soon after, at the recommendation of one of his team, Thrappas met Joe Wilkinson, a former golf professional with firestopping expertise and clear business development skills.
Wilkinson recalls, “I didn’t know Nick and his team at all at the time, but, from the first meet, I liked the feel of the company and believed it was the perfect opportunity to create a service from the ground up with people who had the same vision.”
As President of the then newly formed ARC Firestop Solutions Division, Wilkinson set out to build a skilled team, a client base and a reputation. He cross-trained and certified four ARC employees from the demolition division about all things firestop related, including codes, specifications, firestop materials and systems as well as proper installation methods to assure effectiveness and permanence.
The firm found a niche in the multifamily residential space and has completed projects that vary in scope and scale from 100 units to 700 units. The original four are still with the company and an additional 10 have joined the ARC Firestop Solutions team. The company is the top Hilti Accredited Firestop Specialty Contractor in the mid-Atlantic region and the No. 2 specialty contractor in the country.
Beyond the Demo
A few years after founding ARC Firestop Solutions, Thrappas sought to expand the company’s demolition capabilities.
He explains, “We had been taking on selective demolition projects since the 1990s, but I always believed we could do more in the demolition space beyond the environmental remediation. So I began looking for distressed properties that we could renew and rebuild with salvaged products and materials recovered from other properties.”
Not long after, he met Todd K. Scharf, an industrial hygienist, while working a job. Scharf had similar visions with regard to demolition and salvage. In 2013, Scharf came aboard as the project engineer with a focus on increasing efficiency. Today, he is Director of Demolition and Abatement Services with ARC Construction Services. His mission is to push the boundaries of demolition services to include material and system salvage and reclamation.
Scharf summarizes, “We find items that some think is trash. Roof decking, wood or steel beams, lights, metal paneling, etc.—are all ‘renewable’ products and materials. We can make shelves and stools from a 3-foot wood beam, for example. We’re selective about the demo projects we accept and look for the complex, high-visibility structures. Our goal is to be a long-term source of reformed, recovered systems for other properties.”
One such project is the $50 million Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore County, Maryland, for Guinness, which in addition to select demolition, includes repurposing, recommissioning and reinstalling various systems. The company’s pride and joy is the new ARC Construction Services headquarters that was largely constructed with repurposed materials, such as salvaged glass block and steel. The ARC Construction Services team moved into its new office and warehouse facilities in 2017.
It also opens the door to grow relationships. “Our new facility includes a state-of-the-art training classroom and an outdoor patio entertainment to host business and construction association events,” Thrappas says. “Our clients now have the opportunity to see firsthand our equipment and capabilities. The larger warehouse also allows us to store much more inventory of equipment and supplies so that we can mobilize quicker and respond to our customers’ needs.”
I don’t want my employees to think they’re just a number. I want them to feel like they belong and are part of something special.” Nick Thrappas, President, ARC Construction Services, Inc.
A State of Union
Since starting the company, ARC Construction Services has grown from a handful of employees to over 80—and one step into their offices and visitors know that they are a team. Thrappas and his leadership team continually look for ways to build relationships with his growing employee base., “I don’t want my employees to think they’re just a number,” Thrappas says. “I want them to feel like they belong and are part of something special.”
To build those relationships, Thrappas has increased the number of in-house activities, including lunches and even outside activities, such as a bull roast or crab feast for clients, employees and their families.
In addition, he’s investing in his team’s professional advancement, pushing beyond just safety and technical training, to the soft skills including communication, sales and customer service—efforts facilitated by his direct involvement with area associations. Thrappas has been involved with a number of associations, including the Maryland Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, the American Subcontractors Association of Baltimore and the American Society of Professional Estimators Baltimore Chapter #21, the last two of which he is past president. Much of his work with these organizations is focused on training so he’s intimately familiar with educational events/activities that might interest his team.
He adds, “A lot of times, our field guys have more daily contact with the client than the people in our office, so we’re offering educational programs to support that need to network and communicate.” He’s also focused on creating opportunities to learn new skills and cross-training his staff. A team might do floor prep one day and demo the next or operate skid steerers one day and concrete saws the next. “Our team is multifaceted and flexible to help on any job—and therefore their compensation is higher,” Scharf adds. “Of course, the more the employees are cross-trained the more valuable to us as well. It allows us to take the more technically challenging projects.”
Providing Second Chances
In 2003, ARC Construction Services became a union contractor. “This is a skilled profession and we need a steady source of qualified workers—unions can help us maintain those credentials,” Thrappas explains. “As well, the local unions wanted to build up their member rosters in our industry classification.”
But union labor is just one part of the ARC Construction Services family. As part of his company’s community outreach, Thrappas has worked closely with a local drug recovery program to hire and train employees for the rehab/repurposing side of his business.
Thrappas adds, “As a remediation and salvage company, our whole focus is giving materials and structures a second chance. I think it makes sense that we do that for people as well.”
To date, ARC Construction Services employs six people from the program. “They’ve been with us for 18 months, and they are phenomenal,” Thrappas says. “I’m definitely open to working with more from the program.” Given the scope and scale of projects that Thrappas and his team continue to take on, they will need ever more dedicated, skilled and trained staff.
Moving Forward
ARC Construction Services and its affiliated companies have grown into a large multistate operation with more than 80 employees in the last decade. They’ve completed over 5,000 demolition and abatement jobs since founding the company while expanding services that range from concrete floor prep to post-construction and general cleaning (such as pressure washing and floor polishing).
Looking forward, Thrappas concludes, “I’m proud of the work we do in our communities, and even more pleased with the impact we’re able to make on our communities, whether on a project or helping people restart their lives.”