The Who's Who Rhode Island Article Archive

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Saving the Day
Fall/Winter 2021

The team at Truax Corporation may not wear capes or have superhuman powers, but they are considered heroes by many. When an emergency call comes in to Office Manager Maria Gerrior, people are in desperate straits. “Something might be blocking…

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Expertise Drives Success
Fall/Winter 2021

Metal building systems are known for value construction. Those built by BARNES buildings & management group, inc. (BARNES buildings) are best known for their quality from start to finish.

Protecting, Growing Clients’ Assets
Fall/Winter 2021

Pat DiCerbo’s clients are building the backbone of America—from roads, tunnels and bridges to buildings and other infrastructure. “My clients are creative thinkers and risk takers. They’re solving seemingly unsolvable problems.”

Concept to Occupancy
Fall/Winter 2021

The Music Hall, built in 1878, is an icon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. When the 900-seat theater was renovated in 2007, DeStefano & Associates, Inc. was called to action. Maintaining the historic integrity of the structure, finishing on a short…

A Million Masks and More
Spring/Summer 2021

John Orfanides, President of Work Force Inc., is great at spotting an opportunity—and even better at seizing it. It’s how he’s grown the company into a nationwide supplier of high-visibility apparel in just five years. And it’s how he’s been…

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When What’s Under is Top Priority
Spring/Summer 2021

Just as buildings require strong foundations, the same goes for floors. Below-the-surface materials and workmanship determine the precision and effectiveness of floor-surface leveling and floor-to-subsurface adhesion. Even so, the floor-preparation…

Beneath Every Roof, Lies a Story
Spring/Summer 2021

The adage that a family that works together stays together certainly rings true for the Breault family. Alphonse Breault started his roofing career in 1947. In 1966, he and his wife, Theresa, founded Breault Roofing, Inc. in New Bedford, Massachusetts.…

No Compromise on Quality
Spring/Summer 2021

Bill Johnson, Manager of National Property Consulting & Management, LLC (NPC&M), is comfortable with aggressive project schedules. “We get in and get out. We’ve never missed a deadline, and we do what it takes to get the job done on time and…

Keeping Risk Out of Site
Fall/Winter 2020

For Bill Hogan, President of Mobile Fencing Inc., construction fences aren’t about keeping out thieves; they’re about keeping out lawyers. “A construction site can be a dangerous place. A fence keeps the outside world out and reduces your legal…

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Concrete Solutions
Fall/Winter 2020

Established in 1989, Marguerite Concrete, Inc. is a Massachusetts-based company that delivers high-quality concrete construction and comprehensive service packages for construction managers, general contractors and developers across New England.…

Brothers Who Build
Fall/Winter 2020

Brothers Michael and Jeff Leibowitz have the construction industry in their DNA. The two grew up in the business, learning how to read blueprints while watching their father run his own construction company.

Building on Service
Fall/Winter 2020

Woodworking always came easy to Michael Sarno, Founder and President of Mass Cabinets Inc., in Methuen, Massachusetts. As a student at Medford Vocational Technical High School, he learned under exceptional furniture craftsmen and handily absorbed…

Strength Through Compassion
Fall/Winter 2020

As early as age 7, Rebecca Collins articulated to her parents her desire to work in the construction industry. “Construction always intrigued me,” says Rebecca, who is now President of Collins Construction Co., Inc. (Collins). “This was largely…

Cultivating Growth
Spring/Summer 2020

If there’s one thing Steve Lawton is most passionate about, it’s looking for fertile soil upon which to plant the seeds of business growth. He saw that opportunity in landscaping.

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Safety First
Spring/Summer 2020

For more than 60 years, Cranston, Rhode Island-based Cormack-Routhier Agency, Inc. has provided insurance and bonds to the construction industry. Established in 1958 by Ken Cormack and Ed Routhier, the agency serves clients in New England, New…

Leading the Way
Spring/Summer 2020

Efficiency. Sustainability. Economic growth. Energy security. These are some of the primary benefits provided through electrified modes of transport, including electric vehicles (EVs), which have become increasingly popular in recent years.…

Driven to Succeed
Spring/Summer 2020

Few people know the challenges of securing a building on a piece of land that, for whatever reason, objects. Working deep below the surface to set a foundation requires an understanding of the gradations of soil, stone and water, not to mention…

Putting People First
Spring/Summer 2020

It all began in 2003 in Massachusetts with a man and his son. They used a pickup truck with two ladders to perform a variety of small side jobs in residential and commercial construction.

Above and Beyond
Fall/Winter 2019

Ceilings are often the least noticed part of a room, unless they have been installed by Northeast Acoustical Ceilings Inc. (Northeast Acoustical). These specialists create ceilings that get attention while providing another important element—sound…

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Sweet Solutions
Fall/Winter 2019

For almost 135 years, L. Sweet Lumber Company, Inc. (L. Sweet) in Providence, Rhode Island, has been specializing in supplying the best hardwoods and softwoods for quality homes and commercial projects, including historic restoration. You could…

A Customized Floor Plan
Fall/Winter 2019

“Floor coatings don’t fail—the installer does.” That’s the philosophy that guides Black Bear Coatings & Concrete (Black Bear). Installing the “right floor every time” and quality of work are also of mind for Owners Justin Tousignant and John…

Sky’s the Limit
Fall/Winter 2019

Gabriel Varga was born in Costa Rica as a fifth-generation engineer. His Spanish ancestors immigrated to the country in the 1600s, and his great-grandfather was a survey engineer who mapped the border between Costa Rica and Panama. His wife,…

Experience at the Core
Spring/Summer 2019

There’s a popular theory today, put forward by author Malcolm Gladwell, that to be a world-class expert in something, you must invest 10,000 hours in it. If that’s true, Howard Bishop, owner of Suburban Sales & Service Corporation, is such an…

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All About Relationships
Spring/Summer 2019

For cousins Sam and Sergio Cherenzia, operating successful engineering and construction companies is all about building lasting relationships. They focus on maintaining the quality their clients came to expect from Cherenzia Companies under…

Going Strong for Nearly 50 Years
Spring/Summer 2019

Henry Scarano was not quite 30 years old when, in 1971, he left his job with a small adhesives manufacturer to go out on his own as an independent sales representative in the mechanical and industrial insulation trade. “I left with about $500,…

Living the Dream
Spring/Summer 2019

From the time he was a 15-year-old high school student, Andrew Koza knew what he wanted to do for a living. Today, as President of Executive Building Systems, Inc., he’s living his dream.

Progressive Builders Steeped in Tradition
Spring/Summer 2019

Cool. Calm. Constructed. This trendy tagline belongs to Tocci Building Corporation, a construction management firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts that utilizes integrated project delivery (IPD) and virtual design solutions to build unique…

A Name Synonymous with Quality
Fall/Winter 2018

Carrying on the family name can be an intimidating prospect. Succeeding and making your own mark in an industry where past generations of your family have prospered can be even more so. Yet that’s just what brothers Eric and Glenn Ahlborg of…

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For the Love of Growing
Fall/Winter 2018

When a family business revolves around agriculture, the biggest challenges faced are usually weather, disease and employee retention. But the Cotoia family, which runs Rhode Island-based Laurel Brook Turf, Inc. (LBT), has learned to adapt. In…

English as a Second Language
Fall/Winter 2018

In 2001, Carlos DosReis was working as a salesman and dancer at a country and bluegrass club in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil when his friend Elci Campos came home for a visit and convinced him to move to the United States. She had emigrated to the…

Building From the Ground Up
Fall/Winter 2018

When Mitch Salamon speaks about his grandkids, he talks about their character and academic and athletic accomplishments with the kind of pride most grandparents have. But unlike most grandparents, Mitch can also speak about the next generation…

Fast-Forward
Fall/Winter 2018

The goal of building and passing on a family business is a cornerstone of the American Dream. In a way, that’s the tale of Providence, Rhode Island-based Heroica Construction, Inc., though this company’s story stands apart in many ways. Heroica…

Clearing the Way
Spring/Summer 2018

In 1999, as the world prepared for a new century, Dave Ross was planning his own adventure of the century—starting a regional sweeping company called Millennium Maintenance & Power Sweeping (MMPS). “We chose the name because we knew it would…

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Engineering Hope
Spring/Summer 2018

Community involvement is a top priority for J.M. O’Reilly & Associates, Inc., based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The professional engineering, land surveying and environmental services firm takes seriously its mission to help others—over the…

Queen of the Pipes
Spring/Summer 2018

When Melanie Aldrich was a child and she told her dad that she wanted to be a carpenter just like him, he discouraged her and said it wasn’t a typical job for a woman. It soon became obvious that there was nothing typical about Melanie.

Bonds...Just Bonds
Spring/Summer 2018

Everyone in the public construction industry knows the importance of surety bonding in earning a job or winning a contract. But not all surety bond agencies are alike. Take, for example, Surety Bond Professionals, Inc., with its sole focus on…

Improving Situational Awareness
Spring/Summer 2018

While you may not be able to control the weather, you can use modern analytics to take control of its impacts—both threats and opportunities. WeatherBuild® delivers scheduled and real-time, hyper-local weather risk reports directly to project…



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