13 minute read
W.L. French Excavating Corporation
Building Boston And Beyond
W.L. French Excavating of North Billerica, MA provides a broad range of construction services including, commercial site development, environmental remediation and soil & waste management.
Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino
Jessica French Goyette, Vice President and Owner of W. L French Excavating Corp, describes the company started by her father William
L. French, Sr. in 1972, as a
“quintessential American success story.”
Now in its 49th year of operation, the company is headquartered in North Billerica, MA, a short hop northwest from Boston, and has painstakingly built a sterling reputation as a premier partner throughout the region. The privately owned family business is now under the second-generation guidance of Goyette, and her siblings CEO & President, William L. French, Jr. Principal, Lisa French Kelley and Vice President, Tom Dion.
“My father always believed in upholding the family name and doing things the right way”, Goyette says. “A lot of the companies in our sector are family owned and generational.”
Bill French Sr. bought his first Mack truck at age 18, and likely never dreamed of the legacy his company has built.
remediation, and soil & waste management. It employs approximately 260 construction professionals, generates $140 million annual revenue, maintains a 0.75 EMR and 2.9 DART, and logs close to a half million annual man hours worked and 2.8 million miles driven annually. The company was
W. L. French provides a broad range of construction services including excavation, site development, environmental “client can see how WLF can provide solutions and options to solve their problems. “ - Jessica French Goyette, Vice President/Owner
voted recently as one of the best places to work in Boston by The Boston Globe. It has also been named an ENR Top 25 specialty contractor for the New England Region and has been listed on The Inc. 5000 more than five times.
“Our father was always a very honest businessman. Fifty years ago, most work was solidified with a handshake. People respected him – he was a risk taker by nature and necessity, which drove his success. He knew he wanted to drive and own trucks since he was a young boy,” says Goyette, who keeps a model truck her father made at age seven in her office. “It looks very much like the trucks we have now. He knew since he was in kindergarten he’d be in this industry. ”
Goyette credits her parents for laying the foundation of the business on the core principles of integrity, honesty and hard work.
“For us to get to the next level we’ve had to overcome our fair share of challenges and we have surrounded ourselves with talented, passionate people who have contributed to the success of the company.
The company has worked tirelessly to distinguish itself from its competitors.
“To be able to add value to your clients and owners, you’ve got to come to the table as a partner. Then the owner and the client can see how WLF can provide solutions and options to solve their problems. We’re hands-on and accessible. I think that’s a factor
“To be able to add value to your clients and owners, you’ve got to come to the table as a partner. Then the owner and the client can see how WLF can provide solutions and options to solve their problems. “ - Jessica French Goyette, Vice President/Owner
that carries weight when ultimately WLF is awarded a project. This is an industry predominantly driven by numbers but today clients and owners are looking for more. What is the value your company can bring to the table? Continuing to add value is something we are always working on.” Goyette asserts.
Premier Projects
Polar Park: Construction was concluded in time for the May 2021 home opener of the Worcester Red Sox (a.k.a. The WooSox), the new Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The $166m city-owned project run by the Gilbane-Hunt joint venture that converted a vacant 22-acre site into a sparkling facility was not without bumps in the road. French was GilbaneHunt’s partner of choice for its commitment to safety, depth of experience, the size and capabilities of its equipment fleet and demonstrated ability to meet critical milestones.
The company’s work included:
• 500 cubic yards (CY) of concrete foundation demolition; • 130,00 CY of mass excavation; • 88,000 CY of site fills; • Exporting 150,000 tons of soil; • Importing and placement of 100,000 tons of gravel and stone; • Installation of 4,700 linear feet of water, sewer & drainage piping; • Installation of 62 EA sewer & drain structures.
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“We were shut down for almost three months [due to COVID] and we were concerned about how we were going to make up that time. Our client, Gilbane-Hunt had a solid team across the board as did we for our portion of the contract. We were pleased to deliver the project on time as promised despite the setback of the shutdown.”
Boynton Yards: The $10m site package on a 3.5-acre site in Cambridge, MA had an excavation/ building footprint of 118 feet wide x 239 feet long with an average depth of between 33 and 38 feet. French excavated the hole and installed the infrastructure for water, drainage, sewer, electrical and telecommunications, as well as restoring the road and putting in curb and sidewalks.
Klarman Hall/Harvard Business
School: Excavation of the site hole of up to 35 feet deep necessitated support via internally braced steel sheeting. Working with General Contractor Walsh Brothers, French disposed of 75,000 tons of urban fill and natural soils, relocated 18-inch sewer and 36-inch drain lines, installed new water, sewer, drain and electrical utilities, and reconstructed an existing parking lot and access road.
Relishing Her Role
Goyette started with the company at age 18 and has seen it grow from www.constructorsjournal.com
20 employees to 260. Accordingly, her role has evolved into one where she wears many hats.
“It’s a privilege to get up every day and have a chance to make things better for the company, the projects we are working on and the people who work here. I know we have an ability to make a tangible difference and that is extremely motivating and rewarding. We contribute to changing skylines and are building the foundation for important projects; institutions, hospitals and life sciences to name a few,” Goyette says.
Goyette lists contributing to the revitalization of communities, working regarding the removal of debris and snow, aiding in asbestos remediation, and providing viable and credible information to state agencies (and having them respond to or solicit that feedback) as WLF’s noteworthy accomplishments.
“Getting up every morning and seeing your name on the door is nice. But when you see all these people working side by side, spending every single day as part of our team, working together and working on projects that have a lasting impact, it’s quite something. Couple that with having your siblings as your partners while all being part of construction in one of the greatest cities in the world is rewarding beyond measure,” she says.
Congratulations on your accomplishments W.L. French.
CELEBRATING 1966-2021
Day To Day
AND COUNTING…
• of local community and non-profit support • of solving our customers’ D&B challenges • of doing what we say we’re going to do • and over 2 million safe, controlled blasts
A Breed Apart
making it happen “Internally, I’ve participated in every aspect of our company,” says Goyette. “Today I manage finances, the external teams, our surety, legal and insurance, and our accounting and banking attorneys. I have also spearheaded the implementation of new technology at headquarters and on the field to increase efficiency and automation, and get real-time information. My focus is on working to make WLF a little better each day.”
The company has increased its safety staff to three full-time people and she says it will never rush a job at the expense of safety. Her brother and President Bill is specifically focused on safety for every team member and sub-contractors as well.
“We believe safety starts at the top. Our concern for safety is about our people and ensuring that the job is done correctly,” Goyette explains.
Safety is built into every aspect of the job, even before boots touch the ground. It starts at the pre-planning and estimating stages with estimators working to bid the production of the work with means and methods focused on proper safety equipment and procedures.
We have been constantly working to evolve our safety program and training, making sure each training session
“is relevant to the work we do and presented in engaging ways . . .Complacency is the first topic of every meeting and it is in every conversation.” - Jessica French Goyette, Vice President/Owner
to evolve our safety program and training, making sure each training session is relevant to the work we do and presented in engaging ways. We invest in making our meetings meaningful. Complacency is the first topic of every meeting and it is in every conversation,” she says.
“We’ve opened up the lines of communication with our foremen to ensure that near-misses and issues are reported so that we can do our part in preventing them entirely,” she adds. “We have created and are working to continue to build out our own online training platform to provide easier access to quality training for all employees throughout the company.”
Goyette says that W. L. French stressed to their employees that safety was paramount and to not take unnecessary risks while the company went back to work on jobs that had fallen behind schedule during COVID-19 closures.
“We have worked to eliminate any peer pressure to continue working in unsafe conditions. We consider
safety a partnership between our all aspects of the company from the estimating team, project management, maintenance team and of course our men and women who work out in the field. We would never begrudge a job stop for safety reasons. We’ve found that by focusing on communication, we can prevent safety issues as well as enact corrective actions as needed. Safe jobs are successful jobs, and we would rather commend someone for stopping in unsafe conditions than reprimand them,” she says.
“We believe in the motto of never stop learning. The safety team belongs to local, regional and national safety committees/groups. We contribute to a safety article in a state publication and have built a blog site for discussion of safety topics. We work to stay on the front lines of changes within the safety community to ensure that we truly stay best in class,” she continues.
The company’s proprietary French Connector software connects all departments, has a companion mobile app and works in conjunction with the company’s Accounting software and Field software. French Connector is the result of a collaborative effort.
“Everyone at WLF had the opportunity to share ideas and their processes. We’ve built this collaboratively. Engaging all of our team members in the task of developing this completely custom program means that it can be ever evolving and grow with the needs of company.
Having the whole team involved with this process has been hugely valuable to both to the program itself, and the company’s operations. It has completely elevated our company by creating efficiencies, connecting departments, creating scalable processes and doing so in a way that works specially for WLF,” says Goyette.
Her sister Lisa is a board member of the Utility Contractors of
New England (UCANE).
“UCANE is an excellent group of peers and they have made strides in improving the industry. They have great lobbyists and great resources, and we enjoy the ability to learn from our peers,” Goyette says.
The company maintains a long-standing network of subcontractors it works with regularly, and holds them to the same exacting standards of operation.
“It’s not often we hire people we don’t know. We hire those whom we consider to be best in class. Subs play a critical role in helping us meet contractual needs. We have about 90 hired truckers that work for us and they are vital to our operations. We are thankful for all of our employees, vendors, suppliers, and clients. It takes every one of us to keep the wheels rolling,” Goyette offers.
Recruitment and Training
The company has worked diligently to bring aboard individuals with a company first mentality. Believing that growth from within is preferable, providing mentoring and opportunities for promotion are key components to keeping them.
“If you don’t share what you know, what good is it?” Goyette says of the importance of mentorship. “The upper level management team wants to cultivate our talent, give people the opportunity. And when we hire from outside we will ask our staff for referrals because the best referrals come from the people who are already happy here. We make sure to spend time
“Our father always ingrained in us that you treat everybody the same. From the president to the janitor, we should understand what they do and how hard it is in the elements, in the heat or in the snow, in urban areas or congested areas or for very demanding clients.”
The Road Ahead
This company has proven it is built to last, having survived financial difficulties as result of cyclical economic recessions and this past year caused by the pandemic.
“You really learn how to operate when the chips are down and you don’t forget what you learn from when you’re in that place. We try to maintain an even keel and push through. The pandemic was different than previous economic downturns. We have always had the ability to work through them. With COVID, we were unable to work. That was an awful experience for everyone and for many people throughout the country. We’re happy to be back at work as we continue to navigate through this pandemic,” Goyette admits.
Construction in Boston, Cambridge and the immediate suburbs is slowly stirring with multiple projects of long duration on the books. With its reputation for innovation, quality and meeting deadlines, expect W.L. French to be involved in as many as it can take on.
“Simply put, we love what we do. Every year we embrace change, we evolve and we grow. The team here is relatively young. Bill has been the driving force behind this company and people want to work for him. Integrity and following through is all part of it,” Goyette concludes.
COMPANY INFORMATION
Company Name:
W.L. French Excavating Corporation Country: United States Industry: Construction Est: 1972
Premier Services: Excavation, commercial site preparation, roadwork, demolition and asbestos abatement.
President/CEO: William L. French, Jr. Website: www.wlfrench.com
