UCANE Contractor of the Month

Preparing to set Sewer Pump Station, Raynham, MA

Successful Family Business has Deep Roots in the Water and Sewer Industry and in UCANE

Cesidio Joseph Pinciaro Sr. (“Joe Pinch”) started his career in the construction business in 1954. Together with his brother-in-law, Frank Federico and Frank’s brother Joe Federico, Joe Pinch was a 1/3 owner of Frank Frederick Construction Co., Inc., in Dedham, MA. The three partners were immediately active in the Boston area public works market.

At the same time Frank Federico was also actively working with a few other water and sewer contractors to start an association that would serve as a voice for his new company, as well as his competitors in the water and sewer business. By the end of 1954, Frank Frederick Construction and a small group of like-minded contractors organized the first meeting of the Utility Contractor’s Association (UCA).

For the next 30 years both Frank Frederick Construction and the trade association that they helped start, which was incorporated as Utility Contractors’ Association of New England, Inc. (UCANE) in 1958, worked their way up from fledgling operations to becoming highly respected businesses. Frank Federico would serve as President of UCANE in 1978 and 1979 and his partners “Joe Fed and Joe Pinch” were active and well known to both UCANE contractors and by the industry at-large.

By 1984 the three partners had not only grown their business, but they had grown their respective families as well. It was becoming a challenge to bring all of the second-generation family members into the business. So a tough decision was made by the three partners to disband Frank Frederick Construction Company, divide the business and the assets, and to go their separate ways. Every excavator, loader, truck, and ancillary piece of equipment was marked by the partners with a number 1, 2, or 3. Each partner was eventually satisfied that each of the three lots of equipment was essentially of equal value and they would each be satisfied no matter which number was drawn by them. So on a cold Saturday morning in December 1984, the partners drew numbers 1, 2, and 3 out of a hat and a large construction company was suddenly (and amicably) transitioned into three small start-up companies.

Born on that day in 1984 was MPF Corporation (Frank Federico and his son Michael); FED. CORP. (Joe Federico and his son Joe, Jr.); and C.J.P. & Sons (Cesidio Joseph Pinciaro and his sons Joe, John, and James). The partners and their tightknit families were suddenly now competitors.

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C.J.P. & Sons Construction Company, Inc.

It didn’t take Joe “Pinch” long to get his new business up and running. By 1985, operating a single pipe crew, C.J.P. & Sons was busy doing water and sewer installations for municipalities west and south of Boston. Also in 1985, the company found a nice piece of land along Route 109 in Millis and started development for a new office and construction yard, an address the company still calls home today. Joe Pinch and FED. CORP. remained very close and connected by family and in the early years actually joint-ventured on several projects as they built up their respective resumes and bonding capacities.

Joe Pinch’s oldest son Joe Pinciaro, Jr., with a Civil Engineering Degree from Wentworth Institute, had already earned his wings with Frank Frederick Construction Company and became a key part of field operations for C.J.P. & Sons from the start. Middle son John was just finishing up his degree in Accounting at Stonehill College and enthusiastically joined his father and brother in 1985. Youngest son, Jim was in high school when C.J.P. & Sons first started. He worked summers in the family business until his graduation from TAD Technical Institute in 1990.

Another key element for the young company was secured in 2000 when “Cousin” Bill Irwin was hired. Bill had a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Wentworth Institute, and he filled an important role in managing the contracts and coordinating the day-to-day operations.

By 2000, C.J.P. & Sons had doubled its annual volume and was a well-oiled machine. With his three sons and his nephew Bill holding key company positions, it was time for Joe Pinch to take a step back and relax after 45 years of hard work.

Since their inception C.J.P. & Sons has been a wellrespected public works contractor working mostly in eastern Massachusetts with an occasional project west of Worcester. They have weathered the ups and downs of the construction industry by bidding smart and by keeping the business a “family affair.” They run an efficient operation with about 20 employees and they self-perform most of the work on their projects. In addition to a modern fleet of excavators, trucks, and pipelaying equipment, C.J.P. & Sons has the equipment and capability to do their own blasting, bypassing, milling, trench paving, pulverizing, and portable crushing. Everything is kept running, serviced, and ready for work, whether it be excavation or snow removal, by long-time employee Jon Daniels, who John Pinciaro proudly calls “the best equipment mechanic in the state.” All C.J.P. employees maintain licenses and safety certifications and the company is MassDOT pre-qualified.

The company has been an active supporter of UCANE for more than 30 years and Bill Irwin is a former member of UCANE’s Board of Directors. “There is no

Key Personnel at C.J.P.& Sons (L-R ): Jon Daniels, Jim Pinciaro, Jr., Al Morteo, Jr., Joe Pinciaro, Founder Cesidio Pinciaro, Jim Pinciaro,Sr., Bill Irwin, and John Pinciaro

better construction association to represent our business than UCANE,” says Joe Pinciaro. “We count on them to promote our industry, get the public funding required to keep us busy, and to keep a lid on bills on Beacon Hill that are bad for business. They’ve had a great track record in all of those areas.”

Recent C.J.P. Construction Projects

According to Bill Irwin, the company’s strength is in water transmission main projects, but they also compete strongly for sewer and drain work. You will see the company bidding on most projects under $10 million with a preference for jobs in the $2 million-$5 million category. Annual revenues have been in the $8 million-$10 million per year range, but recently those goals have gone up due mostly to the dramatic increases in the cost of materials, in particular ductile iron water pipe, which has doubled in price in the last two years.

Recently the company completed a $3.5 million contract for the city of Newton that involved replacement of lead water services to 588 homes throughout the city. The majority of the work was excavation on private property and connecting to existing plumbing in basements. Coordinating the basement entries, the excavation, and the plumbing inspections required multiple visits to each home and careful communication with homeowners and was a scheduling nightmare. The company eventually replaced nearly six miles of old lead service piping with new one inch copper pipe. With most of the footage being on landscaped property, the punch list at times seemed to be never-ending.

C.J.P. & Sons crews were again on prominent display in Raynham, MA as they tackled the town’s Phase 7 Sewer Expansion project worth $4.5 million. The company installed three miles of sewer mains at depths ranging from 8 feet to 20 feet. Ledge and high groundwater tables complicated the work. Approximately 300 homes were serviced by the new sewer system and this phase included a deep pumping station requiring specialized shoring and heavy crane lifts. The company also installed special insulated piping at bridges crossing Pine Swamp Brook and Route 138. C.J.P. & Sons self-performed all elements of the twoyear project with the exception of final overlay paving.

The company recently landed a $1.5 million water relay project for the Town of Douglas. New ductile mains ranging from 6 inches to 16 inches in diameter will replace undersized old cast iron mains. Temporary bypass piping will be required for approximately 100 homes and businesses. “The Town of Douglas DPW was ahead of the curve on this project,” says Bill Irwin. “They could forsee the current ductile iron availability problem and pre-ordered the pipe last fall and took delivery in early spring. By having the pipe on-site, we can put together continued on page 39

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a more precise construction schedule and we don’t have to carry the pipe costs.” Irwin expects to see more towns pre-purchasing pipe and other materials until the availability issues and pricing volatility gets under control.

Today and Tomorrow

The company is firmly into the second generation today and Bill Irwin and the three Pinciaro brothers have more or less maintained their same roles within the company that they initially started in. Joe Jr. continues to run most field operations and is C.J.P.’s President. John is Treasurer and has recently moved from running a field crew to running the office, where he and Bill handle bidding, contract administration, and the myriad of paperwork involved with a construction business today. Jim oversees the shop and the equipment purchases and is also the company Secretary.

Founder Joe Pinch, is fully retired, but can still be found most days during the week visiting the Millis office or sometimes on a jobsite and is always ready to pass on sage advice. The closeness of this Italian family is no better personified than in the dinner arrangements that are shared with the company founder and his wife Judy of 65 years, by their three sons and two daughters. Every week for the past three years each one of the five children has their own night, Monday through Friday, to visit and enjoy dinner with their parents. Truly an exemplary show of respect and a familial relationship to be envied by many.

While the second-generation owners are still putting in long days and are very much in charge for a while, the third generation of Pinciaros are coming of age. As in any family business, not all children will choose the father’s path and some decisions will have to be made by that third generation in the not-too-distant future. But the family atmosphere is still very much alive at the company with nephews on the employee roster and with Jim Pinciaro’s son, Jim Jr., loving diesel engines and enrolled at Lincoln Tech in Connecticut. Nephew, Al Morteo, Jr., son of beloved deceased brother-in-law Al Morteo, Sr., has become an integral addition to the company. Al has been running the “clean-up crew,” which all contractors know leaves a lasting impression on the cities and towns once the project is completed. According to John Pinciaro, “C.J.P. & Sons will continue to be tough competition for the foreseeable future and will certainly get our share of any infrastructure funds floating around in Massachusetts!”

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We are proud to count C.J.P. & Sons Construction Company Inc. as a long-time UCANE member. We commend them on their 37th year in business and wish them continued success long into the future. n

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