with UCANE’s Officers and Board Members Will you please give us some information on your background and tell us how you got started in the construction business? My father owned a MACK truck repair shop in Cambridge, so I was exposed to automotive truck repair even before high school. I worked with my father for about eight years and he not only taught me everything he knew about truck and equipment repairs, he taught me how to run a business. Eventually, while working with my Dad, I bought my first dump truck, a “well-used” 1972 Mack 10-wheeler and started doing some snow plowing and truck rentals on weekends. Before long I was getting lots of calls for my truck rental and I started meeting local contractors in the area. That was the mid80s and that was when I first took an interest in construction and excavation. Pretty soon I was spending less time at my Dad’s shop, and more time with my truck rental. In 1988, I bought my first backhoe, a 1970 Dynahoe, and went off on my own as CHB Excavating. What was the motivating factor that led you to start your own business? Leaving the security of my father’s truck repair business was a little daunting at first, but my father knew what I wanted to do and he was my biggest booster. Equipped with the valuable work ethic that both of my parents instilled in me, and a little bit of construction experience, I felt confident that I could earn a living in the business. As I look back on that decision, I was a young guy and the abilMARCH, 2022
UCANE Board Member Calvin Brandford CHB Excavating Westford, MA
ity to move around with my own equipment and be my own boss was perhaps the biggest motivator. It was the right decision for me and the business is currently entering its 34th year. These days my biggest motivator every day is my son, Calvin, Jr., who has been working with me in the company since 2016. What types of construction work does CHB Excavating specialize in, and in what areas of New England do you pursue this work? CHB Excavating cut its teeth on the “Big Dig” in the 90s working for some of the premier contractors locally and nationally. That was a “one of a kind” project that allowed me and my young company to gain tremendous experience in all kinds of heavy concontinued on page 31
“BUY FROM THE ADVERTISERS IN CONSTRUCTION OUTLOOK”
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