Strong Foundation

When it comes to construction technology, some recent advances have been earthshaking - in more ways than one.

"We've been relying on a computer in the sky," said Joseph Gallo, president of Bruschi Bros. Inc., a Ludlow-based con-tractor that specializes in site work. "We have a mini-computer that interacts with the computer in a satellite 16,000 miles in the air, and that gives us a three-dimensional vision of what we have to excavate and grade."

Furthermore, Gallo said, "we put a computer on a grader that interacts with the satellite. All we do is put coordinates and specifications into the computer, and the satellite, again from 16,000 miles away, tells the blade to go up and down, We just tell the driver to go to sector 3 or sector 4, and all the information is loaded into the computer; he just steers."

That global-positioning-system (GPS) technology is a far cry from the old days, when a civil engineer walked beside the vehicle, putting grade pole stakes in the ground. "It's a transformation," Gallo said. "It's unbelievable."

Such is the construction industry in the 21st century, however - a competitive landscape in which work is being done faster, and with more advanced equipment, than ever before. Bruschi Bros., a fixture in Ludlow since 1946 that has handled some notable signature projects over the years, intends to stay ahead of those trends, even as shifting job opportunities present the decidedly old-fashioned challenge of winning enough work to survive and thrive.

In this issue, BusinessWest looks into the world of Bruschi Bros., which from its inception has forged a solid reputation in a very specific niche - and sees, in the Bay State's new leadership, significant hope for the future.

Roads to Success

Americo Bruschi launched his construction company at the same East Street address it calls its headquarters today. Along the roadside, propping up a Bruschi Bros. sign, a long-outdated steamroller provides a visual link to the past.

"Mr. Bruschi started it with his brother right after World War II, at this same location," Gallo said from his second-floor office. "They had a small office downstairs and later put an addition up here, and another addition in back."

The company started out focusing on utility work, curbing, and similar projects, and later branched out into work on major highways and bridges; in the 1960s, Bruschi Bros. was a key contributor to Interstates 91, 291, and 391.

It also performed site and utility work for the Holyoke Mall expansion back in the 1980s, as well as more recent projects such as the Lowe's distribution center in Westfield and a bike path running from Chicopee into Connecticut. But making diversity a constant, Bruschi Bros. has also tackled plenty of site work on subdivisions and condominium developments, and it is currently working to install a 20-inch pipe from the Quabbin Reservoir through six communities.

Gallo has personally witnessed much of the company's history unfold - 38 years of it, in fact. "I got out of college and went to Vietnam, and later Mr. Bruschi asked me to come work for him," he said. And among the lessons of four decades in the business is patience with what can be an unpredictable flow of work.

"Construction as a whole is a spike industry," he said. "You might have two or three great years, then all of a sudden it drops off for a long time. We've relied over the years mostly on municipal work - state roads, city roads, a lot of work for the Mass Highway Department in Springfield and around Western Mass. There aren't too many people who have done more roads in Western Mass. than we have."

But the past decade has proven somewhat frustrating, as contractors have had to fend off a dearth of state and municipal work.

"We've seen a real dropoff with Mass Highway and the city of Springfield," Gallo said. "We used to do two or three jobs a year in the city, but we haven't done one in 10 years.

"That's Western Mass. as a whole. though," he was quick to add. "It seems like Mass Highway and the big agencies in Boston stop at Worcester, like Magellan thinking he's reached the end of the earth."

That's understandable, he added, considering the density of population in the Boston metropolitan area.

"It's politics, as far as I'm concerned - they put the most work where the most votes are," Gallo said. "I have high hopes, though. I just wrote a letter to Gov. Patrick two weeks ago, lauding him for putting an oftice here and trying to put some money into infrastructure, the homeless shelter, things like that. He's the first governor in awhile who's shown some interest out here. The last one sure didn't.

"All businesses in Western Mass. want is a fair shake," he added. "What we've got, don't take it from us. But Patrick said he'd show interest in this region, and he's doing what he said. Just opening an office in Western Mass. is something, right?"

Past Meets Present

That shift would be as welcome as the technological changes of recent years, such as the satellite GPS system that has been employed on projects such as the Lowe's distribution center in 2005.