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A Look Back 25 Years: Q & A with Chuck Floyd

April 24th, 2014 by Catie McMenamin

Tell me about C.E. Floyd’s start 25 years ago.

Our office was in Lexington in the One Cranberry Hill building. I remember our first day in business. There were three of us: a secretary, an estimator and me. We didn’t receive a single phone call the whole day, so I picked up the phone and started calling everybody I knew. The economy in 1989 was going through a recession, which many in the construction industry said at the time was the worst in their lifetime. We had all been employed by the Weitz Company, who had just closed its regional office, so we had the opportunity to pursue any of its current customers in the area. We had been contacting all of those prospects in addition to identifying the private educational market as one of our desired markets. Our business plan was to do high quality work for a few very stable organizations. We were selected to do a conference room renovation for Sun Microsystems. It was a small project, but it was our first and it fit our business plan. Sun Microsystems was very happy with our work and we were able to do several more projects for them.

What are some of the earlier projects that helped get the company to where it is today?

Following our business plan, we were selected to do our first project for MIT in 1990 and our first project for Harvard in 1991. Adding these two well-respected institutions as repeat customers gave us lots of credibility. We had also been doing many renovation projects for GTE, Digital Equipment and Hewlett Packard. The first real break came in 1993 when we were hired for a major project for GTE in Needham. We were selected ahead of some of the major contractors in the area.  This was our first project over $10 million and gave us the opportunity to add some very key people to our organization. Most of them are still with us and continue to be vital contributors to our success. In 1996, we were awarded the contract for Edgewood, a continuing care retirement center in North Andover. This was our first project over $20 million and was really the beginning of C.E. Floyd becoming the leading builder of senior housing in New England.

Of what accomplishments are you most proud?

There have been many great projects, and one of the joys of the construction business is the pride of seeing the buildings you have built. Many will be standing long past our lifetimes. However, I am most proud of being a part of creating opportunities for great careers for all of our employees including both in the field and in the office. We have a strong commitment to providing a good place to work including good pay, benefits and long-term career opportunities. We have always worked diligently to be a good corporate citizen.

What has made C.E. Floyd Company so successful?

You’re only as good as the people you hire. We look for employees who want to actively make a difference and will both contribute to improving the business and go the extra mile to meet the needs of each and every customer.