Departments — March/April 2006

Centennial of Consigli Construction Co. Inc.

Building on a 100-year Legacy

By Mark J. Shaw

Anthony Consigli PRESIDENT Consigli Construction Co. Inc. General Contractor Milford, Mass. 250 employees, $150 million volume Age: 38 Education B.A. Economics Harvard University 1989 Experience > First job-cleaning bricks for a penny apiece; promoted to gravedigger > Field superintendent, project manager AGC Experience > Member of AGC of Massachusetts for 10 years > Matthew Consigli (brother), chair of Young Constructors Council > Anthony, current treasurer, AGC of Massachusetts Board of Directors Key Consigli Construction Projects: > Addition to Milford Regional Hospital > Bioscience building at Worcester Polytechnic Institute > Restoration work at Bowdoin College > Multiple projects at Harvard, Brown universities E-mail: aconsigli@consigli.com Website: www.consigli.com

Last year, Consigli Construction Co. Inc., an AGC of Massachusetts member firm, celebrated an important landmark-100 years of doing business as a contractor.

How does one family-owned business thrive for a century?

"It's either the stubbornness or stupidity not to do something else for a living, spread across several generations," says Anthony Consigli, president of Consigli Construction, Milford, Mass. "Construction is in my family's blood, and we're passionate about it, but there are easier ways to make a living."

Consigli Construction is one of only a handful of builders nationwide that has prospered for a century or more, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.

"In an industry where many companies come and go, Consigli has achieved decades of innovation and steady growth," says Robert Petrucelli, president of AGC Massachusetts. "Consigli's success is based on their passion for building great buildings, combined with their forward-thinking approach to embrace change."

Established in 1905 by Peter Consigli, a stone carver who emigrated from Italy to the U.S. during the late 1800s, the company began as a masonry contracting business.

"My great-grandfather, a mason by trade, came over here from Italy and saw a need for good stone masonry," says Anthony. "We do a lot of different things now as a general contractor, but our roots are in the masonry trade."

Peter, with his six sons, established the company locally, renovating and building projects throughout the area. Most notable was the construction of the granite arch entrance at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Milford in the 1930s.

"Four of the brothers went off to fight World War II," Anthony says. "My grandfather and a blind uncle stayed behind to run the business, then the others came back and rejoined it after the war. In the 1950s, my grandfather moved the company in the direction of a small GC, doing banks, churches and manufacturing plants."

Consigli crews built one of New England's first Dunkin' Donuts locations.

Today, Consigli Construction averages $150 million in annual revenue and is ranked in the top 400 general contracting firms by Engineering News-Record. Led by a fourth generation of the Consigli family, the company provides construction management, general contracting, design-build and preconstruction planning services throughout New England from its offices in Milford, Mass., and Portland, Maine.

"We try to work primarily in high-end academic institutions and health care," Anthony says. He has been the company president since 1997, working alongside his brother Matthew, who is vice president. They took over the business from their father, who was president from 1983 to 1997.

Over the years, Consigli Construction's client list has grown steadily to include specialized markets such as academic, corporate, health sciences and institutional. The company continues to foster long-standing relationships with companies and institutions such as Milford Regional Medical Center, Phillips Academy, Whitin Community Center, Benjamin Moore & Co., and the Diocese of Worcester.