Marcella Albanese has been working at the family business since she was a teenager. After school, she would stop by the office to help—at least as much "help" as a 13 year-old could offer. The experience taught her the day-to-day of company administration, then, at age 18, Marcella began working out in the field. She began as a laborer laying pipe, before becoming an assistant to the field engineer and superintendent.
Meanwhile, Marcella enrolled in evening courses to study civil engineering, environmental sciences, geotechnical and groundwater migration, and Department of Labor (DOL) safety training. She obtained her construction supervisor’s license and eventually worked her way back into the office as project manager. Now, Marcella is a co-owner and President of the company she's been a part of nearly her entire life.
Albanese Brothers, Inc. (ABI) was co-founded by Marcella's father, Marco, in 1978. Marcella is fortunate to have learned from her father and now work alongside her sister, Maria, and brother, Oto. "As far as siblings go," she said, "I feel like I hit the jackpot. Together we make it all work, both on and off the job."
On the GLX, ABI is providing drainage infrastructure installation for the Lechmere Station and Viaduct. Superintendent Robert Kenyon explained that his crews excavate, then install shoring, bedding and the pipe itself, before backfilling and compacting. This work requires their crews to expertly coordinate and work in tight spaces. "Being an excavation and pipe contractor," Robert said, "we usually require a lot of space to perform our installations, and that is one thing there isn’t much of on the site."
The ABI team wanted to work on the GLX since they first learned about it. Marcella grew up in nearby Malden, MA, regularly taking public transportation into Boston, so she is excited to see the expansion of train operations. After attending meet-and-greets and receiving email updates about Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) packages, ABI bid and was offered the opportunity they were looking for.
"We could not do what we do without our employees," Marcella said of her ABI team. "I can’t say enough about their skills, dedication and hard work."
We truly feel like we are one big family.
