Robert Brown is a veteran of the United States Naval Construction Force, also known as the Navy Seabees. After his service, Robert started his own business by taking out a loan and purchasing a used oil truck. Now he is the President and Owner of DBE-certified Broco Oil, which currently has 53 employees and has expanded his single truck into a fleet of 30 trucks and service vehicles.
Broco Oil supplies gasoline and fuel for equipment and generators used throughout the GLX. The most challenging aspect of their work has been executing the dispatch of trucks into the city during designated truck hours for the City of Boston. It takes a lot of coordinating and expert dispatching to avoid traffic and make sure crucial fuel gets to the sites on time.
Robert calls the Merrimack Valley, about ten miles north of Boston, home; he was born in Wakefield and now lives in Andover, MA. Being a part of a local project like the GLX has meant a lot to Robert and his team.
"Winning the contract was by far the most rewarding moment," he says of working with GLXC. "Being a smaller company and competing with larger companies is never easy. But our level of service and commitment set us apart from the competition."
Supporting a project of GLX's scale requires strong logistics and a dedicated workforce. Fortunately, the Broco Oil team has what it takes to keep everyone else on the project fueled up.
Strategic Environmental Services, Inc.
Last year, Strategic Environmental Services, Inc. (SES) was awarded a Gold Medal Business Achievement Award by the Environmental Business Journal for the company's outstanding work in environmental remediation and waste disposal services. This month, we caught up with the award-winning team (Marsha Harris, President; Ross Hartman, Executive Vice President; and Chris Glod, Vice President) to discuss their recent contributions to the GLX.
SES has several offices in New England and routinely work in the greater Boston area, so the firm was familiar with the project before joining. In fact, several of their employees live along the new GLX route. The DBE-certified company is proud to be part of such a large infrastructure project in the Commonwealth. Ross Hartman said, "It is an honor to work alongside such a reputable group of contractors, engineers and designers."
For the GLX, SES is responsible for treating groundwater impacted by construction activity, which means they pump local groundwater and treat it for any potentially harmful contaminants before returning it to the earth. SES also transports and disposes of any contaminated soil and groundwater that cannot be sufficiently treated.
The logistics of treating and transporting across several worksites can be a formidable challenge, but the SES team finds it rewarding to be able to problem solve at the scale and pace of the GLX. In general, the company takes pride in making a positive impact on the environment, so their remediation work has always been exciting. As work progresses, SES continues to give a Gold Medal performance!
COSCO Inc.
COSCO, Inc. provides and installs temporary fencing throughout the GLX and will also be installing protective screen fencing on the bridges. The company began their work in the early stages of the project, COSCO President Ann Costantino told us, "[which] has allowed us to see the project literally come out of the ground."
COSCO knows a thing or two about building from the ground up.
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firm was established in 1986 with only a few used trucks and a shot on a statewide contract. Since then, a strong work ethic has helped grow the firm to work on projects throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The COSCO team's 34 years of experience bidding and working on railroad projects helped them join the GLX.
Maintaining a safe work environment is challenging along a railroad, because everyone always needs to be aware of their surroundings and potential hazards.
"On every project," Ann Costantino says, "the most rewarding moment is sending our employees home safely to their families at the end of the day." She's proud to have been able to do that on the GLX, which she credits to the GLXC culture and commitment to safety.
Ann is also proud to showcase her company's capabilities on the GLX. It's an opportunity to show off the COSCO team's effort, skill and workmanship. Those are the components it takes to build a company from the ground up.
Albanese Brothers, Inc.
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.