Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017 - 10

cover story continued...

Has your company
seen more activity
in commercial,
residential, or
infrastructure
regionally? And
what are some of the
supply trends you're
seeing in Berks
and regionally?

Has there been a
resurgence in the
homebuilding/
renovation market
recently?

Michael Fromm, CEO -
Fromm Electric Supply
We have seen a sharp increase in the construction of mixeduse complexes that include luxury residences, retail shops,
fitness clubs, restaurants and other lifestyle businesses. As
baby boomers move to downsize, their goal is to shrink
their living space and maintenance burden while gaining
easy access to services and amenities to meet their everyday
needs. From a supply standpoint, we are seeing increased
demand for electrical controls that integrate multiple
systems like lighting, audio-video and heating and air
conditioning. With recent advances in technology, new
products are hitting the market faster than ever which
forces us to become qualified to support our customers
more quickly than in the past.

We are a regional contractor equipment and supply
company providing sales, service and rentals of an
expansive inventory of tools and technology required for
construction today. Our heavy and light-duty inventory
includes state-of-the-art compressors, air tools, saws,
generators, pumps, rollers, rammers, vibratory plates,
mixers, air hoses, steel parts, and more. Most of our
contracted equipment activity through the first half of the
year has been related to Bridge, Road and Utility work.

After the 2008-2009 recession, the new home building
business came to a screeching stop. But renovations
ramped up because homeowners saw value in improving
or expanding their existing residences to accommodate
growing families and, in many cases, elderly parents moving
in. Although I'm not sure housing starts have regained
their pre-recession pace, we have seen increased activity
in the home builder segment over the last year. I think
developers are being more selective about the locations of
their projects and more thoughtful about the price points
that are likely to attract the most buyers.

Based on our assessment of regional and local construction projects, and sales and rentals with our accounts,
we have seen a slight increase in contractor activity for
the home builder/renovation market .

We have been fortunate that we have been able to
maintain the same employees for 20+ years by contracting
and expanding services to meet the ebb and flow of
the building industry over that period. We know that
knowledgable industry professionals who are able to learn
and teach new technologies are an invaluable asset to
our ability to meet and exceed contractor expectations.
We provide continued product and field training to our
team to keep everyone abreast of changing technologies,
techniques and construction equipment use and safety,
and apply that knowledge to keep our contractors'
machinery and supplies working efficiently and effectively.

Has skilled labor
shortage affected
your company's
success and/or
growth in Berks?
If so, what are
you doing to
address this?

Have you embraced
new procedures
or made any local
partnerships to
maintain a high level
of sustainability/
waste reduction?
Have you had
much success with
collaborative project
delivery methods/
integrated project
delivery in this
market as a supplier?

Diane Pondo,
Vice President -
Andrew Hess, Inc.

A few years ago, we launched a service that allows the
electrical inventory for a large construction project to
be stored and remotely managed directly at the job site.
Using shipping containers that are specially-equipped with
interior lighting, barcode scanning devices and wireless
communications, we can stock the container with the
specific items that are called for on a project, drop it at
the job site and replenish the inventory automatically
after-hours as quantities are depleted. This reduces labor
costs by eliminating the need for contractors to send
workers to pick up material, avoids downtime caused by
late shipments and relieves the administrative burden
associated with multiple transactions for both the supplier
and the customer.

10 COMMERCE QUARTERLY SUMMER 2017

All of our machinery, equipment and supplies are of
the finest quality, from the most trusted names in the
industry. As a result, ours is a business that relies heavily
on partnerships with original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) and the use of manufacturer training. Of
course, we recycle all fluids and parts, where available,
in the service and repair of construction machinery
and equipment.

We have not explored collaborative project delivery
methods, although would be open to such opportunities if
they provided benefits to our existing model of operation.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017