Anthony Gaglio Jr. did not come into his family”™s Bridgeport-based Viking Construction Inc. with the notion that he was going to be escorted immediately into the C-suite right after graduating from college.
“I went to school at night so I could learn the trade by working in the field during the day,” he said. “I wanted to, because I thought the best way was to start from the bottom. I started as a laborer with a shovel in my hand. And I may not be the most proficient, but I know how everything works and I can do it myself.”
In this edition of Suite Talk, Business Journal Senior Enterprise Editor Phil Hall spoke with Gaglio about today”™s construction environment and his family”™s role therein.
For the benefit of people who don”™t know Viking Construction, what is your company all about? When did it begin and what projects are you focused on?
“Viking Construction was founded in 1991 by my great-uncle, my father and his uncle. We”™re a family business with our roots stretching back to 1927. My grandfather came over from Italy, my great-grandfather came over from Italy and started in construction.
“We”™re a full-scale commercial contractor and we do large-scale residential housing, schools, interior fit-ups, medical and we also self-perform our own site work. We”™re still considered a true general contractor because we get our hands dirty.
“Connecticut”™s our backyard. We go from Hartford to Greenwich to Sherman to Jewett City.”
There is a poster in your conference room that says you are involved in the creation of medical buildings, historical sites, housing and education. What is the percentage of work divided between those four sectors?
“To be honest, the percentage is where the market is hot. About 15 years ago, we were doing a lot of school work, which seems to have come back now. Housing under Governor Malloy was a big push, so we did a lot of government-sponsored housing. The same with the medical construction.
“We”™re also seeing historical come around more in the retrofit of buildings, where they”™ll take an old bank and turn it into a restaurant or an office.”
For your multifamily housing projects, what are some of the considerations that need to go into these projects?
“A lot of them end up being mixed-use where you have a commercial factor. And when you add the housing factor to deal with, there are two different types of codes.
“But I would say that the biggest thing is partnering with the right subcontractors that can do large scale-housing. These are larger projects with 100 to 200 units, and it takes a large team to make sure that all of your details are correct and the materials are available ahead of time. For instance, you can go and pick up the Kohler toilet at your local store and probably get 10 of them in stock, but when you”™re ordering 200 you are thinking ahead and making sure that all your sequencing is ready.”
There have been news reports from around the country that found many construction firms are having difficulty getting people to work for them. Is that something that you”™ve encountered?
“Yes ”¦ That”™s why we have a Viking Education Scholarship to promote the career paths of construction. I think the younger generation with the uptick in the Facebooks and the Googles of the world, gravitated their college career paths in the high-tech direction. But as working as plumbers or electricians on construction projects, there wasn”™t sex appeal in those career paths.
“We got involved with our construction scholarship to entice high school seniors or college kids with a little bit of money help with books and stuff like that. And also, we”™re attending career fairs to try and hire young people to train them up and promote from within.”
The conference room in your office has a glass cabinet full of awards for corporate achievements and you recently won an award from the Connecticut Building Congress for your work on Stamford”™s Summer Place 55-plus affordable housing community. What do you consider to be your company”™s greatest accomplishment?
“I wouldn”™t say it”™s a fancy plaque. I would say it is the longevity and respect that goes both ways with our employees. Our average employment for roughly 52 employees is about 10 years and a lot of them came up working with my father in the trades. We have enjoyed a lot of success as a company because of our employees. It may sound cheesy, but it”™s what I”™m most proud of ”” the family business atmosphere that we have, where we really look out for each other.”
What was it like working in a family business like this?
“For me, it”™s been a positive experience. My father used to say that by watching his uncles and his cousins, he”™s learned what not to do. My father came up with 13 cousins in the family business and he”™s the only one left. My brother and sister took different career paths, so it”™s really only myself.”
When your children come of age, would you want them to be part of this company?
“I have a young son and I have a daughter on the way. It”™s funny, my son has a bulldozer play set and someone said to me, ”˜Is that a hidden sign that you want him to go into the family business?”™ I said, ”˜I just want him to be happy.”™”
What projects is the company currently working on?
“Currently, we have two large schools for the city of Stamford, a senior housing project in Darien and we just started a big mixed-use housing community here in Bridgeport. There are also a couple other minor things, but those are larger projects now.”
How has the pandemic impacted your business?
“It”™s made everyone more cautious. We have a lot more steps now in our day-to-day activities. Everyone gets their temperatures taken coming on to the job site, we”™re very cautious in how many men or women are working in a room together and we”™re scheduling that work while trying to be productive and safe at the same time. It”™s definitely made for a little bit more of a difficult curveball on the school jobs because I can”™t have 10 people in a classroom.
“But, like anything, we put our head down and we talk as a team on how we are going to safely come out through this together so that everyone is OK.”
