When it comes to business longevity, the U.S. keeps a short list of survivors. Think Jim Bean, DuPont, Colgate.
Long-lasting family-run businesses are even more scarce ”” a sort of novelty in this age of big-name buyouts and small-name out-of-business sales.
Edward J. Musante Jr., president and CEO of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, contends that only 12 percent of family businesses in the U.S. are still viable by the third generation.
Amid the rubble stands the Gault family, a Connecticut hallmark that defies the odds.
For five generations, the Gaults have carried the torch of their Westport family business. What began as a hauling and farming company in 1863 is now Gault Energy & Stone, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last week as it announced that the Gault Barn will be listed in the State Register of Historic Places.
Today, the company ”” which kicked off its sesquicentennial celebration Feb. 7 ”” is led by Sam Gault, great-great-grandson of founder Robert Gault, who emigrated from Ireland in search of religious freedom and “an honest day”™s pay for an honest day”™s work” (as recorded in family lore). The tradition of evolution and adaptation, said Sam, is responsible for the company”™s endurance.
After the hauling and farming iteration of the family business came synergistic acquisitions, like Hubbel and Staples Lumber, by Sam”™s great-grandfather Leonard Gault. That was followed by a transition from being a provider of coal to a provider of heating oil under Howard Gault, Sam”™s grandfather.
The family subsequently incorporated a service component to the company and, under Sam”™s father, Bill Gault, their masonry business acclimated to changing customer demands when stone bypassed brick in popularity.
“One of the things I think we do very well is we”™ve been able to listen to our customers and adapt to the changes in the marketplace,” said Sam. “Specifically in the last 25 years, we”™ve seen change happen faster in business, and I think we”™ve been able to keep up with that pace by making certain changes.”
To maintain cadence with 21st century times, Sam has positioned the business as an energy conservation company offering whole-house energy and indoor air-quality assessments, which he calls “all the latest buzz.” The company also balances digital technology like email blasts and online payment platforms with human-to-human interaction.
“I think that”™s another one of our successes,” he said. “In the business and industry that we”™re in, we need that personal touch. People love the fact that when they call our office they get a human being that answers the phone. It”™s important in this day and age for them to talk to somebody and get a problem resolved or get advice or whatever it may be.”
That personal connection has been paramount ”” especially during the storms of recent years, during which the Gault team acted as first responders, offering essential services like keeping generator propane tanks full and fixing furnaces.
And community service goes beyond business, Sam said, as the company hosts contests to give deserving folks new boilers, contributes to various boards and supports county nonprofits like the New Canaan Nature Center and Fairfield Theater Company.
“We feel fortunate to be able to do business in Fairfield County, and we like to give back to Fairfield County,” said Sam. “We hope those people look at us as being important community-minded citizens.”
The Gaults”™ lasting legacy also includes several architectural structures around the county. While head of the company, Sam”™s father was instrumental in orchestrating Compo Commons, a 55-home residential community, with roads that now bear the Gault name.
For decades, the family has also owned and operated the real estate arm of Hamilton Development, the firm behind the development of Westport”™s Riverside Avenue. The site, where L.H. Gault & Son once stood, is now home to the Saugatuck Rowing Club and Fitness Center, Saugatuck Craft Butchery and Bill Taibe eatery The Whelk.
Perhaps the most iconic remnants of their roots are in the Gault Barn, a set of three barns built between 1890 and 1913 by the Gault family for cattle herds, pigs and chickens during the farming years, then for various jobs like maintaining the truck fleet.
Viewable from South Campo Road and Sleigh Ridge Road, the stone and brick barns are rarely opened these days, but an exception was made for the Feb. 7 anniversary event where barn historian and researcher Charlotte Hitchcock, who attended on behalf of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, announced that the Gault Barn will be added to the State Register of Historic Places.
“The barn really represents our heritage,” said Sam. “It reminds us of our humble beginnings. It”™s a real symbol of the families and the businesses longevity in our community.”
To stay sustainable through the next five decades ”” and another five generations ”” Sam said the goal is to stay true to the principles the company was founded on.
“We need to continue to evolve in the communities that we serve, to continue to reevaluate our products and how they are seen in the marketplace,” said Sam. “We”™re going to focus a lot on the systems in people”™s homes, the heating, cooling, and indoor air quality, humidification and being neutral in terms of the energy source that is used in a home, whether it”™s heating oil or propane or natural or electricity or natural gas. I think that”™s a way to stay viable going forward.”
As for the sixth generation, the pool of management contenders includes Sam”™s nephews, with the boss declining to name a front runner. And Sam”™s own kids? “Well, they”™re just 13 and 10,” he said, “so it”™s a little early for that.”
