Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/201186
contractor of the year finalist | by Wayne Grayson | WGrayson@randallreilly.com Richard Gordon Holliston, Massachusetts Baystate Engineering Year started: 1992 Number of employees: 30 Annual revenues: $7 to $8 million Markets served: residential and commercial markets for demolition, sitework, site development, and equipment rentals Rich Gordon atop his favorite machine, his trusty Caterpillar D8L. The right size for success R ichard Gordon grew up in the operator's seat. He's been operating equipment since he was a kid, running skid steers around in the yard, the machine a capable extension of his curious and active mind. As he grew up in South Windsor, Connecticut, he spent his summers working as a laborer and equipment operator before heading to Syracuse University to pursue a degree in management. "Equipment site work and construction is in my blood. I'm the kind of guy that likes to work with my hands. And I love the equipment. I was never going to be a mechanic but I always loved oper- ating," Gordon says. Fast forward to today and Gordon still makes time to hop in the cab every now and again, even though as the owner of Baystate Engineering, Holliston, Massachusetts, his responsibilities venture far outside the operator's seat. In the past few years he's been in charge of leading approximately 30 employees and a business that brings in between $7 million and $8 million each year. "I've spent thousands of hours in the seat of equipment and I can run it all," he says. "I've always liked taking something that's a mess or nothing at all and turning it into something." It's a statement that not only describes Gordon's passion for his profession, but also serves as an apt metaphor for how he's approached the ups and downs of his career. Right-sizing for success After graduating from Syracuse with a degree in management, Gordon worked as a project manager and estimator for Boston's Tremont Construction between 1988 and 1992. Gordon calls it a great experience that exposed him to a lot of big jobs and how to deal with unions. "But I always knew I wanted to be on my own," Gordon recalls. "It was always limiting working for someone else." So in 1992 he started Baystate EquipmentWorld.com | November 2013 55