JJ.. FFLLEETTCCHHEERR CCRREEAAMMEERR && SSOONN,, IINNCC..Diversified national contractor maintains family feel throughout 77-year history

EEven though J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.employs over 1,000 people, has offices in four states,and can handle anything from digging a residentialswimming pool to building complicated highway andbridge projects, the diversified contractor maintains itsfamily feel.

“With a lot of our foremen, the first job they everhad was working here,” said J. Fletcher “Fletch”Creamer, Jr., president of the Hackensack-headquartered company. “They’re probably in their40s now, but they’ve been here since they were 18years old. So it is a family, a large family.”

The family feel is strengthened by the fact thatsons have followed their fathers to work at J. FletcherCreamer & Son, Inc. “We have company picnics, andwe see the kids growing up year after year,” smiledFletch, Jr. “Some of them come to work for us, and Itell them, ‘I remember you when you were about thisbig.’ It’s been fun.

“And even though we’ve grown a lot since Ibecame president in 1982, the door’s always open,”he added. “I used to know every employee by theirfirst name, but I can’t say that anymore — mymemory isn’t that good.”

But if Fletch, Jr. doesn’t know an employee’sname, one of his brothers might. Glenn Creamer isexecutive vice president of the firm. Dale Creamer isvice president. Their father, J. Fletcher Creamer, Sr.,is chairman.

Under their father’s tutelage, all three brothersstarted in the field and worked their way up, notedFletch, Jr. “We were laborers, operators, in the officepurchasing,” he remembered. “I was an estimator forseven years. My brothers did the same or similarthings.”

Assisting the Creamers in managing their companyare Vice President of Operations George Kreis, VicePresident of Heavy Construction Brad Jorrey, VicePresident of Utilities Joe Walsh and Vice President ofEngineering John Dal Pizzol.

As their father welcomed them into the familybusiness, the brothers have also welcomed the nextgeneration. “My son, J. Fletcher Creamer V, works withour property development and real estate division,”noted Fletch, Jr. “And Glenn’s daughter, AllisonCreamer, heads up our human resources department.”

Proud historyJ. Fletcher Creamer & Son was founded in 1923 in

Fort Lee by the Creamer brothers’ great grandfather— the first J. Fletcher Creamer. “He started out in thecoal business delivering coal and fuel oil andexpanded into the construction business throughtrucking,” said Fletch, Jr. One of the firm’s firstconstruction trucking jobs involved hauling rock and fillduring the building of the George Washington Bridge.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son’s construction truckingbusiness continued to grow, and the companyventured into more construction work. “We started inbasically small residential building,” said Fletch, Jr.“We did blasting, which we still do today, for homefoundations, and digging out homes, then webecame involved in street and road improvementsand pipe and sewer work.”

The company sold its fuel oil business in 1963 andbegan concentrating on pipeline installation for localutility companies.

“Today the utility work is still a major part of whatwe do, as are the bigger road projects we’ve growninto,” noted Fletch, Jr. J. Fletcher Creamer & Son,Inc., also operates a guide rail and overhead signstructures division and a pipe-cleaning and mortar-lining service that spurred the company to establishan office in Los Angeles 13 years ago.

Pipe cleaning and liningCreamer’s pipe-cleaning and lining service uses

sophisticated, specialized equipment to scrapemineral accumulations from old cast iron or steelwater pipes. Then the inside of each pipe is sprayedwith a cement lining that prevents future

SPOTLIGHTSSPOTLIGHTS

J. Fletcher Creamer, Jr. ispresident of J. FletcherCreamer & Son, Inc.

The distinctive Creamerlogo is found on everypiece of Creamerequipment and isproudly displayedthroughout the company.

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Continued . . .

accumulations, called tuberculation, in the pipe. Thework is done without removing the pipe from theground and without interruption of water service.

“When we first got into cleaning and lining, you hadto run bypass pipe up on top of the ground,” explainedFletch, Jr. “In the Northeast it would freeze in thewinter, so we were limited to three seasons. We had allthe equipment and all the people, so we decided to goout to California and work there in the winter and comeback here the rest of the year.

“It seemed like a great idea,” he laughed. “Then wegot our first job in California and they postponed the

start date, so we couldn’t do it in the winter. BecauseLos Angeles has a huge water and power program,we decided to just set up shop. We are considered alocal contractor there now.”

The cleaning and lining service has also completedmajor projects in New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgiaand Maryland and smaller projects in many otherstates. Creamer crews can claim the rehabilitation ofmore than two million linear feet of 4- to 60-inch-diameter cast iron and steel water mains onnumerous jobs for Los Angeles Power and Wateralone.

The operator of aKomatsu PC270LC-6excavator hoists andplaces a largeconcrete pipe on J. Fletcher Creamer &Sonʼs undergroundutility project onRoutes 4 and 17.

The operator of aKomatsu PC128UUzero-tail-swingexcavator spreads fillon a road-buildingand undergroundutility project onRoutes 4 and 17.

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In top 200Today, J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. is ranked

as one of the top 200 contractors in the United Statesby Engineering News-Record and works nationwide.“Our main office is right here in Hackensack,” saidFletch, Jr. “We run all of our utility work out of ouroffice in Linden, New Jersey. We do our guide railsand overhead sign structures out of Folsom, NewJersey. We have offices near Washington D.C. andAtlanta. Then we’re on the West Coast in LosAngeles and the Oakland, California, area. To datethe company has worked in 32 states.”

The company even started its own environmentaldivision, Creamer Environmental, Inc., five years ago,which also has its offices in Hackensack. About 40percent of J. Fletcher Creamer & Son’s work ispublic. The firm is a union contractor.

“I believe we’re the most diversified contractor inthe entire Northeast as far as the types of work we’lldo,” commented Fletch, Jr. “We do heavyconstruction, highways, roads and bridges. We doour own pile-driving and steel-sheeting work.

“And we still do small work — blasting for swimmingpools and houses,” he continued. “We haven’t let thatgo. And like I said earlier, we do the traditional utilitywork — water, some sewer, telephone, gas, electric,substations. We’ve done a tremendous amount offiber-optic work over the last four years.”

Miles of fiber opticsJ. Fletcher Creamer crews have installed hundreds

of miles of fiber-optic cable since they pioneered thefield 20 years ago. “We’ve done some major jobs inCalifornia, fiber work up in the Tehachapi Mountains,”said Fletch, Jr. “We did a job in Tennessee last year,130 miles from Chattanooga to Nashville, all rock.We just finished a job in Vail, Colorado, throughGlenwood Canyon. It was just 13 miles along theColorado River, but it is a pretty sensitive area.

“It was a tough job,” he commented. “We dug off oftrailers and finished up ahead of schedule. Wereceived a letter from the Colorado DOT, which wasprobably the best commendation letter I’ve read inmy life. They said we were the best contractorColorado has ever seen.”

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son took advantage of therecent telecommunications boom. “Four years agowe did about $16 million in fiber optics,” he explained.“Then we went to $43 million and to $60 million — wewere almost up to $100 million in fiber-optic work. Wetook advantage of the market. Right now that markethas tailed off, but we haven’t laid off a soul.”

Unbelievable job, scheduleOn the highway side, one of the company’s most

memorable projects was a joint venture with JosephM. Sanzari, Inc., of North Bergen, New Jersey, andGardner M. Bishop of White Plains, New York. Thethree companies submitted the low bid to rebuild theinterchange at the intersection of State Highways 4and 17 in Paramus, New Jersey, in 1998-99. “It wasone of the most publicized jobs in this area, if not thewhole country, just because of what we did to theschedule,” said Fletch, Jr. “It was a 30-month project.The state offered an incentive if we could do it in 24months.

“We re-staged and re-planned the job and wentback to the state for an additional incentive becauseof the overtime we put in on it,” he explained. “Wewound up, bottom line, finishing in 13 months — 17months ahead of schedule. It’s still unbelievable. Weeven made the cover of Engineering News-Record.”The companies received a major bonus forcompleting the project ahead of schedule.

Business grows through diversificationBusiness grows through diversification

. . . continued

Veteran shop foremanRich Scalese guides a

group of 25 mechanicsand welders at thecompany's 12-bay

Hackensackservice center.

J. Fletcher Creamer Vhelps manage aproperty-developmentdivision of J. FletcherCreamer & Son, Inc.

Part of J. FletcherCreamer & Son's skilledwork force of over 1,000

employees nationwideincludes (from left)

Assistant FieldOperations Manager Dan

Rivera, administrativeassistant Ambria Kunzel,Service Center Manager

Richard Dargel,administrative assistant

Michelle Rulo andEquipment Coordinator

Frank Pietropallo.

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Pantone Black Above

Black Below

Dealer service vitalJ. Fletcher Creamer & Son demands productive

equipment and a high level of dealer service to meetintensive schedules like that of the Route 4 and 17project. The company has turned to tough Komatsuequipment from Binder Machinery Company. TheCreamer fleet includes more than 30 Komatsuhydraulic excavators, including PC35R-8s, PC95-1s,PC128UU-1s, PC228USLCs, PC220LC-6s,PC300LC-6s and PC400HD-6s, and KomatsuWA380 and WA420 wheel loaders.

Creamer has also purchased numerous Ingersoll-Rand compactors and fork lifts from Binder. BinderNorth Jersey Field Sales Manager Kirk Chagonservices the Creamer account.

“The product is a good product,” commentedFletch, Jr., “but more important than that is the serviceBinder provides. It’s the best in the industry right now.”

Whether needing new or rental equipment or partsand service support, Fletch, Jr. knows Binder willservice his company’s needs. “The relationship thatour two companies have built is important,” heemphasized. “A lot of what we do in this business isbuilding relationships. When there’s a problem, wecan call Kirk and things get done.”

Industry relationshipsAnother area in which relationships are important

to J. Fletcher Creamer & Son is the company’sinvolvement in industry organizations, especially theUtility and Transportation Contractors Association(UTCA) and the National Utility ContractorsAssociation (NUCA).

Fletch, Jr. currently serves as vice president forNUCA’s Northeast region, and he has been involvedwith UTCA since 1987. Fletch, Jr. and his father,Creamer, Sr., are the only father-and-son pair to everwin UTCA’s top honor, the prestigious WilliamFeather, Jr. Memorial Award.

Fletch, Jr. was UTCA president in 1997 when theassociation inducted his father into the New JerseyConstruction Industry Hall of Fame. “One of my lastduties was to present my father with the award,” herecalled. “That was probably the easiest speech Iever made, no notes, no nothing. It was right from theheart.”

Good times nowJ. Fletcher Creamer, Jr. is optimistic about the

future of his family’s 77-year-old company. “We’re ina great time right now,” he stated. “Business is good.I’ve been around long enough to know that this is acyclical business, and there’s probably going to be adownturn or two before my turn is up here. It’s just amatter of finding out when it’s going to be. I think we’llbe in pretty good shape for the next five years.”

With two children already in the business, Fletch,Jr., and his brothers are training the next generation tocarry on the work of J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.“My younger brother’s wife is expecting twins, so thatwill make 10 grandkids,” smiled Fletch, Jr. “My son isthe oldest at 26, the youngest is 2 1/2, and then wehave two on the way. There’s a big gap betweenthem, so it will be interesting.”

Kirk Chagnon of Binder(right) visits with FletchCreamer, Jr. at thecontractorʼs headquarters inHackensack. The companyhas turned to Binder formuch of its equipment needsover the years, including alarge fleet of Komatsu andIngersoll-Rand equipment.

Crews from J. FletcherCreamer & Son, Inc. haveexpertise in numerousconstruction applications,including pile-driving work.

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