VIDEO: Genovesi Construction's Shift to Commercial Work Pays Dividends
Thu May 04, 2023 - Northeast Edition #10 CEG
Genovesi Construction of Tolland, Conn., was founded in 1986 by Laurie and Paul Genovesi and in its earliest form was known as Genovesi Home Improvement.
With some hard work, dedication and a growing reputation for excellence, they gradually transitioned home improvement into new home construction. In 2011, after having built approximately 100 new homes in central Connecticut, the Genovesis shifted their attention and the company's focus to commercial site work.
The company has been on a dramatic growth curve ever since.
Rebranded as Genovesi Construction LLC, today the company is a union contractor who performs commercial, municipal and state projects of varying complexities across Connecticut. Services offered include site clearing, erosion control, gas, electric, water and sewer utility work and site drainage.
Currently, Genovesi Construction is working on, among other jobs, a water main replacement project on Farmington Avenue in Hartford, Conn. They are removing 100-year-old 20-in. water main pipe and replacing it with 24-in. water main pipe. Approximately 1,500 ft. of new pipe is being laid, with the project value of $2.7 million.
It is a challenging project from the standpoint that it is a high traffic volume street that is relatively narrow, so managing traffic and employee and pedestrian safety is of high concern. The heavy excavating aspect of the project is being handled by a John Deere 245, a 50,000-lb. excavator.
With infrastructure that old, another challenge on the site is avoiding a multitude of utilities that share space with the water line. The operator of the John Deere on this particular project is highly skilled and thus far has been able to navigate around those underground challenges.
All materials being excavated from the site are being removed and sent to a recycling facility. Once the old pipe has been successfully excavated, the new pipe is laid in place. Pipe ends have a special lubrication coated around it so that the sections of pipe can easily be fit together and put firmly in place. Once new pipe is in place, several feet of bedding material is placed underneath, around and on top of the new pipe.
With this particular project, 3,000 tons of material had to be brought on site to properly cover the new water line. Once the bedding material is in place, it has to be compacted before a new coat of asphalt is laid down and traffic can resume. Keeping in mind that traffic will include commercial vehicles, it is imperative that the dirt reach a high level of compaction.
"Traditionally in a situation like this, we would put a walk-behind plate compactor down in the trench with an operator who would work until the desired rate of compaction is achieved," said Ryan Webber, assistant project manager of Genovesi Construction. "But, for this project we worked with Bob Nason with Able Tool & Equipment in South Windsor, Conn., to take a different approach.
"We wanted to make sure that we got the best compaction rate possible. We purchased a Wacker Neuson RTSC3 compact articulated remote-control operated dirt roller. This Wacker Neuson compactor is really quite a remarkable machine. We could pick it up with the excavator and drop it down into the trench or if the dirt levels were high enough, it could be driven directly into the trench. The best part is that the operator is standing safely above ground several feet away controlling all operational aspects of the machine.
"We immediately achieved several benefits," he added. "We achieved higher compaction rates. We achieved those compaction rates faster than ever before, and our operator was operating in the safest possible conditions. Our compaction efficiency literally doubled what it would have been using our traditional compaction methods."
While utility work represents a significant part of the work Genovesi Construction does, it also diversified into other areas, including commercial site development, water and sewer storm drainage. At peak season, the company employs approximately 50 people.
When asked about their use of Able Tool & Equipment, Webber said, "In our business, there are lots of choices out there. Able Tool & Equipment does a great job for us, particularly in a lot of the specialty items that we find a need for.
"This trench compactor is a great example; it's something that not everybody would have available for rent. They also have light towers and mini-excavators, compressors, etc. But they go a step further in inventory items that you just would not necessarily expect. I know that typically if I need something and call them, they've got it, and its always in new or like-new condition. They always check it out before they send it to us and for the work we do, which is mostly in Hartford County, they are perfectly located. Their staff is very knowledgeable.
"We rely on people like Bob Nason to match up the right equipment for the projects that we are involved in.
Able Tool and Equipment is a full service dealer, selling and supporting its customers in the construction, heavy & highway, concrete, excavating and utility industries. CEG
