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This New York-based contracting firm has been in operation in the Northeast since 1884.
In 1884, John Willison Danforth founded a residential and commercial heating company in Buffalo, New York. During the First World War, his company served as the general contractor to the U.S. Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks, and during WWII, the company contributed to the war effort by constructing aircraftmanufacturing plants.
Since then, the John W. Danforth Co. has continued to grow into new areas and fields; currently, it has facilities in the Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and Syracuse, New York, areas and provides a wide variety of services related to commercial and industrial plumbing, HVACR, testing and balancing, installation, and maintenance.
The company's commitment to performing only the highest-quality work, as well as its commitment to its employees and community, have earned John W. Danforth Co. the title of PM's 2018 Mechanical Contractor of the Year.
BUILDING A COMPANY CULTURE
Perhaps the biggest contributor to Danforth's continued success is the company's ongoing commitment to its employees. The company uses its vision, mission, and core values to guide the company's growth and empower its team members.
And recently, Danforth became an employee-owned company.
"We are an ESOP," Danforth President Robert Beck says. "We're all owners. We all take pride in our work, and pride in Danforth, and really the true power of Danforth is in our people."
But ESOP has another meaning at Danforth - it represents the company's core values of Employees, Safety, Ownership, and Profitability.
"The vision and mission are something that we really push hard, from the top down. Attitude is a reflection of leadership, and we really promote that at all levels - all the way down to the apprentice on the job site - of really continuing to deliver those industry-leading experiences every day."
The company's vision, in a nutshell, is to build meaningful relationships while providing industry-leading experiences for its customers.
"From our union labor partners that are so, so much a part of Danforth and have been so much a part of Danforth for the 134 years being signatory with the UA Plumbers and Pipefitters, followed by the SMART Sheet Metal workers, these are key components to our success in our culture," Beck says....