East Construction Views | Engineering News-Record

For its skill to adapt to a altering market, together with its investments in folks, tools and know-how, W.L. French Excavating Corp. is ENR New England’s Specialty Contractor of the Yr. 

The North Billerica, Mass.-based agency is a second-generation, family-owned building and excavation agency that claims it values its workers’ opinions and well-being. The agency has introduced in psychological well being professionals to talk to agency leaders to assist create a tradition “the place it’s okay to not be okay.”

W.L. French can be featured within the September print situation of ENR East, which may also embrace the ENR East High Specialty Contractor rankings.

The ENR East rating of contractors consists of corporations doing enterprise in Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Rankings are primarily based on whole regional income of building companies of collaborating corporations, and likewise embrace breakouts by state income and varied specialties and disciplines, as relevant.

The brand new rating follows the 2025 consolidation of ENR regional editions into 5 new areas to mirror an ongoing dedication to ship essentially the most related and well timed protection to readers, in alignment with the evolving panorama of the development business. Regional surveys will comply with these new boundaries going ahead. You possibly can learn extra concerning the regional consolidation here.

The Specialty Contractor of the Yr demonstrates success within the area from a progress and income standpoint in addition to innovation, creativity and a dedication to giving again to its neighborhood. 

W.L. French’s investments in tools and help tools are important to its operation. The agency’s large-scale inner upkeep facility working practically 24 hours a day ensures tools is road-ready, project-ready, secure, dependable and able to go. The agency can be present process a full-blown evaluation of its know-how deck to place itself for a quickly altering world. 

The contractor prides itself on giving again to first responders, veterans and expert tradespeople. In 2020, the agency established the French Family Foundation. From sponsoring native blood drives, to a pores and skin most cancers prevention clinic and meals drives, the inspiration is particularly targeted on helping veterans and first responders, “guaranteeing they obtain the popularity, assets and help they want and deserve.”

W.L. French additionally helps packages, faculty partnerships, co-op placements and profession exploration occasions that open doorways for college students within the trades. The agency’s Trades Day brings a whole bunch of scholars collectively for hands-on experiences and real-world publicity to the business and “to assist construct a extra inclusive and sustainable workforce.”

W. L. French is an area coordinator for Wreaths Throughout America. In December of 2024, the agency served as a cease on the nationwide convoy path to Arlington Nationwide Cemetery.

The agency acquired the USA At the moment High Workplaces 2024 award, which is predicated on worker suggestions. The corporate has additionally been acknowledged in different years, together with as a High Office for Appreciation and Worker Nicely-being in 2023. Different notable achievements embrace being named a High 100 Privately Held Enterprise by the Boston Enterprise Journal, High 25 Household Owned Companies by the Boston Enterprise Journal and was acknowledged as a Boston Globe High Place to Work in 2020.

A few of W.L. French’s prime initiatives embrace: 

Huntington Towers – Boston 
W. L. French is serving as the location excavation and soil administration subcontractor for Suffolk Development on a extremely constrained parcel in downtown Boston. The agency is executing the location building for 252–264 Huntington Avenue, a proposed 34-story tower with underground parking, that includes residential, retail and cultural areas adjoining to the Huntington Theatre Firm. W. L. French has eliminated and transported greater than 26,000 cu yds of soil and practically 14,000 cu yds of slurry spoils. The agency says this mission’s success is the results of strategic planning and seamless coordination between its operations and transportation groups and Suffolk Development’s mission crew.

Innovation Sq. III – Boston 
W. L. French is the location excavation and soil administration subcontractor for Associated Beal Cos., developing city-owned property instantly throughout Northern Avenue from Associated Beal’s ISQ II mission. When accomplished, 20 and 22 Drydock Avenue will turn into a 319,000-sq-ft, seven-story analysis and improvement facility with on-site facilities together with a café, health heart, roof deck, convention and occasion house, and outside public seating for Vertex Prescription drugs. This part of Innovation Sq. represents a significant milestone for one in every of Boston’s most vital biotech developments. Excavation has reached the design backside elevation of -10.00 ft., with remoted pits extending deeper. Pit partitions have been fashioned and poured. Off-site utility work has included the set up of a 10-in. sewer line, adopted by hearth safety and home water service connections. Basis wall varieties are actually in place and lengthen across the whole web site.

MBTA Bus Facility – Quincy, Mass. 
W. L. French is the location excavation and soil administration subcontractor for Suffolk Development, supporting the modernization of the MBTA Bus Facility in Quincy. This 293,000-sq-ft facility will accommodate as much as 120 buses and battery-electric bus charging tools. As transportation is a number one contributor to greenhouse gasoline emissions, the contractor says it’s proud to play a job in a mission that helps the MBTA’s objective of electrifying 1,150 buses by 2040.

The agency’s crews have carried out important utility installations on web site, together with sewer, drainage and deep electrical conduit work, positioning the mission for its subsequent part of building.

Final 12 months, W.L. French ranked No. 4 on the ENR New England High Specialty Contractor survey with $200 million in income. To search out out the place W.L. French ranks on this 12 months’s ENR East High Contractor survey, and to study extra concerning the agency, try the September situation of ENR East.