PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

PSSI is one of the leading civil contractors in

New York, constructing roads, bridges, sewer
systems and drainage systems.

KEEPING UP
WITH THE TIMES
By Fernie Tiflis

PSSI and its group of companies

continue to make a name in New
York construction. Now in its third
generation of leadership, the firm
remains stronger than ever.

Peter Scalamandre and

Sons Inc.
www.scalamandreconstruction.com
Headquarters: Freeport, N.Y.
Employees: 400 to 700
Service: Contractor
Peter Scalamandre, pres.: We
are successful in keeping up with
todays ... techniques and new
innovations.

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JANUARY 2009

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PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

hen founder Peter
Scalamandre formed
his construction company in Freeport,
N.Y., in 1923,
America had not
long exited the horse-and-buggy age.
Back then, the concrete construction we
know today did not exist. When new concrete methods such as slip-form paving
and gang-forming systems were introduced to the industry, Peter Scalamandre
and Sons Inc. (PSSI) took advantage of
the techniques and established itself as one
of the leading civil contractors in the state,
constructing roads, bridges, sewer systems
and drainage systems.
Peter Scalamandre and his successors
were quick to relinquish obsolete construction methods and equipment to give
their customers the benefit of better construction at lower cost, the company says.
As new techniques for building with concrete evolved, the Scalamandre family was
alert, ready to learn them thoroughly and
apply them.
These principles are still practiced
today by Scalamandre, as evidenced in
the careful placement of the foundation
structure, which supports The Standard
Hotel in Manhattan. Currently under construction, this project included a boardformed exposed above-ground concrete
foundation wall, which was designed to
support the 20-story hotel, flanking the
east side of the High Line on the lower
west side.
The wall was approximately 70 feet in
height, 50 feet long and 5 feet wide, with
supports designed at the top of the wall to
hold two heavy steel trusses that would
span the High Line and attach at the other
end to the core structure of the building.
Despite many skeptics, second-generation owner Joseph Scalamandre decided
that his company would place the 750
cubic yards of concrete in that wall in one
continuous placement in one day, which
was successfully completed, requiring precise placement, formwork and bracing
details. It was an architectural and structural feat that was unparalleled in New York
City, PSSI says.

Surviving the Times

PSSIs ability to adapt to the changing

times has been the companys key to suc-

cess. When Peter Scalamandre died in

1959, his two sons, Fred and Joseph, took
over the company. The duo turned the
firm into one of the largest civil contractors in New York state by opening other
divisions. They are:
Sea Crest Construction Corp. A general contracting firm for construction of
major buildings.
Mill Rental Corp. A heavy equipment division.
Seville Central Mix Corp. A concrete
ready-mix supplier.
Scatt Materials Corp. A drum mix
asphalt plant for both public and private
projects.
Sea Crest Development Corp.
Primarily owner and operator of heavy
trucking including 18-wheel tractor
trailers.

Seament Transportation LLC With

its fleet of 15 bulk cement trailers, it
transports fly ash from a terminal in
New York City to most of the concrete
plants on Long Island.
Celebrating 85 years in the industry, the
company says it is stronger than ever.
Our longevity means we are successful
in keeping up with todays times and techniques and new innovations, President
and third-generation owner Peter
Scalamandre says.
The company is only as good as its
employees and their ability to work within
the parameters of the company structure
and attributes much of its success over the
years to them, he says.
There were several different things we
did to change the business to tie it to what
is going on today. For example, in the

PSSI has not faced challenges in hiring and retaining talented employees.
People here feel that we have been in business for a long time and that we
are a good company to work for, President Peter Scalamandre says.

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PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

1990s, we got into more design/build
[work] than we ever did in the past.
We decided to market our company
to attract private-industry clients in addition to the public works projects that
were historically our base, Scalamandre
continues.
In addition, the company diversified
and took on joint-venture partners with
the experience to perform power plant
work, successfully completing more than
$300 million in power plant work to date.
PSSI is currently working on a
design/build project for JetBlue Airways at
JFK Airport. It consisted of a 1,500-space
parking garage at the JetBlue Terminal.
PSSI contracted with STV Inc. to design
the structure, which was constructed
with precast tees and structural steel
members.
The project was completed on budget,
which was approximately $65 million
including contingencies, and was completed on-time within a period of approximately 24 months.
A Versatile Firm
Celebrating its 85 years in the industry, PSSI says it is stronger than ever. Our longevity means we
are successful in keeping with todays times and technique and new innovations, President and
third-generation owner Peter Scalamandre says.

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The public sector in New York has been

sluggish in the past five to seven years.
As a result, Scalamandre says, the company had to shift its attention to the
private sector.
We are very versatile, he states. We
do more than just regular concrete projects. Most companies are road contractors
or concrete contractors.
We do more than that, he adds. We
can general contract for work and self-perform much of the work including the excavation, foundation concrete work, concrete
superstructure work, underground utilities
and site work and, because of that, possess
the ability to control the project schedule,
as well as provide competitive pricing for
our clients. That gives the company an
advantage over competitors.
Adapting to the changing times keeps
the company busy, Scalamandre notes. We
have done a lot of roads and bridges over
the last 10 years, he says.
We have done several joint ventures,
[which are] comprised of 30 miles of Long
Island expressways, [which constituted] 25
new bridges. And, we slip formed four
miles of highway in Long Island with
356,000 cubic yards of concrete.
Other projects include a five-story park-

PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

PSSI has successfully completed
more than $300 million in power
plant work to date.

GAINING ACCESS TO RESOURCES

PSSI is a member of the Concrete Contractors of
New York and the Long Island Contractors Association, as well as the Associated General Contractors of New York.
These organizations have the best resources that we tap into from time to time
regarding current labor and union associated issues, Scalamandre says. They provide members with the opportunity to uniformly negotiate with the unions on their
collective bargaining agreements including the annual wage escalation request.

ing garage for St. Francis Hospital in Long

Island, a 500-megawatt power plant in
Queens, and a few terminals and taxiways
for companies such as American Airlines
and JetBlue. PSSI is also known for some
residential high-rise construction.
In fact, it completed the general construction, as well as the concrete superstructure work on a 25-story mixed-use
school/residence in Battery Park City, N.Y.
In addition, the company completed two
recent high-rise concrete superstructure
projects within the past year including
NYU dormitory, a 26-story building in
lower Manhattan, The Standard Hotel, a
20-story hotel in lower Manhattan and is

currently working on a 35-story high-rise

reinforced concrete building in Brooklyn,
known as 80 Dekalb Avenue.
Combined Partnership

The power plant sector has been a busy

market through the recent years, Scalamandre notes. In fact, the company has
completed civil work on five power plants
in New York in the past five years.
This includes the $37 million Freeport
Generator and the $28 million Freeport
Plant No. 2 developed by Equus Power.
Both power plants were completed as an
EPC contractor (Engineering, Procurement
and Construction) in joint-venture effort

with Fresh Meadows Mechanical Corp., a

New York-based mechanical contractor.
Freeport Plant No. 2 is a 47-megawatt
combustion turbine project producing
electric for the Village of Freeport. It was
built by GFS LLC, a partnership comprised
of Greenman Pedersen Inc., Fresh
Meadows Mechanical and PSSI.
GFS not only rose to the challenge
of constructing this project on active
utility property, [but] they were essential to our timely mitigation of the
PCB-contaminated soils that were identified as site preparations began, Electric
Utilities Superintendent Hubert Bianco
said in a statement. They worked closely
with our environmental consultant to
ensure the remediation effort was conducted in accordance with all environmental, public safety and work place
safety standards, and kept construction
of the combustion turbine moving forward.
Because of PSSIs repeat projects with
Fresh Meadows, the two companies
recently formed a joint venture known as
F&S Power, and are now building power
plants throughout New York. It completed
the $7.3 million Bethpage Energy Center
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PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

III in Bethpage, N.Y.
The job consisted of performing the
turnkey civil scope of work for a combined cycle plant consisting of one GE
LM6000 combustion turbine generator
package, innovative steam technologies
and Siemens steam turbine generator,
PSSI says.
It is currently in the process of completing a 350-megawatt Combined Cycle
Power Generation Facility located in
Yaphank, N.Y., for Siemens Power. F&S is
under contract for the general construction
installation valued at $170 million, where
PSSI is self-performing the earthwork,
drainage, concrete foundation work and
site work.
PSSI has also completed a $37 million subcontracting project at Astoria
Energy Facility in Queens, N.Y., for Plaza
Construction, where it successfully completed the earthwork, underground utilities, concrete work and site work.
A One-Stop Shop

PSSI has completed civil work on ve power plants in New York in the past ve years. The Freeport
Plant No. 2 is a 47-megawatt combustion turbine project producing electricity for the village of
Freeport, N.Y.. It was built by GFS LLC, a partnership comprised of Greenman Pedersen Inc., Fresh
Meadows Mechanical and PSSI.

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PSSIs divisions help the company service all of its clients needs.
And because each PSSI project requires
different equipment, Mill Rental Corp.
was incorporated in 1988 to handle
equipment exclusively and to perform as
a support company for all projects, the
company says. Because Mill Rental
exists, the other companies seldom
have to search for specialized equipment, machines and vehicles to complete their projects.
Mill Rental owns over 400 pieces of
heavy and light construction equipment,
including but not limited to:
Automated trencher-loaders
Truck concrete pumps
Gomaco curb and gutter and center barrier machines
Concrete pumps
Komatsu backhoe, tracks
Cat F/L and B/H diesel
Tampa rollers
Dynahoe F/L and B/H diesel with
thumb or breakers
Caterpillar graders
Caterpillar and Komatsu hydraulic
excavators
Truck and hydraulic cranes
Komatsu loaders
Cherry picker cranes
100-ton truck cranes

PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

PSSI self-performs earthwork, drainage,

concrete foundation work and site work.

WELL-RECEIVED PROJECTS
PSSI and its group of companies have received a number of honors over the years. These include:
Design Build Institute of America, New York Tri-State Region award for Project
of the Year JetBlue Yellow Parking Garage at JFK Airport;
Award of Merit from the Concrete Industry Board (CIB) of New York for its work
on the British Airways Terminal in JFK Airport;
Design/Build Construction Award from CIB of New York for its work on Nasauu
Community College;
National Sales and Marketing Award for Excellence for its work on Stonington
Community in Port Jefferson, N.Y.; and
Excellence in Construction from the Queens Chamber of Commerce for its work
on LaGuardia Community College.

Sea Crests Versatility

Thanks to Sea Crest Construction

Corp.s experience in the public works
sector and its thorough knowledge of
building costs, this general construction
division has been successful in the private sector, as well.
In undertaking projects, Sea Crest
works with the owners on a time and
material basis, assuming total, start-tofinish responsibility, the division says.
Clients have discovered that the Sea

Crest method of buying construction

allows specified work to be completed
for the least expenditure of time and
money, it states.
Working directly for the owner, Sea
Crest is frequently able to use its staffs
own creativity and years of experience
and ingenuity to actually cut the cost of
a project. An example is the construction
of the Basic Sciences Tower for the State
University Construction Fund at Stony
Brook University, Stony Brook, N.Y.

At the Stony Brook project which

could not proceed during winter
months Sea Crests management suggested a method of achieving the architects desired effect by casting precast
members off-site, Sea Crest says.
Erection was affected in a fraction of
the time required for the work on-site,
and the project was able to proceed
regardless of the weather.
Work with the Government

Sea Crest Construction has also completed many unique government projects over time.
For example, it designed and constructed a five-story, 209,244-squarefoot office for EJM Airport LLC in
Jamaica, N.Y.
The $30 million project included
developing solutions to meet the General
Services Administration requirements
for a bomb-proof building.
All exterior windows and doors had
to be specially designed and fabricated
to meet blast resistant criteria, the
company says. [It featured] reinforced
concrete superstructure, which bears on
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PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

PSSIs Mill Rental division owns more than

400 pieces of heavy and light construction
equipment.

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
PSSI and Scalamandre say it is important to be part of
the community they build in. The company is active in
charity organizations throughout New York state.
Peter Scalamandre is active in various community organizations. He believes it is
important to give back to the community and help less fortunate individuals to
achieve their hopes and dreams. He is on the board of directors for De La Salle
School for Underprivileged Boys in Freeport. He also volunteers at local churches, as
well as contributes to charities that include JDIF Hope House and National Breast
Cancer Awareness.

piles, consists of oversized columns, floor

slabs and reinforced concrete walls.
Sea Crest self-performed all excavation, concrete foundation, concrete
superstructure and appurtenant site
work, which allowed the company to
meet the aggressive 15-month project
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JANUARY 2009

schedule.
The NYC Department of General
Services also contracted Sea Crest to
design/build a 300-cell addition and a
200-cell addition for Rikers Island
Prison facility. It also featured locker
rooms and storage facilities. The total

cost of the project is $22 million.

Construction included placement of
25,000 cubic yards of cast-in-place concrete, Sea Crest says. In addition, all
the cells were precast concrete modular units, the first of its kind to be
used on Rikers Island.
Another correctional facility project
was the Nassau County Correctional
Facility, which consisted of designing
and building 840 cells and 130,000
square feet of appurtenant office space.
This included a full electrical,
plumbing, sprinkler, HVAC design and
installation, as well as precast concrete
cells with reinforced concrete slabs,
the company says. The exterior skin
of the facility consisted of dryvit, Sea
Crest states.
Some of the other items of interest
in the project included a 1,000-footlong utility tunnel enabling the existing facility to remain operational while
the new facility was constructed.
In addition, The U.S. Department of
Defense awarded Sea Crest with a family housing project at West Point, N.Y.
The $23 million project consisted
of 118 modular housing units together with a full site development that
included utilities, streets and landscaping.
Sea Crest retained the services of an
architect and engineer to develop the
contract drawings and specifications,
the company says.
Sea Crests project management
team monitored and coordinated the
design processes to ensure that
USMAs and the Army Corps of
Engineers requirements were reflected
in the final construction drawings and
specifications.
According to Sea Crest, its work
included site clearing and grubbing of
45 acres, blasting and crushing 80,000
cubic yards of rock that was placed as
structural fill and running more than
seven miles of utility lines throughout
the project.
Also, 250,000 cubic yards of general
fill was imported, placed and compacted on site.
Work in the Private Sector

For private projects, Sea Crest has constructed a $220 million state-of-the-art

PETER SCALAMANDRE AND SONS INC.

DIVERSIFICATION OF PSSI
BUSINESS SECTORS
Process
5%
Residential
10%

Power
21%

Industrial
12%
Government
17%

Private
17%

Water
Pollution
15%

pulp processing plant in Hagertown, Md. The plant was

designed to provide the market with virgin quality pulp
from 100 percent de-inked, post consumer fibers, the company says. This project featured a wastewater treatment
plant, a railroad sighting facility complete with tracks and
boxcar unloading facility, a de-inking pulp processing plant
and an office space.
According to Sea Crest, about two miles of large and small
bore stainless steel piping was installed, and about $70 million worth of equipment was installed at the site, which
included plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems.
Work on Long Island Expressways

Sea Crest has also completed numerous highway projects.

Its work includes reconstruction of the Long Island
Expressway in North Hempstead and Oyster Bay towns.
The approximately $76 million project included a full
reconstruction of the expressways that passed between two
towns.
The scope included placement of asphalt concrete paving,
bridge widening, various drainage, guide rail, landscaping,
signage, lighting and signals.
Another reconstruction of the Long Island Expressway
was completed in Exits 57 to 61 in Brookhaven and Islip
towns. The $100 million reconstruction included expanding the existing three-lane highway into four lanes, which
included a high occupancy vehicle lane, the company
says.
The separating glass median was removed, the existing
adjacent storm drainage system was abandoned and
removed, and a new central storm drainage system was
installed, Sea Crest says.

Composite girder bridges had to be replaced or rehabilitated to accommodate roadway change. In addition, new
concrete bridges were built and miles of precast concrete
sound walls were installed.
Overall Package

Seville Central Mix Corp. was the first to establish a fullscale concrete central mix plant that supports curb and gutter construction, the division says.
The plant utilized automated equipment in the slip forming of curb and gutter construction. Today, there are two
plants serving Queens and Brooklyn, as well as Nassau and
Suffolk counties.
This central mix plant the only one of its kind in Long
Island produces automated concrete mixed to specification at the plant, so when it arrives at unloading site, errors
in water addition or time loss in mixing is eliminated, it
states. Seville has a 400-cubic- yard-per-hour Erie-Strayer
portable plant to put on-site if required.
The portable plant can be erected on-site for major slipforming projects. In addition, the company says it operates
Scatt Materials Asphalt Supply in Bayshore, N.Y.
Scatt Materials give the company the capability to offer
customers an overall construction package starting with excavation to the final completion phase of asphalting, it says.
No Challenges

PSSIs many divisions also allow the company to stay ahead

of the competition, Scalamandre says.
We dont really have challenges because we can do everything from the first shovel in the ground to the topping-out
of a high-rise and everything in between, he states.
And even with the slow economy, the company is able to
stay busy.
So far, with the different types of work we do in private
and public [sectors], we havent had a slowdown in the last
20 years, Scalamandre adds.
In addition, PSSI has not faced challenges hiring and
retaining talented employees. People here feel that we have
been in business for a long time and that we are a good
company to work for, Scalamandre notes. Our key personnel have been here for 20 years.
PSSI employs 400 to 700 employees.
A Simple Vision

Growing up in the industry, Scalamandre says the company

has given him unmatched experiences and opportunities to
experience every facet of the construction industry from
the construction field level right through the banking and
bonding that is required to sustain growth in this industry.
I was born into the industry, he says. But, Ive been
full-time here since 1979. I worked as a foreman and had to
work my way up. PSSI is preparing the next generation of
leaders. The fourth generation is in college now and we are
looking forward to the addition of them, Scalamandre
states. The companys vision is simple to continue to
grow. We feel we have a lot to offer, Scalamandre says.

Published by Schofield Media Ltd. Tel: 312.236.4090 Fax: 312.236.4266

On behalf of Peter Scalamandre and Sons Inc. 2009 Schofield Media Ltd. All rights reserved.