Founded in 1984: Innovation Builds DeSalvo Construction

HUBBARD, Ohio – Inside a 6,000-square-foot warehouse behind the headquarters of DeSalvo Construction Co. Inc. in Hubbard is a pristine meeting room where employees gather every other Thursday.

At the front sits a large camera, powered by artificial intelligence, that follows the conversation for those attending remotely.

It’s the latest example of how DeSalvo, now in its 40th year in business, has used new technology to stay competitive.

Joseph K. DeSalvo, owner and president, remembers when his father, Joseph A. DeSalvo, purchased the first fax machine for the company.

“He bought computers and we were all thinking, ‘What will we use them for?’ He bought computers for the whole office. We were networked before other people were networked.”

Founded in 1984 amid economic uncertainties, Joseph A. DeSalvo and his wife, Joy, started the company in their home on Mansell Drive in Liberty Township, with DeSalvo’s mother-in-law playing a pivotal role as office manager and receptionist.

“1984 wasn’t exactly a heyday,” recalls the younger DeSalvo. “I can’t even imagine what was going through his mind at the time.”

While he’s no longer involved in the day-to-day operations, Joseph A. DeSalvo still sits on the board of trustees and offers advice to his son.

Initially employed by Ben Rudick and Son, the older DeSalvo became unemployed when Rudick exited the contracting business. Rudick shifted to insurance and restoration work, eventually becoming National Fire & Water Repair.

DeSalvo took over where his former employer left off. He met with customers who had pending construction projects and informed them that their projects would be completed not by Ben Rudick and Son, but by his new company, DeSalvo Construction.

“He was really relieved when he met with everybody and they welcomed him and signed new contracts with him. The transition was pretty smooth,” his son says.

In 1987, the older DeSalvo hired Sandra Algoe as his secretary. Today, she is treasurer and office manager and the company’s longest-serving employee, responsible for overseeing safety, workers’ comp compliance, payroll and field superintendents.

“Everything was done by hand when I started,” Algoe says. “It was just Joe and I.”

Joseph K. DeSalvo started at the company in 1996 and took over day-to-day operations about a decade later as his father started stepping back from the business.

“Our strengths complemented each other and helped our company go to another level,” he says. His father was good at estimating projects while his strength is project management.

Like his father, Joe leverages technology. Superintendents access plans and specifications on iPads, enabling real-time project management.

“The speed with which we’re able to diagnose and address conflicts on the project site is amazing,” DeSalvo says.

Perhaps the biggest change in the industry, DeSalvo says, is the cost and time to construct the projects of today.

“The world has gotten smaller, and competition has gotten stronger. That’s not just our industry; that’s all industries,” he says.

The Great Recession presented the company with significant hurdles, although the construction industry usually feels the effects of an economic downturn later than other businesses, according to DeSalvo.

“We may have a job for a year before we put a shovel in the ground because it takes so long for work to become a project,” he says.

Despite the ebbs and flows of the industry, DeSalvo has followed a steady path of growth since its inception. The company’s offices were built in 1990, followed by the warehouse in 2001 and an addition in 2008.

Today 26 field employees and 10 office workers are on the payroll.

“At the end of the day we just take a lot of pride in what we do here at the company,” DeSalvo says.

DeSalvo says the company is well-positioned today because of the solid foundation built by his father, grandmother, and Sandra. “All of the forms and framework were built by my dad and Sandra and we try to revisit that and improve on it,” he says.

Sandra, who has been “loving every minute” of her nearly 40 years at the company, embodies the company ethos. “I probably sleep, eat and breathe DeSalvo,” she says.

Pictured at top: Joseph K. DeSalvo, owner and president, remembers when his father, Joseph A. DeSalvo, purchased the first fax machine for the company.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.