The firm also completed multiple projects at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, including the $9-million Victor E. Salerno Center for American Enterprise, which includes a data center and houses the college's business school and was endowed by the CEO and his wife.

The firm's new work at the college also includes the roughly $16-million Health Sciences Building, which is scheduled for completion in July. The project includes a $14-million new academic building and $2.4 million in existing renovations. O'Connell's scope of work, valued at $850,000, consists of the entire electrical infrastructure.

Safety Focus

Salerno says the firm has a solid safety focus, which includes having four full-time safety managers on staff, or one for every 125 people. No matter a person's position in the firm, anyone has the right to shut a job down or stop the operation if he or she believes there is something unsafe about it, the CEO says.

The firm has been recognized for safety over the years from industry groups and clients, including the Associated General Contractors, Eastman Kodak Co., Xerox and Anheuser-Busch.

In the community, O'Connell actively supports numerous charities and participates in The Builders Exchange of Rochester's annual Junior Builders Exchange golf tournament, which raises money for the University of Rochester Medical Center Mary Parkes Center for Asthma, Allergy and Pulmonary Care. In addition, all of the firm's officers serve on nonprofit boards, Salerno says.

The firm's long-term client relationships include a 30-year history with Rochester, N.Y.-based LeChase Construction. The two firms have worked on hundreds of projects together ranging in value from a couple thousand dollars to in excess of $10 million, says William L. Mack, LeChase executive vice president.

O'Connell and LeChase are currently working together on the $145-million University of Rochester Golisano Children's Hospital, set for completion by April. O'Connell's contract is valued at $10 million and includes installation of a trio of 1,000-kW generators with paralleling synchronizing switchgear for emergency power and a state-of-the-art lighting control system, which includes LED general use and theme lighting. The team's upcoming projects include veteran housing in Rochester.

LeChase has a joint venture company in Newton, Mass., that is working on senior living projects in New Hampshire and Vermont and will consider adding O'Connell to its subcontractors list once the firm enters the New England marketplace, Mack says.

O'Connell tends to have the best people in the industry," says Mack. He adds that the firm has a proactive approach that also sets it apart. "They don't wait for problems," he says.