Announcing the winner
North Billerica, MA – Fifty years ago, Interstate Electrical Services Corporation — the largest merit shop electrical construction and electrical services contractor serving New England exclusively — served its first customer from a single location in North Billerica.
(l-r) President Jim Alibrandi, founder Pat Alibrandi, project superintendent Austin Terrio, and executive VP Carl D. Brand
This summer, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary with a look back at its heritage and a look forward to a bright future. Today, the company has hundreds of customers and more than 600 employees, and has expanded beyond the headquarters in North Billerica to offices in Bedford, N.H., White River Jct., Vt., East Providence, R.I., and Windsor, Conn.
Interstate marked its anniversary with a celebration for employees that featured a traditional New England clam bake complete with chowder, lobsters, steak, and salads. But the setting was anything but
Enjoying the day
traditional. Employees from every Interstate office gathered inside the company’s new 100,000sf operations center, consisting of a warehouse and prefabrication facility, located at 515 Woburn Street in Tewksbury, Mass.
The day featured heartfelt addresses by president Jim Alibrandi, founder Pat Alibrandi, and executive vice president Carl D. Brand. After the remarks, the executives pulled the winning name in a prize drawing, and project superintendent Austin Terrio, a 14-year company veteran, left the event the proud owner of brand new Jeep Wrangler.
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Touring the facility
Jim Alibrandi said that one of the secrets of Interstate’s success is that is has remained tight knit. “Interstate is a family company, and we have been that way from the start.
We have the best professionals in the business—their heart, dedication, commitment and teamwork are the envy of the building and construction trades. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, all of us should be proud for the work we do, the customers we serve, and the company we built. On behalf of Pat, myself and all of us in Interstate management, we want to say it is so gratifying to see the Interstate team members representing the six office locations across New England, assembled under one roof to celebrate this anniversary and our new Operation Center.”
Interstate’s Operation Center is the cornerstone of the company’s evolving lean
construction strategy, a process that Interstate has been actively engaged in for the past five plus years. In 2015, Interstate formalized its commitment by joining the Lean Construction Institute. Two years ago, working with a consulting firm, the company began an intensive cross functional value stream mapping exercise that kicked off an ongoing journey of self-discovery and continuous improvement.
“The Operation Center isn’t just a one-time exercise for us, this is our future,” Jim Alibrandi said. “Every one of us at Interstate is 100 percent committed to internalizing the concepts and philosophy of lean construction and to actively engaging in the process of continuous improvement.”
Material for all of Interstates projects large and small pass through the Operations Center warehouse doors. Products like lighting fixtures are assembled and tested then repackaged and delivered on a just needed basis—in compliance with the 30|30 rules of material placement. Interstate, in partnership with Underwriters Laboratory, has developed processes to manufacture and deliver UL listed electrical assemblies: in wall
rough, electrical panels for both commercial and residential use, and other products.
“As our prefab capabilities expand so will our application of UL manufacturing
techniques, and subsequently our catalog of UL listed products,” said Alibrandi.
Alibrandi is looking ahead to a bright future for the company, but not without remarking on its remarkable heritage. “This is an exciting time for Interstate. As a team we have so much to be proud of, we have accomplished so much, and yet we really have only just started. Together, we will build on the legacy of the past 50 years and lay a foundation for success for the next 50 years. I couldn’t think of a better place to be than working in the building trades in New England, working with the best professionals, and serving the best customers in the world.”
