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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 20, 2023 25 Torrington homebuilder Ugalde gains national industry stature By Norman Bell Hartford Business Journal Contributor I n New England, the name Greg Ugalde is synonymous with the National Association of Home Builders, which recently put on the International Builders Showcase in Las Vegas, an event that drew 107,000 people from around the globe. Ugalde is the only New Englander ever elected to lead the national group whose 140,000 members build 80% of the nation's housing. Ugalde is a builder and devel- oper from Torrington, where he is president of T&M Building Co. and founder of GFU Investments. He's built more than 1,000 homes and worked through the highs and lows of the business. He tells a story about getting all the permits for a housing project in Rocky Hill only for the state to issue a cease-and-desist order over a utility easement. It's a tangled tale of multiple lawsuits but the outcome is the lawyers made money and the builders didn't. Ugalde was chairman of the National Association of Home Builders' board in 2019, filled in again during the pandemic and has been active in local, state and national associations for years. Although this year's Interna- tional Builders Showcase drew a record-breaking crowd, Ugalde said he did have at least one disappointment: the shrinking field of Connecticut firms manu- facturing goods for the home- building community. He searched his mental Rolodex, checked with a network of contacts and could find no Connecticut-based suppliers among the 1,300 exhibitors at this year's event. It's a shame, he said, as the old-timers are retiring and selling out to national firms. And that's not good for Connecticut — or for home- builders — long term, he said. the number of vacant construction jobs at 388,000. And there's no relief in sight. Construction jobs have historically provided steady work and good pay. But the next generation is saying "no thanks." Connecticut reported 62,200 construction jobs at the end of December. The industry has regained all the jobs it lost during the peak of the pandemic in 2020, but it's thousands of jobs below where it was prior to the Great Recession of 2008-09. Ugalde acknowledges that more can be done to explain and market a career in construction. And some allowance for skilled immigrant labor could help too. Building Ideas That Work... Contact us at 860.482.7613 or visit us at BorghesiBuilding.com 2155 East Main Street Torrington, Connecticut 06790 © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing ™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. will guide you in defining your project goals, help analyze your prospective property and provide a realistic budget. For more than 80 years, Borghesi Building & Engineering Co., Inc. has provided quality and reliability with design and energy efficient construction. With an attractive design, it presents to your customers a comfortable relaxing environment to help promote sales. You will appreciate the quality your facility presents. More than 70 members of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Central Connecticut attended the recent International Builders Showcase in Las Vegas. PHOTO | NORM BELL