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V O L . X X I I N O. X V I I J U LY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 32 W arren Construction keeps a low profi le — its Freeport head- quarters doesn't even have a sign outside. Yet its portfolio includes some well-known buildings: the new Friends School of Portland, a din- ing facility at the Kents Hill School, Edwards Center for Arts and Dance at Bowdoin College, the Hebron Academy Athletic Center, as well as the fi t-outs of the Portland Food Co-op and Foulmouthed Brewing Co. e company also builds high- end private residences. Warren, 60, has no plans to retire, but he says his 40 employees were starting to wonder about his plans. So he hired Susan Scherbel of Bellview Associates to set up the employee stock ownership plan, which was eff ective July 1. Mainebiz sat down with Warren to discuss the transition. An edited transcript follows. Mainebiz: Warren Construction has keeps a low profi le. How do you get business? Peter Warren: We've been fl ying under the radar for a number of years. As long as I've been working in con- struction in Maine, it's only occasion- ally that a client comes to your offi ce. You're going to them. I was passion- ate about having a great workspace. I used to drive 800 miles a week, banging around in a pickup truck to visit clients and job sites. I thought if I ever have a chance to own my own company I wouldn't have a long com- mute. Here I have an offi ce and live in the house next door. If you own a business in Maine, you have to work every day. One of the issues we have as a company is people don't under- stand our capabilities. Our clients know us. Once in a while, someone won't hire us because they don't think we're big enough, but we have a lot of horsepower and we have access to a lot of horsepower. MB: You've had variety of projects. How did you approach the Hebron Academy Athletic Center, a 54,000-square-foot job with a tight budget and a specifi c look? PW: When you live in Maine, you eat what they're serving. We have lot of really skilled people. ey can do a lot of things. We beat a lot of people out for that job. We worked with an architecture fi rm we really liked, SMRT. We had a vision of what the building would look like. We never wavered; we were focused. Each of us knew our businesses. It was a wonder- ful collaboration. [Hebron] had a lim- ited budget — we built that for a lot less than other people were building fi eld houses, $155 a square foot. MB: Why an ESOP and why now? PW: I'm 60 and I'm not ready to stop anytime soon. But you have to look at this stuff . You have to plan. And your people are wondering, 'What's he going to do?' ey don't say it but it was clear to me they were think- ing it. I basically had three options. I could sell the company, but selling a construction company in Maine is tough. If you own a lot of stuff — equipment or an excavation company or a rigging company, maybe. But we're not Reed & Reed. What we have is people, a reputation, some cash and a little bit of equipment. So there's no value in that. It's really hard to make a living in construction in Maine. I could liquidate, but what about all these people? I kept hear- ing we were small for an ESOP, but then I called Susan Scherbel. She was hesitant but she ran the numbers and said, ' is might open up the fl oodgate for little deals.' She fi gured out a way to streamline the deal. It worked for me. It took a while and it's expensive. But I saw it as the avenue. You have to value the thing so the employees can pull it off . I just want the business to continue. P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N Peter Warren, who founded Warren Construction Co. in 1999, recently converted the company to an ESOP structure. He's pictured at the company's offi ces in Freeport. Peter Warren, CEO and board chairman of Warren Construction Co. in Freeport, is the latest Maine business leader to sell his company to employees. B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N O N T H E R E C O R D " " " " Colors Pantone 2747 Pantone 1807 IT Solutions Designed for Your Business Finding the right IT partner is one of the most important decisions your company can make. At WGTECH, making information technology work for your business is our core competency. We develop individualized solutions that help you grow your business, improve operations, and boost efficiency. We're Northern New England's resource for advanced technology – we'd like to partner with you. www.WGTECH.com 207.856.5300 Control Costs & Increase Productivity When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in When you live in Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what Maine, you eat what they're serving.