Susan Mailman, owner of Coghlin Electrical Contractors.
Photo: R. A. DELELLIS
It was a very good year for Worcester-based Coghlin Electrical Contractors Inc. The 13-year-old electrical contracting firm owned by Susan Mailman was the biggest year-over-year revenue gainer on the BBJ’s list of the Largest Minority/Women-Owned Businesses in Massachusetts ranking No. 3 this year. Coghlin Electrical’s revenue rose to $79 million in 2017 from $45.4 million in 2016 — growth of about 74 percent.
“Construction is a fluctuating industry,” said Mailman. “We have been successful with some casino work in Massachusetts as well as numerous higher-ed opportunities.”
The second-biggest gainer on this year’s list was No. 11-ranked Kaplan Construction, which Jane Kaplan Peck owns and operates with husband Nathan Peck. The Brookline-based general contractor increased its revenue to $41.6 million in 2017 from $31.2 million in 2016 — growth of nearly 38 percent. In addition to both increasing client retention and gaining word-of-mouth referrals for new projects by “delivering great projects,” Kaplan Peck said that “the robust economy has allowed us to build a strong team of employees to match this growth and it’s been a positive feedback loop ever since.”
Coghlin Electrical and Kaplan Construction are not alone among the growth stories in this year’s list of the Largest Minority/Women-Owned Businesses. Of the 22 companies that have appeared on the two most-recent versions of this list, 12 recorded year-over-year increases in revenue. Two have remained flat, while eight reported decreases. The four other double-digital gainers this year are: No. 15-ranked Hollister Staffing Inc., with growth of nearly 21 percent; No. 13-ranked Travel Leaders Framingham, with growth of approximately 20 percent; No. 4-ranked TalentBurst Inc., with growth of nearly 11 percent; and No. 18-ranked Nitsch Engineering, with growth of 10 percent.
Cumulative revenue for the top 25 firms on this year’s list was more than $1.38 billion, compared to $1.33 billion for last year’s top 25. That total was bolstered by the addition of three new companies on the list: No. 10-ranked Digital Prospectors, No. 12-ranked Aqueduct Technologies Inc. and No. 25-ranked MindLeaf Technologies Inc.
— Joe Halpern and Sean McFadden
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