In celebration of its 120th year, The MBA is recognizing leaders of longtime member organizations who have contributed to the Association’s longevity, the regional business community as well as their operations and industries. Here, MBA Icon of Industry Clemont “Cle” Austin, chairman of the Board for E.E. Austin & Son, Inc., Contractors & Construction Managers, founded in 1906, talks about his journey in the family business and how the company and industry have changed over time.
E.E. Austin & Son (EEA) has been a part of your family for generations. Please tell us more about the company’s history here in Erie.
My great-grandfather E. E. Austin was a teacher and farmer in the Wattsburg area of Erie County. In 1906, he and his wife Nellie moved the family (three girls and one boy) to Erie to improve their educational opportunities. He started his company building houses and flats using lumber from the farm that he hauled to Erie with his team of horses. In 1920, his son Cle (my grandfather) joined him in business.
Cle had graduated from Carnegie Tech and had served in World War I building warehouses for the Navy in Norfolk, Virginia. In the 1920s through the early 1940s, the company built roads, sewers and large buildings, including Erie Veterans Stadium. During WWII, EEA became a major builder at the GE plant and other industrial facilities.
C. Robert Austin, Cle’s son (my father), returned from WWII in 1945. He was also a Carnegie grad and served as company commander in Okinawa, Japan, building airfields. In the 1950s, he helped add institutional buildings to the mix of work. E.E. Austin built many schools, water treatment plants, YMCAs, etc.
I joined the company in 1976. We continued our work on institutional buildings and expanded our industrial client base. We also started and continue to build water and waste water treatment plants throughout the tri-state area. Construction Management(CM) services were added to our repertoire 20 years ago. Currently about 25 percent of our volume is CM. Also in the past 20 years, we have completed many projects for the medical community, mostly renovations inside the major hospitals in Erie and Chautauqua Counties. Our company now has a broad base of clients and skills in house to serve this broad base.
You earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Cornell University, and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Business Administration from Stanford. After working at various construction sites and power plants across the United States, you returned to Erie in 1976 to assume leadership of the family business. Tell us about your professional journey and your involvement today.
After graduate school, I went to work for a medium-sized construction firm in San Francisco. During my six years, I worked on uranium mines in Wyoming, Port of Oakland dock construction, a medical research building for the Army Corps of Engineers, St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco and the Jim Bridger power plant in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Much of my time was spent onsite in job trailers as a project engineer and later an estimator. I returned to Erie from California in 1976. Our company was very small (less than 10 employees) then.
In the early years, I did the estimating, project management, labor negotiations, equipment purchasing and recruiting, and supervised accounting and banking. Starting in the mid-1980s, we were able to hire project managers, superintendents and professional accounting people. I still oversaw the estimating and accounting but less onsite work.
For the past 10 years, the company’s day-today operations have been led by President Chuck Jenkins, Vice Presidents Steve Morvay and Pete Austin, and CFO Sara Temple. I still do some recruiting, financial decisions and strategic planning.
What lessons or values passed down from previous generations have had the biggest impact on your leadership?
The most important lesson from previous generations has been to respect and nurture my co-workers. Our family has not forgotten where we came from. Humility is one of our core values along with financial conservatism. Business is fun, but doing business with people who want to squeeze the last nickel out of each transaction is not. We try to not be that kind of company.
What have been some of the most defining projects of your career?
My most memorable projects started in 1979 with the Hammermill Effluent Improvement project. In 1983, we did the Tullio Arena. Most recently, we did the Warner Theatre renovation, the expansion of the Saint Vincent Emergency Department, the GE Learning Center and numerous jobs for Erie Insurance.
It’s been 25 years since E.E. Austin & Son merged with Barnes Construction Corp. of Falconer, New York. How would you describe the current state of the construction industry in Northwestern Pennsylvania and Southwestern NY?
The industry is pretty stable in our market area which is Erie, Crawford and Warren Counties in Pennsylvania and Chautauqua County in New York. It’s no surprise that this is not a growth market, but, frankly, there is sufficient work for all the firms that do our kind of work. The healthy organizations are willing to invest in their facilities. The public sector in PA is catching up, after years of under investment.
What trends or changes do you see emerging in the construction industry today?
Like all industries, we are adopting technology and have increased training for our leadership.
What advice would you give to young professionals entering the construction field?
If you are a carpenter or laborer start small, maybe in the residential area. As you learn the ropes, you’ll graduate to commercial and institutional work. If you are an engineer, be sure you get field experience. We start all our engineers in the job trailer working with experienced supervision. We want people who experience the thrill of putting on their coveralls at 7 a.m. in January in Erie, PA.
Are there any current or upcoming projects that you’re especially excited about and that represent the future of E.E. Austin & Son?
Right now, we are looking forward to the Bayfront Marketplace Project on the former GAF site, Iron Works Square at the former EMI Site and school projects in both Erie and Chautauqua Counties.
E.E. Austin & Son has been part of this region’s story for more than a century. How do you balance honoring that legacy while continuing to push the company forward?
Tough question. We honor our legacy by sticking to our core values of Respect and Empowerment of all co-workers, Quality and Timeliness in all we do, Stability and Profitability, Safety and Well-being of all coworkers, Investment in training and tools, and Integrity and Humility. Our motto is “Do the right thing … all the time!”
As an active member of The MBA, how has the Association helped support your company’s growth and connection to the regional business community?
We use the training programs, hold meetings at The MBA and support the efforts at collaboration with local politicians.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about our firm. It has touched and enhanced the lives of many families.
