News

Hooksett, NH --   PROCON, a family-owned and operated true design-build firm received the Associated Builders and Contractors New Hampshire/Vermont Chapter’s (ABC) Excellence in Construction (EIC) Award in the Commercial Over $10 Million category for the design and construction of Unitil’s new Exeter, NH-based Distribution and Operations Center at the ABC Awards ceremony held on October 14, 2021.   The new 54,000 SF, two-story regional facility includes office space, conference rooms, a 24/7 dispatcher center, a training and testing center, a warehouse, vehicle storage and a wash bay.  The facility will serve at UNITIL’s regional Emergency Operations Center and houses the company’s seacoast distribution operations and forestry, engineering, and centralized electric dispatch teams.  The EIC awards program is the construction industry’s leading competition that honors general and specialty contractors for world-class, safe and innovative construction projects.

Unitil continued its three-decade long partnership with PROCON by teaming up in the design process to determine current and future needs for space and technology.  This collaboration led to the development of a unique building layout and design to accommodate the regional emergency centers need to be able to operate 24/7/365 during man-made and natural disasters.  The building was also designed and built with sustainability as a priority in pursuit of LEED, WELL Building and EnergyStar certifications.

“This project had many unique challenges due to its function as an Emergency Operations Center,” said Jacqueline Agel, Unitil’s Manager of Fleet and Facilities.  “We trust PROCON. They have been in business for 86 years and we knew they were up for the challenge.  Receiving this award is well-deserved recognition of the quality of their work.  It’s a pleasure working with them.”

The EIC awards honors every member of the construction team, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer.  The winning projects selected from entries across NH and VT are judged on complexity, design, challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost.  A panel of industry experts served as the competition’s judges.

“We are thrilled with receiving this award and I am so proud of our team that their creativity, dedication and expertise have been recognized by their peers,” said John Stebbins, Managing Director of PROCON.  “Our family philosophy has always been to create a positive work environment for our employees so they can focus their knowledge and talents on providing first-class projects for our clients.   Awards are great, but our greatest reward is a happy client like UNITIL who are long-term partners.”

Dan Messier, SVP of Construction Operations accepted the award saying, “A big thank you to Unitil for selecting us for this project, we have worked together over 30 years now and we treat their project as if it was our own.”

Here’s a link to our award video and Unitil’s video about their new facility: https://vimeo.com/488176850/168892178d