Maine's Commercial Builder - Steel Building Specialists
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Living in the Northeast, even if you haven’t had your car serviced at a VIP Tires & Service, you’ve probably driven past one of their 64 locations.  VIP has been providing great service to New Englanders for over 90 years, and when they needed to open a new location in a former Tim Horton’s restaurant in Windham, Maine, they partnered with PATCO to get the job done.

PATCO was there for VIP every step of the way in their project.  From concept planning to working with civil engineers in the approval process,  PATCO’s Design-Build approach streamlined the process and kept VIP’s project on time and on budget.  The 2,700 square foot restaurant space was transformed into a VIP showroom and office space.  They also added a 7,400 square foot addition with 10 service bays with 18 feet of clearance for automotive repairs.

John Quirk, Executive Chairman at VIP, has dealt with a lot of engineers, architects, and contractors over the years.  Throughout the process of this project, Quirk was impressed by PATCO’s communication.  He was given weekly updates, and when there was a rare change-order, Quirk found that PATCO offered practical solutions to meet the objective of the project–solutions that were efficient and cost effective.  Also impressive was  PATCO’s project schedule.  Says  Quirk, “They met every timing milestone in the contract.”  Even with COVID and additional lead times for materials, Quirk found that PATCO was way ahead of the curve to make sure the project stayed on schedule.

When a challenge arose with the store-front glass for the new front entrance in the showroom space, PATCO got on top of it quickly.  “Dennis Waters [PATCO VP] was all over it and in touch with the owner at the glass supplier.  You could tell these guys had good relationships with their subcontractors.  I had a comfort level that they were doing everything they could,” says Quirk.  While the materials delay did take longer than expected, it did not postpone the opening, which was crucial for VIP because they had to be out of their previous location by a certain date. 

 

With three new projects on the horizon for VIP, Quirk is looking forward to working with PATCO again.  “They’re professionals.  They did what they said they were going to do, they were on time, and on budget.  That’s basically the definition of  a successful project.”

Employee Spotlight: Evans Hanson

Evans Hanson is a Site Technician with PATCO’s Steel Crew.  Having traveled the world for work, he is happy to be back home in Maine working with a great team to put up great buildings.

How long have you worked with PATCO?  For four years, but I also worked for PATCO from 2007 to 2009.  Then I traveled for work; around the states and to Bahrain, Pakistan, Israel, Japan.  It was definitely an experience.  I enjoy being home in Maine now.

Best part of working for PATCO?  I like working with the crew.  I like all the guys; I’m part of a team.  We’re all working as one.  I also like being back home every night.  I live in Old Orchard Beach and I like to go out on the trail or to the beach.  I enjoy it.