The year 1982 will be remembered by many as the year Michael Jackson released Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. It was also the year that an Italian baker invented ciabatta bread and the year The Cote Corporation joined ABC Maine as one of the organization’s founding members.
Headquartered in Auburn, Maine, The Cote Corporation is a family business that has taken pride in being one of the best rigging, hauling and crane companies serving Maine and New Hampshire. Since its founding in 1966 by Armand E. Cote and his wife Carmen, the business has spanned three generations—it’s now led by treasurer and CEO Daniel Cote Sr. and his son, Dan Jr., the company’s president.
While meeting the challenging requirements of the pulp-paper, power, chemical, medical, industrial and general construction industries, The Cote Corporation has used connections made through ABC Maine membership to further cement its place in the Maine construction landscape.
“We joined ABC Maine 40 years ago for networking opportunities and to be a part of a united voice for change in the difficult political arena in Maine,” Dan Sr. says.
Hauling & Rigging & Cranes, Oh My
At the beginning of its membership, Cote employees sat on the ABC Maine board of directors and were members of the now-inoperative Downeast Construction Education Foundation (DCEF). The company made its presence felt within the organization from the outset, and it continued to take advantage of ABC membership as it worked on some of the biggest projects in Maine and New Hampshire.
The Cote Corporation has been craning and rigging for four decades, working on everything from clock tower repairs in Biddeford, Maine, and a diner relocation in Farmington, Maine, to a canopy construction in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Whether its trucking, craning, rigging, millwrighting, packaging and crating or warehousing, Dan Sr. says the company is dedicated to excellence—which is what ABC Maine hopes for all its members.
Excellence is required especially for the hauling arm of The Cote Corporation operation, which handles sensitive and high-value pieces of art and antiques for museums and art companies, including the Maine State Museum, Maine College of Art, the Farnsworth Art Museum and the new Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. Along the way, Dan Sr. says, the company made connections and developed relationships by participating in ABC Maine events, leading to new friendships and strong business relationships.
However, it was ABC Maine’s advocacy that really opened eyes within The Cote Corporation, Dan Sr. says.
“Seeing the difference our small, united organization could make in guiding legislation at the local, state and national level was eye-popping,” he says. “ABC gives us a voice in helping shape our business climate.”
Membership Has Its Privileges
For the past 40 years, The Cote Corporation has relied on so many of the benefits of ABC Maine, including its efforts to recruit young people during a nationwide shortage of skilled tradespeople.
“The greatest benefit to joining ABC has been the long-term cooperative relationships that we’ve formed with other members,” Dan Sr. says. “In fact, some of the largest contracts in our company’s history have some from referrals by other ABC members.”
It’s great to know that ABC Maine has had this kind of impact on a company that started doing business three years before the moon landing.
In addition to the benefits The Cote Corporation and so many others appreciate, ABC Maine offers an apprenticeship program that includes classroom and on-the-job training. It also offers workforce and business development, discount programs, continuing education, social media exposure and more.
In other news, the calendar says May, which means the sun is setting after 8 p.m., the temperatures are rising, and the summer will be here soon. As work resumes outside, look for upcoming member events. Here are the 14 companies celebrating membership anniversaries this month, including The Cote Corporation:
- The Cote Corporation – 40 years
- Electrical Systems of Maine – 30 years
- L & B Electrical Contractors, Inc. – 28 years
- Johnson & Jordan Inc. – 26 years
- Coutts Bros. Inc. – 18 years
- Ed Hodsdon Masonry Inc. – 14 years
- Regional Electric LLC – 11 years
- United Insurance Group – 10 years
- USI – 8 years
- Gilman Electric- CED – 6 years
- Turner Brothers LLC – 3 years
- Doten’s Construction – 3 years
- D.P. Porter Contractors Inc. – 3 years
- WILLSCOT – 3 years
Not a Member? Join Today!
To learn more about ABC Maine membership, contact ABC Maine’s Membership Director Tami Staples at (207) 620-6561, or email her at tami@abcmaine.org.