LEWISTON — For decades, Gendron & Gendron and St. Laurent & Son Excavating have been what their certified public accountant calls ‘friendly competitors,’ both powerhouses in the construction industry in central and southern Maine.

Both multigenerational companies started one year apart in the early 1970s, but with slightly different areas of expertise and focus.

St. Laurent & Son specializes in road construction, excavation, utility and municipal construction, paving and site development, and aggregate sales. Gendron & Gendron has significant real estate holdings and a lot of experience with site development, in addition to road reconstruction and commercial and industrial development.

On May 31, Gendron & Gendron acquired St. Laurent & Son in a “multimillion dollar deal,” according to Dan Chasse, managing partner at Chasse and Co., a business consulting and certified public accounting firm. Chasse said the terms of the deal are confidential.

The combined company will retain the Gendron & Gendron name, with John Gendron, grandson of the founder, remaining as president. In total, allowing for seasonality, the new company will have approximately 150 employees and will retain all the current sites, properties and fleets of vehicles and equipment.

Asked how he feels about the acquisition Thursday, Gendron said, “I feel very good about it. It’s a great fit, great people. It was a pretty easy decision.”

The deal was quietly brokered by Chasse, whose firm represented both companies prior to the sale. “Gary (St. Laurent) was looking to have a long-term plan to slow down and ease into retirement,” he said. “John was looking in the near-term to build his enterprise.”

Chasse sees it as a good fit and adds that it was a strong business transaction with a lot of moving parts.

“It definitively had a long-term strategy that was important to Gary to ensure that there was viability for what he built, the legacy that he brought to the table … but John being able to build on what he’s already established in his company, to virtually double the workforce.”

Gendron & Gendron now owns and operates four quarries or sand and gravel pits and a large fleet of trucks, construction, paving and excavation equipment.

“Nothing is getting closed, nothing is getting divested and sold to, you know, liquidated, anything like that,” Chasse said. “Everything is staying intact.” If anything, he hinted that some new technology could be in the company’s future, although he didn’t elaborate.

Managing a much larger company will present challenges for Gendron and his team, but Chasse said Gendron’s role is clear. “He’s going to deal with the strategy, the direction of the organization, you know, especially on the large decisions, large contracts, large developments, pricing, that sort of thing.”

St. Laurent has time now to think about his future away from the construction industry, but will serve as an adviser for Gendron when needed.

“I think congratulations are in order for Gary,” Chasse said. “He’s worked a long, long time to build a very solid company. And it showed in relation to John’s focus on committing and being able to support that with that strength. Because if that wasn’t there, this deal would not have occurred.”

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