Complex Projects
Most recently, Forest Electric has seen a trend in condominium conversions, according to Caputo. “Many of these are old warehouses and factories that need to be converted into residential units. We’ve become a leader in this category. We truly pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve.”

The company sees tremendous growth potential in the condominium conversion market, and has positioned itself to be the biggest contractor serving this segment in New York City.

“We have some of the most complex, largest projects going on right now in the metro area, and they’ve all been going very well,” Caputo says. Today, approximately 30 percent of its portfolio is dedicated to this segment, he notes.

Safe and Secure
“Security is on the minds of a lot of corporations,” Caputo notes. “This is a different age we live in, and securing our environment will be a big market in the future. We’re positioning ourselves with our technical expertise to serve this market as best as we can.”

To gain this technical expertise, the company trains all its employees in new developments and markets.

“We pride ourselves on the training of our field force,” Caputo explains. “We have a combination of several areas of training, in-house training and vendor-supported training initiatives. “We also have different outside services training, from sales tools to Harvard Business School training classes.”

Forest Electric also ensures its employees are “certified and have accreditations in every aspect of electrical and data installations,” Caputo says. “If there is an accreditation out there, we have it.”

Green Initiatives
The firm has also been quick to adopt green practices, and encourages employees to become LEED-certified. Today, 30 percent of Forest Electric’s employees are in the process of being certified. “We are hoping to soon become a complete LEED-certified company, because green is the way of the future,” Caputo asserts.

The company even renovated its corporate offices to lessen its environmental impact. “We made everything green that we could, from the carpeting to the building materials,” he says. “We try to support our philosophy of going green in any way we can. We also have started challenging our vendors to offer us alternative products to those that are not as green as they could be.”

The open-door culture at Forest Electric encourages employees to perform at the top of their game, he says. “We may be one of the largest electrical contractors in the area, but we always try to promote a family atmosphere,” Caputo asserts.

























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