NICKERSON & O'DAY, INC.

BREWER — Nickerson & O’Day has done many projects in the greater Bangor area, from the new Bangor Police Department to Hermon High School to projects at Bangor International Airport and the University of Maine in Orono.

In 2012, under a $33 million contract, Nickerson & O’Day finished the 108,000-square-foot Regional Training Institute for the Maine Army National Guard in Bangor. Last December, the company completed The Brewer Community Center and the neighboring 32-unit senior housing project, Chamberlain Place.

The company’s current projects include a new Emera Maine (formerly Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.) operations center in Hampden; a three-story, 30,000-square-foot engineering center at Castine’s Maine Maritime Academy; and a $2.5 million expansion of the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport terminal in Trenton.

Nickerson & O’Day is based in a small office building located between the Brewer Armory and the Brewer Airport. “We’re not very flashy; we’re kind of boring, but we’re financially solvent,” said Nickerson & O’Day President and CEO Karl Ward. “We stick with what we know. We don’t like surprises; we try to think and listen in the owner’s best interests. It’s a formula that works. People trust us.” Construction project manager Gerry O’Day and estimator Leroy Nickerson established the firm in 1952; their first project was restoring Dead River Company’s Bangor offices for $2,174.22, equal to about $18,500 today.

Having lived through The Great Depression, Nickerson believed they should make do with what they have. “If somebody broke a claw hammer, he wouldn’t let them throw it away because you could still pound nails with it, and if you did your job right, you wouldn’t have to pull them out, anyway,” Ward said.

He found such a hammer in the building’s basement; the find inspired him to create The One-Clawed Hammer Award to reinforce Nickerson’s view. “It goes to the project manager or supervisor who does the most with the least,” Ward said.

Of the many buildings that Nickerson & O’Day has completed, Ward said that people are born, baptized, educated, made safe, married and memorialized in those buildings. A memorable and moving project for Ward was the Brewer Public Safety Building, built in 2008. One winter day when fog wafted in the air like smoke, the sight of the building’s steel beams reminded him of those beams left standing after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on The World Trade Center.

This imagery influenced Ward to find pieces of structural steel from the Twin Towers to add to the Brewer building. Ward, Brewer Police Sgt. Rich Smith, and Brewer Fire Capt. Brent Melvin sifted through the remnants stored in an airplane hangar at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

Together, they found the twisted piece of steel that now hangs in the fire engine bay of the Brewer Public Safety Building. Two other fragments, a 6-foot steel beam and a piece of aluminum sheeting from outside one of the towers, are in the building’s museum. “It’s something we will never forget; it’s indicative of the bravery of the people who serve us,” Ward said.

These and similar sentiments have led Ward and Nickerson & O’Day to give back to the communities where they have worked. Before Thanksgiving 2013, Nickerson & O’Day donated a flatbed truckload of food to the Brewer Area Food Pantry that the company had renovated. The pantry serves nearly 1,000 local households.

At the Brewer Community Center and childcare center named after former local daycare owner Jean Lyford, Nickerson & O’Day installed the plaque in the front hallway for free. “We realized it was going to be a special moment in her (Lyford’s) life, and it will mean a lot to the people who work so hard at the Brewer Housing Authority to provide housing for needy people,” said Ward.

His future goals include an update to the company’s website, www.nickoday.com, and a possible future branch in Portland for a more statewide presence. He plans to keep the Brewer office, the corporate identity, and its core philosophies, while remaining involved in the community.

“This was a tiny business when I started here [22 years ago], and now it’s six times larger,” Ward said.

He also has another office in mind: the Republican Party recently accepted his candidacy for Maine House District 131 (Otis, Dedham, Orland, Penobscot, Verona Island, Prospect, and Stockton Springs).

“There’s a reason why Nickerson & O’Day has no debt, and that’s because I’m tighter than the bark on a tree, and I watch every penny. People can expect the same sort of attitude down there” in Augusta, Ward said.

Sen. Susan Collins and Maine Senator Ed Youngblood have endorsed him, as has former state senator Richard Rosen, head of The Office of Policy and Management. Ward said that he will listen to the people’s perspectives and create solutions to their problems for the greater good.

“Geez, it’s not a whole lot different than what I do here” in Brewer, he said.

Article taken from Bangor Daily News – http://bangordailynews.com/2014/02/11/business/brewer-construction-firm-has-built-many-local-projects/

CASTINE, Maine—Maine Maritime Academy has begun construction of the first academic facility to be built on the college campus in 30 years: the ABS Center for Engineering, Science and Research. The construction process is estimated to be complete in 12 months, with occupancy planned for January, 2015. When complete, the 3-story, 30,000-square-foot building will provide state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, classrooms, student study spaces, faculty offices and workrooms in the heart of the campus.

In November, Maine voters approved $4.5 million in state funding to support the public-private partnership to build a new facility. The remainder of the funding needed to accomplish the estimated $14 million project is being raised through generous gifts, pledges and challenge grants from alumni, friends of the college, businesses and foundations.

“With the successful passage of the bond issue and ongoing fundraising efforts we are nearing our funding goals for the project,” said Maine Maritime Academy President, Dr. William J. Brennan. “We are also fortunate to have an experienced construction team from Nickerson & O’Day who are determined, even with the extreme weather since December, to stay on schedule.”

“We are very happy to have a chance to work with Maine Maritime Academy again,” said Karl Ward, President of Nickerson & O’Day, citing student housing construction and renovation projects the company has completed on campus over the past 20 years. “We’re also excited to be a part of advancing the college’s work in engineering and research.” The new building will be home to renewable energy and ocean energy labs, as well as the new Marine Engine Testing and Emissions Laboratory (METEL), for which the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Academy $1.4 million to focus on research and development of emissions reductions technologies and engine efficiency technologies for marine and related power plants.

The ribbon cutting and open house for the new Brewer Community Center and Jean Lyford Day Care Center was held on Thursday December 12, 2013, where Karl Ward, President & C.E.O. of Nickerson & O’Day Inc. presented Jean Lyford with a plaque bearing her name on the new building.

On Wednesday December 11, 2013 OHI held a ribbon cutting for the Brewer Area Food Pantry on North Main Street in Brewer, the facility was recently renovated by Nickerson & O’Day, Inc. to create the space for this much needed addition to the community, and to get them started off on the right foot Nickerson & O’Day Inc. donated a truck load of food!

Nickerson & O’Day, Inc. has been selected to receive two Statewide Historic Preservation Honor Awards from Maine Preservation for the third consecutive year. Hammond Street Congregational Church Steeple is receiving the award for Excellence in Restoration while Maine Hall is receiving an award for Excellence in Adaptive Reuse.

Nickerson & O’Day has established a scholarship in the name of it’s immediate past president, John F. “Jack” Kelley III. Jack’s pursuit of excellence in the commercial construction industry will be honored by offering eligible undergraduate students financial help to achieve a bachelors degree in Construction Management Technology.

The first recipient of this scholarship was Nicole Rubenstein who was later hired as (and continues to work as) a Nickerson & O’Day student intern. Congratulations Nikki!

Brendan McGuirl, intern for Nickerson & O’Day, has earned his LEED certification and will now be serving as NOD’s LEED Compliance Manager. In his new position Brendan will be assisting project managers, subcontractors and owners in assuring that all requirements are met to fulfill LEED specifications. NOD was proud to sponsor Brendan’s certification training.

Nickerson & O’Day has broken ground on the Merrill Bank Broadway branch project. The new branch will be the 5th Merrill Bank project either renovated or constructed by Nickerson & O’Day.