 |
|
 |
HISTORY
Company thrives under capable management, expertise
It was in 1902 when Clarence George Bostwick began a career that
would take him to great heights in Connecticut. He founded the C.G.
Bostwick Company. What began as a small firm, fabricating and
installing glass skylights for local firms, ultimately grew to
become one of the preeminent roofing companies in the state, doing
work throughout New England. Clients have included Yale University,
Wesleyan University, Vassar College, Loomis Chaffee School, as well
as numerous churches - a specialty - libraries, private homes and some
of Connecticut’s most beautiful estates. The Hartford-based company
is particularly proud of the ornamental copper work it reproduced
for the Connecticut’s state Capitol building in the 1980s and the
consultative role it played in the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island restoration that same decade.
During his tenure, Bostwick
evolved the company and had the foresight to hire and train the man
who would one day take the reigns. That was Dexter Ordway, a former
roofing supply salesman who had once called on the firm, but was
taken under Bostwick's wing to learn the business. In 1955, after
over 50
years at the helm, Bostwick retired and Ordway bought the business
with his brother Bob and brother-in-law Warren Blackwell. The
Ordways continued to run the business as Bostwick had instructed and
also incorporated the latest flat roofing products and techniques as
the industry evolved.
In 1973, Dexter's son, George Ordway, joined the business
bringing with him considerable scientific expertise. He was a
graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a well-known authority
on slate roofing and a respected consultant in the copper industry.
It was George Ordway who was approached to consult on the $230
million project to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
that was completed in July 1986.
Like Clarence George Bostwick before him, George
Ordway— who had taken over running of the company—kept his eyes open
for the right man to become his replacement. He found him in Richard
Susca, who was hired into the business in 1986 and eventually bought
the company in 1998. The son of one of the firm’s longtime and
respected sheet metal mechanics, Susca began as an estimator, later
served as vice president and today is considered one of the foremost
experts in slate and copper roofing in Connecticut. He not only has
an in-depth knowledge of the most notable buildings throughout the
state, but has a down-to-earth business savvy that is taking this
105-year-old company decidedly into the future.
|
|
 |
