A company that started with a backhoe and a one-ton dump truck has flourished over the years.
When you work in a town named Sterling, your reputation had better be.
John Tocci learned every aspect of the construction business at his father’s knees and is now passing that knowledge to his own grandson who has joined two of his companies full time.
Tocci is the founder and owner of two successful firms in the Sterling/Leominster area — JJT Excavating and Construction and Asphalt Rehab and Restoration.
“My company was founded in 2006 with a backhoe and a one-ton dump truck,” said Tocci of JJT Excavating and Construction Co. “At that time, I had one employee. Over the years, as the jobs became more involved, I added several pieces of equipment, so that I compete in the bidding for municipalities and larger companies.
“With the added equipment I am able to excavate and do the site work in a shorter period of time than I did in the beginning with just two pieces of equipment,” said Tocci.
Behind Tocci’s work is a cumulative 30 years of project experience.
His excavating services include digging, earth moving, earthwork, land clearing and topsoil removal services to prepare an area for construction or below-ground service. JJT Excavating and Construction now uses equipment such as bulldozers, dragline excavators, dump trucks, front-end loaders, hydraulic compact excavators and skid loaders.
Many More Services
The firm also specializes in services such as basement excavation and foundation preparation; clearing land for driveways and retaining walls; tree removal and dredging ponds and marshes. Additional areas of expertise include sediment and erosion control; demolition and lot cleanup and topsoil replacement and underground utilities. In addition to performing basic site work such as land clearing, Tocci’s company can provide deep excavation services for structures such as basements, office buildings and commercial facilities. They help customers obtain the necessary state or provincial permits for altering wetlands, lakes or ponds.
“My expertise in the trade came from my father who was in construction his whole life,” said Tocci. “From him, I have learned all the aspects in the construction industry, from digging to grading the earth. Now, I am teaching my grandson the business and it is heartwarming to know he loves it as much as I do.
“Some of my equipment includes a Kubota KX121 and Komatsu PC78, which are two different-sized excavators, a skid steer with different attachments, including a cold planer to cut asphalt and a sweeper for parking lots and garages,” said Tocci. “I also have added an 8-yard dump truck and a tri-axle Mack dump truck.”
JJT Excavating and Construction provides a complete line of high quality land clearing and excavation to the central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire area. The company can clear and remove everything from apple trees to rocks and stones, according to the Web site.
JJT has a complete line of equipment to perform the biggest or smallest jobs:
• Site clearing
• Excavation
• Backfill
• Soil compaction
• Trenching
• Sub-grade prep
• Soil stabilization
• Foundation removal
• Retaining wall
• Consulting
• Land leveling
• Land grading
Building Up, Tearing Down
JJT Excavation and Construction does demolition work as well as building. The company demolishes residential structures, commercial structures, removes concrete slabs or installs them and removes stumps.
“Along with doing water and sewer emergencies, I have demolished several buildings that were very large and when I am finished, you would never know a building stood on the property,” said Tocci.?
Whether removing the back patio or the foundation, JJT’s hydraulic hammers can remove concrete, asphalt and rocky soil. Specialized equipment keeps costs down and job time to a minimum.
JJT Excavation and Construction also provides a complete line of high quality landscaping construction to the central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire area, including all types of masonry work, outdoor kitchens, concrete curbs, concrete patios, curbing, foundations, footings, fire pits, fireplaces and chimneys. In addition, services include flagstone and brick designs, freestanding walls, hardscape design and installation, landscaping construction, natural stonework, patio design and installation, stonewall designs and walkways.
JJT Excavating and Construction is always ready to respond immediately in emergency situations such as heavy rain, high winds, hail, water main breaks and damaged property.
Grandfather and grandson do even more.
“During the winter months, my grandson plows, sands and hauls snow for several large parking lots for a few companies that I have contracts with, while I plow for the city of Leominster,” said Tocci.
According to Tocci a contactor has to learn to be versatile to survive in the excavation industry. A day can turn on a dime.
“The construction business is very unpredictable,” Tocci said. “Every day is different and sometimes changes in a second. You could be planning to do one job on any day of the week and then it changes because of an emergency water break, or sewer back, which in my business, is a priority.
“Some of my work comes by word of mouth and some from my web page by Kreative Dezign,” said Tocci. “I am also on the contractor list for the city of Leominster.”
His second company, Asphalt Rehab and Restoration, uses the latest technologies to repair the heavily torn up winter roads for which New England is noted. The company does sidewalk repair, hot rubber, concrete and asphalt repair, fills potholes, utility cuts, manholes, puddles, speed bumps, drains, handicap ramps, alligator cracking, bridge joints, cold planning and handicap ramps.
He has added ramps to homes he has built for free with other volunteers.
“I have been involved with several Habitat for Humanity projects,” said Tocci. “This is one of my favorite charities because the people are so grateful for the smallest thing you do for them.
“Last fall, I was happy to donate my time and equipment to help with the Private First Class Jonathan Roberge Veteran Memorial Park that will honor Roberge and all the soldiers from Massachusetts killed in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Tocci.
PFC Roberge was killed by a roadside bomb four years ago in Iraq, along with his commanding officer and three other soldiers. The 22-year-old Leominster native was a former auto mechanic with a warm smile who left his parents and three younger siblings behind.
The cornerstone for that park is an actual military tank being reworked and repainted for the tribute in Fitchburg, Mass. The tank was brought in from North Carolina and weighs 56 tons.
Tocci is one of dozens of volunteers who got the park ready — friends, colleagues, even strangers — who gave what they could to make the site work possible. When the tank came down in January along Interstate 90 to Fitchburg for its refurbishment, the Roberge family gathered on the Johnny Appleseed Lane Bridge to watch it arrive.
According to CBS-TV and other sources, the paperwork alone was staggering, but a Carolina trucking firm gave a discount to haul it to Leominster, in part because an ex-Army truck driver volunteered to drive it there.
Joining the tank at the new Roberge Park, will be a bronze statue of Jonathan, tributes to the four men who lost their lives with him and to all Massachusetts Vets who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The park is located on Mechanic Street in Leominster. Hopefully, it will be completed this year,” said Tocci.
For more information call 978/502-6503 or visit www.jjtocci.com.
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