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Profile: John Abrams, South Mountain Company
- 1. 80 Remodeling October 2007 remodelingmagazine.com
- 2. The Fred Case remodeling enTrepreneur oF The Year award Cathedral Builder John Abrams believes that homes, relationships, communities, and small companies should be built to last for generations. Leah thayeR senioR editoR Its late August on Marthas Vineyard, and the idyllic Massachusetts island is awash with vacationers, affluent homeowners, and, with the election just 14 months off, presidential contenders. You might think its all lobster rolls and multimillion-dollar beach getaways on this storied playground of the Eastern elite, but an insiders tour reveals a more complex reality. John Abrams is driving his dusty hybrid Ford Escape. Thirty-two years ago, he drifted onto the island on a lark. Then in his mid-20s, he and a friend both back-to-the-land woodworkers who had little building and less business experience had been asked to cre- ate a home for Abrams parents. The job lost money, but the two loved the challenge, accepted more, and never left. Today, South Mountain Company (the name is a holdover from the New York cabinet shop the ini- tial partners had run) is a $7.5 million design/build South Mountain company with 15 employee-owners and 17 owners-to- Co. on its 1986 be, and Abrams is showing some recent projects. holiday card, At the high end, there are custom homes down above. Abrams recounts its jour- meandering dirt roads, nestled discretely into their ney of growth and Photo: Randi Baird natural landscape. Seasonal retreats for people whose sustainability in primary homes are on the mainland, these feature his 2005 book, centuries-old lumber salvaged from river bottoms The Company We Keep. and wine barrels, custom furniture and railings made Remodeling October 2007 81
- 3. Cathedral Builder of driftwood, and structural oak posts selected carefully from the lots on which theyre built. Career The homes are green by any measure, but lets just say that their solar electric and hot water and systems and composting toilets are a cut above those you last saw in the 70s. The clients greet Business Abrams with hugs; at one, the owner is grilling Highlights venison burgers for the crew. Farther down the eco- 1975 nomic spectrum, theres Establishes South Jenney Lane, 10 clustered Mountain Co. (with homes that South Mountain Mitchell Posin) on Co. is developing in a more Marthas Vineyard. densely populated area. So airtight they wont need central heating, even in the Custom cabinets, millwork, and fur- 197690 bitter Massachusetts winter, niture are made in South Mountain Founding board member Co.s shop (top). Development proj- these two- and three-bed- and president, Energy ects (above) are tightly clustered to room homes will be sold preserve open spaces. Small wind Resource Group of through an income-quali- turbines (left) are a key element of the Marthas Vineyard. fied lottery for as little as companys renewable energy division. $170,000, at a time when the 197980 islands median home price is close to $700,000. In Instead, the company selects this broad range of Founding board member, a classic case of success being its worst enemy, the projects some far more profitable than others Vineyards desirability has made it unaffordable for to support its broader commitment to sustainability: Cape and Islands much of its vital working class: its teachers, waiters, that is, to homes, communities, natural resources, Self-Reliance Corp. bus drivers, fishermen, construction workers, and and above all, to a company intended to last for others. Many take the ferry to work, a daily com- generations. Abrams metaphor for this long-term 1980 mute that can take hours. view is thinking like a cathedral builder, referring Company has five A short drive away, at Marthas Vineyard Regional to the craftspeople who laid foundation stones and employees and $500,000 High School, you also see a 10-kilowatt wind turbine framed walls for the enduring structures knowing in revenue. spinning quietly atop a 100-foot tower. It was funded they would never see their work completed. in part by a bequest from a South Mountain Co. client As lofty as this thinking might sound, several and will serve several purposes, among them reduc- indicators show that it works for South Mountain Co. 198389 ing the schools electricity bill and inspiring students Long-ago clients are as delighted in their homes today Member, Chilmark Board Photos: left, Ryan Bushey; top, Randi Baird; right, Sanford Evans to pursue careers in renewable energy and green as they were 25 years ago. Wooded pastures and hill- of Health (chair 198789). building. In another challenge relevant to businesses tops that came close to being cleared are preserved; and communities nationwide, the Vineyard struggles any homes built on them are tucked into the vegeta- 1984 to find enough skilled craftspeople to replace its tion. Old homes that might have been torn down are Fire destroys South aging workforce. put on trucks and relocated as affordable housing, or Mountain Co. shop. South Mountain Co. has grown steadily and deconstructed for use in other homes. Shop and office are very much by design, as evidenced by a significant But the best evidence of sustainability may be the backlog and enough money left over (after generous 32 people who make up South Mountain Co. today. rebuilt in 1985. benefits and $240,000 in profit sharing in 2006) to In 1987, Abrams restructured the company as an donate 10% of annual profits to charity. The company employee-owned cooperative. (He was sole owner at continued embraces such a diversity of work not to hedge its the time; Mitchell Posin, his co-founder, left in 1984.) bets, or to maintain cash flow during downtimes, or Initially, Abrams had two co-owners, both of them fore- to harness its fortunes to the money and community men; today, he has 14, with the remaining 17 employ- spirit that are so abundant on Marthas Vineyard. ees expected to become owners after a five-year vesting 82 Remodeling October 2007 remodelingmagazine.com
- 4. Cathedral Builder period. When we hire, were hir- 1987 ing future owners, he says. The Restructures South often slow, deliberate nature of this hiring process pays off with a Mountain Co. loyalty that many companies can as a worker-owned only dream of. The average tenure cooperative. of South Mountain Co.s employ- ees is 12 years. A few co-owners have been there more Tucked into a glen 1990 150 yards from the than 25 years; only one has left since 1995, and that was Company has water, this home to go to engineering school. is refined but 5 employee-owners, No doubt, many of these people were attracted to not tricked out, Abrams says. Sal- 10 employees in all, and the company by the quality and subtlety of its work an aesthetic that is quiet, natural and not chest- vaged and native $1.6 million in revenue. materials include beating, says Kevin Ireton, editor of Fine Home- seven structural building. More than just about any other company I oak posts selected 199096 know, they exemplify first-rate craftsmanship. from the property. Board member, Northeast It looks like it Its not only the product, however. John is just Sustainable Energy belongs here, thinking on a whole other level, Ireton adds. Hes say its owners. Association. Receives its figured out a way to attract good people, where they Lifetime Achievement enjoy what they do and feel good about it. leader, articulate, charismatic, curious, mod- Award in 1998. est, balanced, creative. Hes very studious and pushing the enveLope inquisitive, says Richard Leonard, president of Mar- At 57, John Abrams may be the most influential but thas Vineyard Cooperative Bank. He will travel the 1999pResent least-known design/builder around. You wont see signs world to bring fresh ideas and perspectives back to Advisory board or advertisements for South Mountain Co. anywhere, his community and his company. In 1990, for instance, member, Environmental not even on Marthas Vineyard. He travels extensively Abrams toured co-housing neighborhoods in Denmark, Building News. and speaks dozens of times each year, though more where the concept originated. In 2000, South Mountain often before community and environmental groups Co. completed Island Co-Housing, a 16-home commu- 2000 than construction audiences. His 2005 book, The Com- nity where Abrams and his wife Chris live. Company has pany We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, This studious approach also plays out in Abrams 13 employee-owners, Community, and Place, has sold well enough that hes interest in alternative construction methods and mate- been asked to update it in a second edition. rials. John has always been pretty early to embrace 24 employees in all, and In fact, Abrams has never really considered him- new ideas, says Alex Wilson, founding editor of $5 million in revenue. self a remodeler; roughly 70% of South Mountain Environmental Building News. But he doesnt do it Co.s work is new construction. But he likes to think in a cavalier fashion without studying whether theyre 2000pResent that his being selected for The Fred Case Remodeling going to work. Board member, Island Entrepreneur of the Year Award implies that the word Clients are similarly complimentary. In the late Affordable Housing Fund remodel can and even should be more broadly 1970s, Frimi Sagan and her husband Eli hired him and (chair 200005). defined. Were radical remodelers, perhaps, he wrote Posin to build them a house that would be interesting, after being informed of the award. Aside from some but contextual, Frimi says. The process couldnt have traditional remodeling, we remodel homes by adding been more comfortable and congenial, and for years 2004pResent renewable energy. We remodel sites and give them new Abrams brought prospective clients to see it. The beds Board member, life for new generations. We do total remodels when were always made. We wanted them to be successful, Island Housing Trust. Photos: Brian Vanden Brink we move houses and prepare them for their existence she says. More recent clients continue the practice of in a new place. (For details about the Fred Case award opening their homes today. continued see page 88.) Politically, Abrams is as left of center as you might Abrams friends and colleagues appreciate that expect, but his openness to new ideas helps him bridge expansive thinking. They say hes a big-picture broad ideological chasms. I call him my little red thinker, extremely collaborative, a wonderful friend, says Merle Adams, CEO of Big Timberworks, 84 Remodeling October 2007 remodelingmagazine.com
- 5. Cathedral Builder a Montana timber-framing company also known 2005 for its use of salvage lumber and its creative design. South Mountain They disagree about a lot, yet theyre also good Co. receives friends who counsel each other on business issues. In fact, Adams was so impressed by Abrams Business Ethics employee ownership model that he adopted a simi- magazines Workplace lar structure several years ago. Democracy Award. One thing that probably is not The 16 homes apparent to most people is that John is of Island Co- 2006pResent an absolute bulldog, says Tom Chase, Housing look onto common Steering committee director of special projects for the Mas- green spaces. member, Marthas sachusetts chapter of The Nature Con- Important trees were mapped Vineyard Island Plan. servancy. He is kind and respectful and open and giving, but underneath all and protected during the con- 2007 that stuff is dead earnestness. If he sees struction process. something that needs to be done, he South Mountain really puts his back into it, especially Co. makes the Dave as it relates to affordable housing and Thomas Foundation for environmental issues. Abrams career was his paternal grandfather. In The Adoptions list of Education is a key way Abrams puts his back Company We Keep, he writes about the hardware and companies with best into issues that matter to him. Chase remembers machinery business that Morris Abrams established adoption practices. being at a public discussion about affordable hous- in New York City in 1922. It thrived for decades, and ing when a skeptic raised questions about the sup- a highlight of young Abrams trips east was wander- posedly higher costs of natural materials. (South ing through the maze of storerooms that felt like 2007 Mountain Co. uses sustainable materials in all of its caves filled with treasure. But its fortunes declined South Mountain Co. work.) John said, Everyone talks about the cost in the 1950s as key people left and started their own makes the WorldBlu of materials, but almost no one talks about the cost companies. Morris Abrams Inc. was sold several list of Most Democratic of maintaining them. Abrams helps people under- times, and the final owner even sold the name before Workplaces. stand how salvage cypress, for instance, is not only going bankrupt. beautiful but will last forever; how natural landscap- The loss of good people, and the business that 2007 ing doesnt require mowing or irrigation; how good left with them, took its toll, Abrams writes. I have Instructor on reinventing day-lighting and cross-ventilation minimize use of come to think that small businesses like my electric lighting and air conditioning. grandfathers do not have to die this kind of death. small business, He likes to push the envelope on things, says While recognizing that not every company can Yestermorrow client Brian Mazar. He wants people to understand become a permanent institution, the demise of his Design/Build School. how some things are for the collective good. grandfathers business made Abrams look at what was wrong with the system and figure out how to 2007 fixing the system fix it, he says today. You need to empower others, South Mountain Abrams curiosity and determination have biologi- thereby inviting them to stay. Co. has 15 employee- Photos: top, Randi Baird; bottom, Kevin Ireton cal roots. Born in San Francisco and raised mostly in The employee-ownership model has been a owners, 32 employees California, he had an academic upbringing but never work in progress for South Mountain Co. (Abrams completed college himself. His father, Herb, was a pio- explains the particulars in great detail in his book in all, and $7.5 million neering radiologist who later co-founded International as well as on www.somoco.com.) Nothing is static, in revenue. Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (winner and the company as a whole seems to thrive on con- of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize). Theyre very close, stantly evaluating better ways of doing things. The Abrams says, and his father has never wavered in his danger is if you stop asking questions, says owner firm belief that if you work hard enough at changing Peg MacKenzie, who started as a carpenter 20 years the world, the world will surely change. ago and now runs a number of office systems and The relative who had an even greater impact on also manages the personnel committee. 86 Remodeling October 2007 remodelingmagazine.com
- 6. Cathedral Builder For instance, recognizing that skills will be consequences, in terms of com- sharpen, interests develop, and bod- mitment and levels of responsibility, ies age, Abrams and his fellow owners he says. If you think of a business as a encourage one another to pursue interests community of collaborators, all of whom that could benefit them and the company are contributing to the best of their abil- alike. Nobody is forever pigeonholed ity, then you can do a lot more for those as a job function. Owner Phil Forest The company gathers for its 2006 holiday card people and the community that youre a is a prodigiously gifted carpenter who an annual institution that clients look forward to. part of. had long been interested in energy effi- You might even build a business that ciency. He spearheaded and now runs the a blank check for such pursuits. Ireton says outlives you. Heres what I see build- companys renewable energy division, which that Abrams also thinks about business as ers thinking about when theyre my age, performs home energy audits that often lead a craft. He respects the business side and Abrams says. You put 30 years of your life to significant contracts to design and imple- devotes himself to being good at it. Bohan into building these things that you love, put ment improvements. John recognized that remembers a somewhat rigorous process your heart and soul into it, and what do you its something I really wanted to do, and he that required a detailed business plan and the do with it? Your kids may not want it, and provided me with the opportunity to do it, clear demonstration that she could execute chances are nobody wants to buy it from you. Forest says. it. Forest created a plan that explored objec- You dont want to just close the doors. Owner Deirdre Bohan came on board in tives, feasibility, financial expectations, and I suppose the best advice I can offer is to 1995 as bookkeeper and quickly made it a more for renewable products. Clients were trust others. It can be difficult and frightening half-time job. Abrams asked her what she asked of their interest in such a service; to let go, but the rewards are always greater really wanted to do, and she said she liked committed to the companys success, they than the risks. The greatest reward, he says, interior design. For the next two years, she weighed in with valuable input. is seeing that sometimes, when people do spent the other 20 hours a week going to If that comfort with flexibility and indi- things their way, it turns out to be a better way, school and creating what is now a thriving vidual initiative is more than some busi- which is good for me, good for them, and, interiors division that, she explains, helps ness owners have or even want to have, then most importantly, good for the company. R assure that our projects furnishings and Abrams suggests that they reconsider how architecture will be complementary and they think of their business. If you think weBXTra: For more information harmonious. of it as your individual path to wealth, and about John Abrams and South Mountain Co., go to www.remodelingmagazine Its worth pointing out that nobody gets others are there to serve your needs, there .com/webxtras. About the Award J ohn Abrams is the first winner of The Fred Case Remodeling Entrepreneur of the Year Award, established and endowed by the opportunity I really admire that. Case particularly respects Abrams com- mitment to the staff of South Mountain Co. founder of Case Design/Remodeling, one of One cannot keep good employees without the largest full-service remodeling compa- giving them opportunity, he says. nies in the country. The award replaces Remodelings Life- Mark Richardson, president of Case Design/Remodeling, time Achievement Award and comes with a cash prize of says he was struck by Abrams holistic entrepreneurial spirit. $12,500 ($10,000 plus $2,500 for each of the four finalists, I think its rare for someone to excel on so many levels of including Abrams). running a business, he says, including financials, employee Fred Case wasnt involved in reviewing the candi- retention, and community relations. I also think any leader in dates, but he says hes pleased with the judges choice of the remodeling industry has got to be committed to green, Abrams. The thing that really impressed me about John Richardson says, noting Abrams long-standing embrace of is that hes a caring person, Case says. Remodeling is a sustainable building materials and methods. Photo: Randi Baird tough business, and you have to keep your eye on the ball To learn more about The Fred Case Remodeling Entre- all the time. When somebody extends themselves to try preneur of the Year Award, see the July issue of Remodeling, new things when they take risks that bring change and page 33. L.T. 88 Remodeling October 2007 remodelingmagazine.com