Roper Electrical tackles ambition renovation for Repligen headquarters in Waltham
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Roper Electrical is a Young Company on a Sturdy Trajectory to Market Success
There’s probably never a “perfect” time to start a business. Entrepreneurship is a special kind of challenge in the best of circumstances. On the other hand, no one ever achieved a thing while waiting for the stars to align. At some point, you just have to go for it.
Holbrook-based electrical contractor Rob Roper spent a decade working for various shops before striking out on his own. He joined Local 103 straight out of high school and always had it in mind to start his own contracting business. In 2020, with the economy struggling in the midst of the COVID pandemic, Roper took the plunge.
“I’ve always been the type to get bored when I’m not being challenged, and I’ve always been very self-sufficient,” Roper said. “After a while, I felt, why do this work for someone else when I could be doing it myself?”
Why not, indeed? Roper’s confidence was backed up by his proven abilities on the job, and he had built up a network of contacts likely to throw him work. Still, the waning days of the pandemic presented a challenging environment. “It wasn’t easy. You couldn’t just walk up to a place and introduce yourself because nobody wanted you in the building unless you had to be there. Scheduling was a problem, with people getting COVID and canceling on you. And it was very tough getting materials, but it still is.”
Initially, the business was just Roper and a van, but that lean, low-expense flexibility proved an asset in the early days. As the work started to come in, he added staff. Today, Roper Electrical boasts a team of 13 electricians plus office personnel – a total of 16 employees – and he credits these dedicated professionals with getting the business over the hurdles and building its reputation for peak quality work at every stage of a project.
You’ll find Roper’s IBEW-trained team throughout Greater Boston, primarily Cambridge and Somerville. A full-service commercial contractor, Roper provides preconstruction and design build services, lighting and power, prefab, and fire alarm systems for clients in the life science, retail, hospitality, education, and government markets.
“Medical and pharmaceutical labs have provided us with a bit of niche,” Roper said. “Many times, the client will buy some complicated, hi-tech piece of equipment, send us the cut sheets on it, and we figure out how to wire it up.“
The company is close to completion on one such project. Roper Electrical has teamed with workspace space design firm Unispace on a 50,000-60,000 square foot lab build for Repligen, the pharmaceutical company headquartered in Waltham. “It’s by far our biggest project to date,” Roper said of the life science space renovation, which entails new power distribution, lighting, lighting controls, and a fire alarm system.
He’s also proud of the architectural lighting job the company performed for Boston’s famous seafood eatery Hook + Line, located on the Seaport.
Looking ahead, Roper hopes to continue the company’s slow and steady growth, but don’t mistake his deliberate approach for any shortage of ambition. “I've been trying to grow steadily instead of blowing up all at once,” he said. “It’s important to maintain control over your commitments and payroll because you lose a lot of money fast if you're not prepared. But as far as the company's future is concerned, the sky’s the limit for me.