About Our Company
An industry leader for over 36 years with over 900 completed projects, we provide best in class services for a discerning client base.
What We Do
Pre-Construction Services
Turnkey wood framing supply and installation
Turnkey light-gauge metal structures
Balcony framing and decking
Window installation and flashing
Tyvek installation
Labor only services
The Shawnlee Story
Our Company
Shawnlee Inc. was founded by John R. Adams in January of 1986. We started as many other American dreams start, with a few dollars, a will to succeed, and some friends to help us along the way. John Adams and Jerry Simmer grew Shawnlee from the ground up, starting with nothing more than a pick-up truck and a handful of tools. They earned business through their attention to quality and their commitment to their people and customers. Like many other small contractors, Shawnlee barely survived the harsh economic times of the early 90s. Shawnlee worked tirelessly to meet the needs of our customers. Even though cash was very tough to come by in those years, John and Jerry ensured that employees were taken care of before directing any money elsewhere. In 1999 John M. Adams, son of the founder, purchased the company from John R. Adams. Jerry was named President of Shawnlee, and Doreen Thibedeau was named Secretary. John M. Adams had a desire to grow the business. Through his keen sales abilities and Jerry running the day-to-day operations, Shawnlee grew immensely over the next five years. Shawnlee quickly became the largest and most trusted open shop multi-family framing contractor in the Northeast.
In 2004 John M. Adams sold a 50% share in the company to UFP Industries, giving Shawnlee the ability to offer a complete turnkey framing package to its customers. The ability to provide the entire framing package from one company was unique and a first in the region; in 2010, UFP Industries completed the 100% purchase of Shawnlee, and, under a new structure, in 2020, Shawnlee is now part of UFP Site Built.
With an eye toward the future, in 2021, Shawnlee made some changes by naming Keith Monahan Field Operations Manager, and Derek Alexander became the director of Estimating and Purchasing. Both have worked at Shawnlee for over 15 years advancing from carpenter foremen to estimating and project management and finally into their newest roles.
Our Projects
Shawnlee originally started as a siding contractor. The first job was a historic rehab that involved an entire city block in Clinton, Massachusetts. From that project, we created many other rehab siding jobs primarily done in the summer months when we had seasonal help or family members who were off from school. The siding work was good and allowed us to grow our sales and crews in the initial years of the business. Seeing the need to develop and a shortage of framing contractors, Shawnlee decided to move into the commercial wood framing business in year 2.
Here are some significant projects framed by Shawnlee
- New concert hall and barn at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA.
- Framing, roofing, exterior trim, and interior finish on the National Yiddish Book Center at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
- All phases of carpentry at the MA Golf House and Francis Ouimet Museum at the PGA Boston Golf club entrance in Norton, MA.
- Multiple high-end clubhouses, including New Seabury, Willow Bend, The Ridge Club, The Country Club, Braeburn, Great Horse, and many more.
- The Harbor View Hotel. We completely gutted the hotel and redid all the framing, roofing, siding, and interior finish. We were able to complete all of this on a tight schedule through the winter while coordinating the delivery of labor and materials to Martha’s Vineyard by ferry boat.
In 2003, Shawnlee supplied its first large apartment job as a turnkey service to a long-time customer, Avalon Bay. Working in conjunction with UFP’s component plants in the Northeast, we completed our first turnkey framing package. Since then, we have completed hundreds of other turnkey projects in the Northeast region. Shawnlee has framed millions of square feet of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hotels, dormitories, condominiums, apartments, and commercial and retail buildings. Shawnlee continues to provide turnkey framing packages to General Contractors and developers in the Massachusets, Connecticut, and Rhode Island areas.
(Above) The Shawnlee Crew photographed with Mr. Home Improvement himself, Norm Abrams of “This Old House.” Circa 1990s / Photo Courtesy of: Steve Scott
(Above) Many of our employees have made a career at Shawnlee – Pictured is our current Safety Director, Steve Scott. Circa: 2000s / Photo Courtesy of: Steve Scott
One of our early “Signature” Projects: The Donald T. McGuire Fine Arts Center at the Portsmouth Abbey School | Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
The project earned Education Design Showcases’ award for Outstanding Architecture and Design in Education.
Why us?
Over 36 years of Experience
Since 1986 Shawnlee Construction has been serving the needs of its clients, from a small startup company to what is now a large regional concern with over 50 million in annual revenue and growing.
Highly Skilled Team Members
We deliver a quality product and in order to do that effectively, the vast majority of our projects utilize in-house tradespeople. We employ very few sub-contractors for consistency and reliability.
Technology Integration
We employ a variety of technological systems from estimating to scheduling to keep costs down, including UFP Site Built’s new mobile app, Trusstrax, for everything relating to floor and roof trusses.
Financial Backing of an industry leader, UFP Industries
Shawnlee Construction is a subsidiary of UFP Site Built, a division of UFP Industries, a multibillion-dollar holding company with subsidiaries around the globe that serve three markets: retail, industrial and construction. UFPI has been publicly traded (Nasdaq: UFPI) since 1993 and are headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.