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Updated: January 10, 2025

Sargent Corp. receives Maine Governor’s Award for Business Excellence

Five people pose with an award. Photo / Courtesy Sargent Corp. Sargent Corp., an employee-owned general contractor based in Orono, received the 2024 Maine Governor’s Award for Business Excellence in the rural revitalization category.

Sargent Corp., an employee-owned general contractor based in Orono, received the 2024 Maine Governor’s Award for Business Excellence in the rural revitalization category. 

The award recognizes Maine companies that support their employees, invest in their communities and perform to a high standard across their industry, according to a news release.

Eric Ritchie, president and COO, accepted the award on behalf of the company. 

“Our employee-owners work every day to support Maine’s communities through quality projects and workforce development,” said Ritchie. “While our roots are and will always be in Maine, we look to strengthen and grow these roots throughout the communities we live and work in.” 

Origins

Sargent Corp. traces its beginnings to 1926 in Alton, when Herbert E. Sargent bought a used REO dump truck and set out to make a living, according to the company’s website. In the early years, he hired out his truck in the summers and cut wood and plowed snow in the winters.

Herb grew his business over the ensuing decades, with his son, Jim, joining the company full-time in 1957. 

In 1988, the family sold the company to Razel, a much larger construction firm in Paris, France. By that time, Jim’s son, Herb R. Sargent, had worked full-time for the company for five years as a foreman and superintendent.

In 1991, Herb R. left H.E. Sargent Inc. and began his own site preparation company in Bangor, called Sargent & Sargent.

In 2005, Sargent & Sargent acquired the assets of H.E. Sargent Inc. The two companies merged to become Sargent Corp.

In 2013, Sargent became employee-owned.

Today, Sargent’s 500-plus employees work in seven states.

Service lines

Sargent builds infrastructure, including renewable energy projects, highways, commercial site work, landfills, airports and underground utilities, in the Northeast U.S. and Mid-Atlantic region. 

More than 360 of Sargent’s employee-owners live in Maine, delivering on infrastructure, utility and renewable energy projects throughout the region and along the East Coast. 

Workforce training

The company has workforce training programs like the Sargent Academy, which provides paid training and a guaranteed position for recent high school graduates’ and a workforce advancement team that offers employee-owners pathways for professional growth and long-term stability. 

The Associated General Contractors of Maine pointed to Sargent’s workforce development efforts and mental health advocacy in the construction industry. Executive Director Kelly Flagg said the company “stands out as a leader in workforce development and employee training.”

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