The following article was taken from the Top 100 Rochester Companies Special insert of the Rochester Democrat and Cronicle. Article written by Todd Grady



Frank Lill & Son near top again

(November 3, 2002) -- Frank Lill & Son Inc. isn't a flashy company that calls attention to itself with cutting-edge technology and rapid growth.

However, the 80-year-old contractor is No. 3 among Rochester's Top 100. It's the eighth time Frank Lill & Son has appeared on the list since 1991.

This year's ranking is the company's highest, and the fourth time it has been among the Top 10.

Charles G. Lill, the company's president, attributes the success to consistent growth.

"Often times you have newer, younger companies that happen to be in a particularly hot industry and have this big spike in growth," he said. "I kind of view this as a tortoise-and-the-hare type story."

Frank Lill & Son spans three generations. Charles' grandfather, Frank Lill, started the company as a general contracting business in 1922. He was succeeded by Charles' father, Charles L. Lill, who died in May 2001.

Through the years, Frank Lill & Son has evolved into a contractor focused on power plant design, construction and repair.

It bucked the economic slowdown and turned in a record sales year in 2001.

"We're not crowding $100 million, but we're a $40, $50, $60, $70 million type of company," Lill said.

Frank Lill & Son is not shy about bidding on major construction projects. From its small office on Basket Road in Webster, the company has placed bids on $30 million to $50 million projects.

The company has worked for Enron Corp. and recently built a $30 million natural-gas-fired power plant in Newington, N.H. for Con Edison Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc.

The 550-megawatt plant was built to provide electricity to 700,000 homes in New England.

Frank Lill & Son takes on smaller repair jobs, too.

"It gives us that diversity," Lill said. "I have gone out to perform maintenance on certain pieces of equipment that my grandfather built."

Frank Lill & Son also frequently takes on jobs out of the area.

"A lot of companies our size can't imagine working five states away," Lill said. "We do it all the time."

complete list of Rochester's Top 100 Companies.

Frank Lill & Son performed contracting services to the Niagra Resource Recovery Facility. These services were recognized with the awardance of the 2000 Marmaduke Award. "This powerplant is managed to thrive despite political, economic and technical challenges that beset other waste-to-energy facilities. Efforts undertaken by the staff worthy of Marmaduke include: retrofit of unique mass-burn boilers, conversion of an RDF-fired boiler to bio mass, and first use in the US of a patented mercury-control process." Power May/June 2000

Work on the Westinghouse Gray's ferry project helped transform it from a vintage powerplant to "a state-of-the-art combined cycle district energy facility, one of the largest of its type, is created within an old urban power station-with efficiencies and benefits gained in many diverse areas." Power July/August 2000