the last two years

[ereed969]

I own a const. company and have been hit hard the last two years. I was just wondering how many of us have been affected. Things are looking good for this year. I hope there is alot more that are going to be doing better this year.

[Jeffe]

Things were slow for us during June/July...But we have been really busy since than, thankfully.

My industry is pretty regulated by OSHA & AQMD & City/County/Fire jurisdictions, all of which force the companies I work with into getting the necessary equipment to stay compliant.

[chpthril]

I think my profile info over to the right states it pretty clear

I'm now working on my 2nd million......................gave up on the first

[Guapo]

I own a const. company and have been hit hard the last two years. I was just wondering how many of us have been affected. Things are looking good for this year. I hope there is alot more that are going to be doing better this year.

I own a mechanical contracting company (commercial/industrial). 2008 was best year in our 44 year history. 2009 was about 33% down from 2008. We are predicting 2010 to be even worse than last year. Competition is fierce. I am not very optimistic about 2010. I do sense 2011 as coming back. Understand that we mainly do very large work that has a two year cradle to grave, so we typically lag the economy by 2 years.

[bforsythe]

We are a electrical contractor in just north of Atlanta. The market here just stopped two years ago. We went into survival mode and have managed to stay alive. Took the huge hits from our bigger accounts. The banks are now are realizing that they need to finish the houses that they aquired. So we now work for banks. Their money is good

[Jeffe]

What type of Mechanical Contracting, HVAC?

[kerlee]

My better half owns her own faux finishing and decorative concrete company. She has not had a phone call in a year, so she went back to school. School is a good place to be when the economy is so down.

[Joeprunc]

I do consulting work for a company that builds and repairs equipment for refineries. I was unaffected until this year, and now I'm hurting...8 hour weeks...

But the good thing about refineries is they always need repair and maintenance, so the longer they put it off, the more the repairs are going to cost = I get paid again.

[Thomas Hohl]

Funny someone should bring this up. I own a Millwork (wood products) company in Houston that is tied to home building and business is BAD. I have been in survival mode for the past 2 years. About all I am doing right now is buying up everyone elses equipment for when it comes back, whenever that is.

I have heard that Atlanta has been very hard hit. Texas is bad but better than most.

The sun will come out again. Obama promised us change, I just hope it's for him this time! A 10 year old could do a better job, and you wouldn't even have to give him a Nobel prize.

[ereed969]

He changed how many states we had (57)

[goose69]

I am in the industrial sales business and my traditional business is down 33%. I have changed my strategy and have been targeting government stimulus projects. with adding this segement i am up 45% overall.

[Thomas Hohl]

He changed how many states we had (57)

He's your standard issue puppet politician. I'm not quite sure how they sleep at night actually.

[Guapo]

What type of Mechanical Contracting, HVAC?

HVAC, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

[Carter13]

I have worked for a storm water funded department in a public agency for eleven years and am in a union with plenty of senority so I am safe. The general funded departments have been hit hard with a lot of layoffs and there will be more by years end. The only thing that has occurred so far is a no COLA increase for 09 and 10.

[dingleberry]

I manage inspection and testing on construction projects (primarily commercial, public works, airport, etc.). We have been somewhat insulated over the past two years because we have been involved with multi-year, multi-billion dollar projects. But, those projects are wrapping up and there is almost no new work being released in this area. Our competitors have already been cutting staff for a while, and now we are reaching that point. Our estimates are that in 12 months we will be around 1/4 the size we were 12 months ago. The economy here has fallen off a cliff (in regards to construction) and we don't see any substantial improvement over the next couple of years. Government is postponing virtually all capital improvement projects, as the state and local governments are facing budget deficits of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year, and private industry is not spending with a glut of commercial space on the market currently with more becoming available due to business forclosures. Absolutely terrifying.

Thankfully, my wife is a nurse and works ER/trauma, which is about the most recession-proof line of work available. But, my position is certainly questionable, with no turnaround in sight yet.