WLF Mark's Company's Thirty Seventh Anniversary As We Enter The Memorial Day Weekend

May 23, 2009

This weekend marks the 37th Anniversary of the company's inception. "It has been thirty-seven years this weekend since I started the company....it has come a long way since I bought my first B81," said Bill French, Sr.


Bill French, Sr. photographed above in 1972 next to his Mack DM800. This truck worked for over thirty years before it was retired as an antique.

Bill French, Sr. started the company at the age of eighteen while living in Belmont, MA. "I started out as a one man show. To be named as one of the area's fastest growing private companies by the Boston Business Journal this past April after thirty-seven years in business was an honor. It is my hope to continue to grow and to be successful for the next forty years!"

"To be able to love your job and continue to evolve, diversify, and grow for nearly four decades is a huge achievement," says company President Bill French, Jr. "We are proud of the foundation he created for this company. We are also proud of the name he created."

Bill French, Jr. was named President of W. L. French Excavating Corporation in 2005. Bill French, Sr. assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer. "As we all know the country is currently in a recession. I tell our employees we have been through this three or four times. This is when experience and lessons learned come in to play. When things are good its easy for everyone but only the strong survive when times are tough."

He continued, "You do not stay in business this long without good employees and people around you. I have been lucky to have a strong core group of people who have been with the company for a long time. I have had great mentors throughout my career, people who spent time to teach me things one way; the right way. Over the past ten years my children have stepped up to contribute to the success of the company. It more than I ever could have imagined when I eighteen years old just trying to make a living."