Fulcrum Associates, founded in 1989 by Jeff Luter and Matthew Ladd, is a construction management firm based in Amherst, New Hampshire. The company initially emerged during a challenging real estate and banking crisis, offering consulting services to banks dealing with distressed properties. As the economy rebounded, Fulcrum shifted its focus toward construction, setting out to become a prominent figure in the regional construction industry.
A family-run company, today, Fulcrum has grown significantly, specializing in a range of construction projects, including supermarkets, data centers, industrial facilities, educational buildings, and medical centers. With more than $1 billion in completed projects in New England, the company has built a strong reputation for its expertise and reliability.
“I got involved in the organization when I was about 13 years old at which point in time we were about 15 employees, doing $20 million a year,” said Daryl Luter, president, Fulcrum. Starting with a laborer role, Luter worked his way up in the company, eventually taking on a project management role, before ultimately examining succession planning options for the company, allowing his father, Jeff, to step into a Chairman’s role, while he took on the role of company president.
“We’ve grown into an organization where we’re about 30 people and our average revenue is somewhere around $65 million,” Luter said. “My aspirations for the organization are continued, calculated growth…we’re all about relationships and connecting with our clients.”
“My aspirations for the organization are continued, calculated growth…we’re all about relationships and connecting with our clients.”
At its core, Fulcrum is dedicated to providing high-quality construction management services. Their mission revolves around ensuring safety, integrity, and client satisfaction throughout every project. By collaborating closely with clients and design teams, Fulcrum works to meet deadlines, stay within budget, and maintain exceptional standards. The company holds firm to its values of safety, quality, and ethical practices, which guide its ongoing success in the industry.
“We’ve always considered fair and equitable treatment of all of our clients as being the number one core value; it has to start with that, because if we can’t start a relationship on a foundation of trust, it’s just not going to be a fun ride for anybody,” Luter said. “It’s the cornerstone of what we do; it’s all about integrity and building trust.”
Currently, Fulcrum oversees approximately 10 ongoing projects, with several additional contracts in the pipeline, representing a portfolio of roughly $50 million. Fulcrum is the exclusive builder for Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, as well as a series of restaurants across the state, including T-Bones Great American Eatery, Cactus Jacks, and Copper Door.
Wakefield Thermal, a thermal management solutions company based in Nashua, New Hampshire, hired Fulcrum in 2024 to relocate their existing plant to a new headquarters. “The rehabilitation of the existing building and the new addition totaled around 100,000 square feet for the whole building,” Luter said. “It was a challenging site, with a significant amount of underground utility work, but it’s now their main headquarters for most of their operations and most of their manufacturing.” Despite a series of changes, Luter and his team completed the project under budget and to schedule, allowing the Wakefield Thermal team to remain operational for its duration.
“I think one of the biggest success stories with this project was our project team,” said Luter, noting it involved a project manager who was recently promoted to the role. “This was a big opportunity for him, around a $20 million project build, and for somebody stepping into that role, it’s a bit of a challenge. We made such an investment in him over the years, and saw his potential, and it was a no-brainer. To see him come out on the other end of that project with a glowing recommendation from the owner is, for me, a win; as a leader, seeing him win was a win for me too.”
The Manchester Fire Department is another shining example of Fulcrum’s expertise in the field of construction. Recently, the city of Manchester engaged Fulcrum in a six-month design build for the Department’s Station 9. “This was a step into a market we hadn’t played a lot in,” Luter said, noting the company has dabbled in just about every market sector, but primarily works in healthcare. “It was a significantly larger building and we told them ‘it’s just not possible’ so we needed to reduce the scale of the building, while still retaining the essence of what the services were going to be coming out of that facility,” Luter explained. “It was a fairly quick project, but we worked hand in glove with the fire department the whole way.”
Understanding the significance of the building’s historical importance, Luter and his team managed to salvage several important architectural components and integrate them into the new build, much to the fire department’s delight. “For me, a building is a living, breathing thing, so it has life,” Luter said. “Owners don’t always see that and don’t always feel that; the ones that do understand the history of the building and its impact on the community,” he added, noting that whenever possible, Fulcrum will find a way to reuse existing design materials, whether it’s take a few old bricks from the wall and laying a new walkway, or refashioning old window panes and door hardware.
“We won an Excellence in Construction award from the ABC on that one which I’m incredibly proud of, because we were able to stand up on stage in front of a sea of our colleagues and the mayor of Manchester, having that success behind us. It was an incredible experience.”
Understanding the economic value of representing multiple markets, Fulcrum has recently started strategically bidding in the automotive sector. “We were recently awarded a brand new, 36,000 square foot dealership ground up project in Bedford, so we’re thrilled for that opportunity,” Luter said. “We try to spread it around; we try to break into market sectors that we don’t have a lot of experience in, and that’s what we bring to the table.”
In June 2024, Fulcrum celebrated its 35th anniversary, successfully marking more than three decades in the New Hampshire community. As the company continues its growth trajectory, Luter is eager to see his team members placed in positions that allow them to succeed.
“I want to see every single person who works here have an opportunity to succeed in what they’re doing,” Luter said. “Our company grows organically and my main mission going forward is for every single person within and outside these four walls succeed with every opportunity moving forward,” he adds, noting this mindset should be accepted as the industry-wide standard. “It’s good to understand business plans and revenue metrics, but that’s not my mission.”
Currently, all of Fulcrum’s employees have access to training programs that encourage personal and professional development. “We solicit programs through Southern New Hampshire University, the University of New Hampshire, and local colleges, and we encourage all of our employees to seek those programs out,” Luter said.
Luter, who also sits on the Board of Directors for the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), says the association has been an incredible resource to Fulcrum for the last three decades, offering employee training and certifications.
“We try to invest in our employees as much as we can,” Luter says. “We can always hire into a position, but I think it’s very important that those people who want to step into these roles, do so by doing. When you invest in somebody, that tells them that they have value, and when people feel valued and they have a purpose, they know they have a voice, and what they do matters. The direct investment in the employee is what sends a message to the entire company that says ‘We care about you, and we want you to succeed.’”
