Will a shortage of construction subcontractors hinder the region’s post pandemic recovery? With few layoffs or furloughs and ongoing projects, the dam bursting on pent-up demand in the construction sector could be both a blessing and a curse.

HVAC careers increasingly are attractive to women, especially as the pay, benefits and job security offer a stable, family-supporting income, several observers of the industry said recently. L

The Biden administration is making climate change a top priority and has started issuing executive orders affecting energy production nationally. State governments are also studying a variety of carbon-reducing mandates. What should business leaders be doing?

Less than one month into the Biden administration, actions taken by the president have indicated a much more progressive approach to governing than in the conservative Trump administration.

Typically, real estate agents get a break between Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl, as activity slows down for winter and the holidays. “But not this year,” said Tina Llorente, 2021 president of the Realtors Association of York & Adams Counties. “It’s been incredibly busy.”

Drone use in construction is growing, allowing better coordination on the job site, and clearer vision for clients.

“We had a solid 2020,” president and operating partner Geoff Fix of WRI Construction Services said. “We’re very fortunate.”

West Shore Home, a technology-enabled home improvement company headquartered in Mechanicsburg, has acquired Alabama-based bath remodeler C&C Enterprises, which operated as New Bath Alabama.

CPBJ recently sat down with a few young Pennsylvania business owners who haven’t let their youth stand in the way of their dreams. Ranging in age from 12 to 25, these entrepreneurs opened up about ageism, hard work and the advantages of being your own boss.

Like the rest of the state and the country, the situation remains dire for the retail, restaurant, hospitality, accommodation, tourism and recreation sectors. Industries that are hiring include healthcare, construction, warehousing, distribution and manufacturing, all of which were having problems finding workers before the pandemic.

Merchants in the business district say the change – a goal of the Grow Lebanon 2020 economic development plan – will strengthen the city’s economy by bringing not just the city’s workers closer, but others as well. 

CPBJ talked with Matthew Whipple, Vice president of risk management and senior counsel with Wohlsen Construction Company, bout the construction industry in 2021 and lessons learned in 2020.

The cost of construction materials— especially for lumber and other wood products— will remain elevated in 2021 after having more than doubled during the pandemic, a situation that eventually could lead to a slowdown in building activity in central Pennsylvania, several observers said recently.

COVID-19 has changed life as we know it. The home office became the new workspace, video conferencing replaced in-person meetings, events shifted to virtual delivery, and parents became homeschool teachers while trying to balance career demands.

Jeremy Young spoke to the journal about Lancaster’s economic development in recent years and how as a result of the pandemic, the city saw what he refers to as “the greatest amount of privately led investment planned and announced in the community’s modern history in a short span of time.”