Brandon Dziokonski
Updated: January 6, 2020
2020 Best of Business Awards
2020 Best of Business Awards: Office Services
Photo | Courtesy of Euro-American Worldwide Logistics
Euro-American ships freight all over the world.
By GRANT WELKER
Best Logistics Company
- Euro-American Worldwide Logistics*
- Location: Worcester
- Website: www.eaafinc.net
- Top executive: President Eric Busenburg
- Founded: 1966
- Employees: 20
Medical product and pharmaceutical companies can’t simply ship a product in a box by running down to the post office the way a typical person can. After all, expensive, delicate or life-saving products can’t risk being treated like any other shipment.
For three generations, Worcester-based Euro-American Worldwide Logistics has been handling special shipments such as these. The company was started just after World War II by Neil Lucey and worked largely with the city’s manufacturers to export products.
Today, the company is run by Lucey’s grandson Eric Busenberg, and its focus has shifted dramatically to life sciences and to both imports and exports.
Euro-American ships by air, truck and ship, sometimes through Worcester Regional Airport just outside its door, where it has direct runway access, often by Logan International Airport in Boston, and otherwise frequently by barge in and out of Boston or New York City.
“That extra care on the products is what brings our value,” Busenberg said.
Euro-American works with the pharmaceutical firms AstraZeneca and CordenPharma, which both have operations in the Boston area, along with Clariant, a chemicals company whose North American headquarters are in Holden, and GE Healthcare, whose life sciences unit is based in Marlborough.
Those companies and others have come to rely on Euro-American, but they’re not just local ones. The company, which has 20 employees in Worcester, has added clients in life science-rich California as well as Canada, spreading by word-of-mouth and reputation over a nearly six-decade history.
“It becomes a small world,” Busenberg said of the industry. “Everybody knows everybody.”
In the cases of far-away customers, Euro-American works with local agents local to get shipment systems up and running. Busenberg said the company has built a broad customer base because it has a vested interest in getting its customers’ products shipped exactly as they need to be. It has an in-house brokerage department to help deal with international customs, automatic shipment alerts and around-the-clock video monitoring to cut down on errors and delays.
Euro-American uses refrigerated trucks and has a tightly temperature-controlled warehouse, Busenberg said. As is critical in the industry, it adheres to what’s known as good manufacturing practice, which covers exactly how medical products, drugs and other goods are stored and shipped safely.
Best Commercial Landscaper
- Cheaper Than The Kid Next Door Landscaping*
- Location: Worcester
- Website: cheaperthanthekidnextdoor.com
- Top executive: Owner Brandon Dziokonski
- Founded: 2015
- Employees: 6
Priding itself on professionalism and reliability, Cheaper than the Kid Next Door has put a greater emphasis on better on client relationships by adding more communication with them and regular quality control inspections, in addition to online bill payment and fixed-price packages.
- Notable runners-up: Adams Landscapes, LEI Corp.
Best Coworking Space
- Clearly Coworking Inc.*
Rob DelMastro - Location: Worcester
- Website: www.clearlycoworking.com
- Top executive: Founder & CEO Rob DelMastro
- Founded: 2013
- Employees: 3
Offering one price to cover everything with no added costs, Clearly Coworking strives to make its space productive, comfortable and professional for the businesses setting up shop there. The space is clean, simple, and practical. Meeting rooms are fully equipped and private.
Best Waste Removal
- E.L. Harvey*
E.L. Harvey - Locations: Westborough, Fitchburg and Tyngsborough
- Website: www.elharvey.com
- Top executive: CEO James Harvey
- Founded: 1911
- Employees: 400
In order to enhance its service, communication and efficiency, E.L. Harvey in the past two years added a new operating platform and third-eye cameras in all trucks. The company remains privately held and keeps 100% of its revenue in the local community.
- Notable runner-up: Superior Waste & Recycling
Best Office Cleaning
- Eagle Cleaning Corp.*
Jeff Johnson - Location: Worcester
- Website: www.eaglecleaning.com
- Top executive: President & CEO Jeff Johnson
- Founded: 2001
- Employees: 250+
Following the “Happy Employees = Happy Customers” philosophy, Eagle creates low turnover by providing full-time work with higher wages and benefits than the industry standard. The company has introduced a software maintenance system to streamline communication with clients and track project work.
- Notable runner up: Enterprise Cleaning & Restoration Corp.
Best Coffee Service
- Good As Gold Coffee*
Good As Gold Coffee - Location: Worcester
- Website: www.goodasgoldcoffeeservice.com
- Top executive: President Patrice Goldman
- Founded: 1969
- Employees: 16
This past year, Good as Gold focused on its single-cup coffee pods, which are made in its air roaster. Each pod is biodegradable and compostable, unlike the typical plastic ones. The company remains one of the few in the U.S. to have designed and built its own coffee roaster.
Best Plumber/HVAC Contractor
- J.J. Bafaro, Inc.*
- Location: Worcester
- Website: JJBafaro.com
- Top executive: President Joseph Bafaro
- Founded: 1965
- Employees: 70
Winner of the WBJ Best of Business Award every year since 2015, J.J. Bafaro remains a family-owned, community focused plumbing and HVAC provider with a commercial service area throughout Massachusetts, providing specialties in health care, senior living, educational, industrial, corporate, cultural and religious construction.
Best Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
- Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates, Inc.
Kelleher & Sadowsky's offices - Location: Worcester
- Website: www.kelleher-sadowsky.com
- Top executives: Principals James Umphrey, William Kelleher IV, John McKinley & Donald Mancini
- Founded: 1981
- Employees: 20
Kelleher & Sadowsky seeks to provide its clients with the highest level of knowledge available by providing the most accurate and current information available on the market, knowing the internal rate of return calculations and understand complex programs such as the federal tax-break initiative around Opportunity Zones. A year ago, Kelleher added Meghan Liddy to its capital markets group, who has helped property owners finance more than $100 million in the past 12 months.
- Notable runner-up: NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs
Best Limousine Service
- Knight’s Airport Limousine Service Inc.*
Knight's Airport Limousine - Location: Shrewsbury
- Website: www.knightslimo.com
- Top executives: Co-Founder & President Michael Hogan and Co-Founder & General Manager Thomas Hogan
- Founded: 1985
- Employees: 150
Knight’s has converted its vehicles to a clean-burning alternative fuel, with fewer harmful emissions. This environmental effort is part of the company’s overall mission to advance its operations, which includes having a firm understanding of client needs.
- Notable runner-up: Joey's Limousine Service
*Repeat winner
Read about the other 2020 Best of Business winners by clicking the links below.
BEST OF BUSINESS: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
- Best Accounting Firm: Bollus Lynch, LLP Certified Public Accountants & Consultants*
- Best Credit Union: DCU – Digital Federal Credit Union*
- Best Forensic Accountant: McLaren & Associates CPAs, PC*
- Best Law Firm: Mirick O’Connell*
- Best Woman-owned Business: PENTA Communications, Inc.*
- Best Minority-owned Business: Resource Management, Inc.*
- Best Business Insurance Agency: Sullivan Insurance Group*
- Best Bank: UniBank*
- Best Chamber of Commerce: Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce*
BEST OF BUSINESS: EMPLOYEE SERVICES
- Best Health Insurance Provider: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts*
- Best Professional Training Company: MindsetGo
- Best College for Business Education: Nichols College*
- Best Financial Planning/Investment Services Firm: Provo Wealth Management Group*
- Best Employee Benefits Consultant: Sullivan Benefits*
- Best Staffing Agency: The DAVIS Cos.*
- Best Luxury Automobile Dealership: Mercedes-Benz of Shrewsbury*
- Best Exercise Facility/Fitness Center: Worcester Fitness*
- Best Young Professionals Network: YPWA (Young Professional Women’s Association) of Worcester*
BEST OF BUSINESS: FOOD & DRINK
- Best Locally Owned Place to Meet for Coffee: BirchTree Bread Co.*
- Best Restaurant for Business Dinner: One Eleven Chop House*
- Best Caterer for a Corporate Event: Peppers Artful Events*
- Best Blackstone Valley After-Work Bar: Reunion Tap & Table*, North Grafton
- Best North County After-Work Bar: Slattery's, Fitchburg
- Best Metrowest After-Work Bar: Tavern In The Square Northborough*
- Best Worcester After-Work Bar: The Beer Garden
- Best Central Mass. South After-Work Bar: The Cedar Street Grille*, Sturbridge
- Best Restaurant for Business Lunch: The Sole Proprietor*
- Best Local Brewery: Wormtown Brewery*
BEST OF BUSINESS: EVENTS & VENUES
- Best New Real Estate Development: 145 Front Street
- Best Venue for a Corporate Event: Apex Center of New England
- Best Venue for an Employee Outing: Apex Entertainment*
- Best Hotel for Business Clients: Beechwood Hotel*
- Best Venue for a Business Meeting: Beechwood Hotel*
- Best Public Golf Course: Green Hill Municipal Golf Course*
- Best Nonprofit Fundraiser Event: March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction*
- Best Golf Club for Corporate Outing: Worcester Country Club
- Best Private Golf Course: Worcester Country Club*
BEST OF BUSINESS: MULTIMEDIA EXPERTS
- Best IT Services provider: Cinch IT, Inc.*
- Best Commercial Printer: Curry Printing*
- Best Awards & Promotional Products: Engraveables
- Best Video Production: Pagano Media*
- Best Advertising Agency: PENTA Communications, Inc.*
- Best Internet Service Provider: Spectrum Enterprise*
- Best Sign Company: Sunshine Sign Co., Inc.*
- Best Web Design Firm: Worcester Interactive
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