Project-One Services Inc. Celebrates 25 years With The Chamber

If you view the website for Project-One Services Inc., you’ll see a Swiss Army pocket knife with an impressive mix of maintenance and repair tools. That image effectively brings to mind the variety of services the Castleton Corners business has to offer.

When Bob Cutrona started the business back in 1980, he created a janitorial company to clean offices, schools, stores, and large commercial buildings. He soon expanded into post-construction cleaning, large company carpet cleaning, and stripping and waxing floors.

While the cleaning company expanded, the CEO made sure to consider other ways of branching out such as adding a landscape division which included maintenance, design, and installations. Cutrona also listened to suggestions from customers like when a client inquired about snow plowing services back in 1986.

“I went out and talked to people in business. I found out what was involved. We bought a snow plow and spreader. And I had my first snow plowing client,” recalled Cutrona. 

In fact, that division has gone so well that Cutrona has capped his client list for snow plowing to ensure the highest satisfaction. There’s no need to worry, though, as he continues finding more avenues to bring value to clients.

“There’s always room to grow. Around 1995, we started to get into the renovation business. We’re now at a point where we do total renovations, basements to roofs here on the Island. This is our one division that is not strictly commercial, as we also do residential,” he said.

“I’m a very pragmatic person. I saw what the service business could offer, and I basically went after it,” added the former Lou Miller Business Leadership Award winner. “We try and tailor the services to the particular needs of the client and their budgets.

“I have clients from the first year I started the janitorial and snow plowing businesses, and that’s very unusual,” he said.

As Project-One Services Inc. has added a lengthy list of services during its almost 40 years in business, Cutrona points out the role of his son, David, as another major addition for the company. David Cutrona started working at Project-One when he was 13 years old and came aboard full-time after graduating from college, and he now serves as Vice President. 

“He runs the field operations. He’s responsible for all the man power, the trucks, and any resources that we need to continue doing our high-quality and timely work,” said Cutrona. “It’s extremely important to have these critical components efficiently addressed during regular ongoing project work and particularly during crisis situations, like major snow events.”

As Project-One Services Inc. celebrates 25 years with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Cutrona lists several reasons for the importance of membership. 

His reasons include “the ability to share ideas and problems with fellow business owners; the capability to enhance his company’s name recognition on Staten Island; giving back to the business community; and being ‘better equipped’ to deal with regulatory and reporting changes.

Cutrona, who also co-chairs the Chamber’s Small Business Committee, added: “I’ve met so many great people through the Chamber. And that’s what’s really important to me, because the real measure of a person is not their wealth or power, but the number of good friends they have and keep.