C. H. Winans Company
Paving Materials and Construction Co., Inc
Subsidiary of C.H. Winans Company
The C.H. Winans Company entered the construction business when Benjamin Harrison was elected president of the United States. That's right - the year was 1888 and it was a time in history when our first skyscrapers were being built in our largest cities. It was also a time when people began to move to the cities while keeping pace with the industrial movement.
Clarence H. Winans, the founder of one of New Jersey's oldest construction firms, was a farmer prior to pursuing his new venture. He first operated from Edgar Road in Linden; the artery was later to become a portion of Route 1. Initial construction found the firm involved with excavations, clearing and road work in the Union County area.
Pictured above is Clarence H. Winans, the firm's founder with his daughter
Ada Winans Bauer, and George W. Bauer.
After operating independently for the first twenty years as a contractor, Clarence H. Winans was joined in business by his son, Raymond, and George W. Bauer as the firm expanded its construction activities. It was a time in history when William Howard Taft served the nation as president. This was also a period when there were nearly 500,000 automobiles registered across the country, and the need for road improvement became a major concern.
In responding to the need for public improvements, George Bauer directed the office operations for the company while Clarence and Raymond Winans directed the field work. By combining talents of the three, work was again expanded to include concrete construction, bridge building, roads and sewers. One major paving contract included a portion of Route 1 between Rahway and Elizabeth. Considerable road work was completed at the state, county and municipal levels. At the time, Winans employed approximately 75 individuals and often competed with firms like the Weldons and Burkes.
Business progressed well for C.H. Winans following World War I. With the onset of the Depression, the firm turned its attention to farming, construction and operation of a golf course and banking in order to bolster its construction operations. Raymond W. Bauer, current president of C.H. Winans, joined the firm in 1940 and operated as office manager. This period served as a renaissance for the company as it began to pursue and complete industrial and airport construction projects. Work included efforts for General Motors, Dupont and Linden Airport. One unique project completed during the World War II years was site work for the construction of the town of Winfield Park, New Jersey which was built to house employees involved in the shipbuilding industry.
In order to deal with the expansion of construction, the firm moved its offices to Cranford during the early 1950's. This was a time when the company operated an asphalt plant while completing numerous paving projects for municipalities, industrial sites and residential projects. The firm also completed considerable work as a subcontractor and turned some attention to real estate and building operations.
Major paving projects soon followed as the firm began to operate as Paving Materials and Construction Co. This work included the Carteret Interchange for the NJ Turnpike Authority, Parking Lots D and F at Newark Airport for the Port Authority and the Denville to Lake Hopatcong section of Route 80. At the same time, the company also completed numerous projects on the New Jersey side of the Port district. In order to balance its effort, Paving Materials and Construction Co. also constructed a number of projects during the 1950's for Western Electric, Allied Chemical, Dupont, GAF, Bristol Meyers and Exxon.
During the last two decades, the company has operated primarily as a general contractor. The market areas have included the Port Authority, NJ DOT, County and Municipal Governments, industrial sites and regional airports where the firm has constructed parking lots and taxiways. In 1997 Paving Materials and Construction Company was incorporated and it currently operates as a subsidiary of C.H. Winans Company.
Past completions include reconstruction of taxiway "JB" at Newark International airport($5.3 million contract), construction of new aircraft apron and taxiway at Linden Municipal Airport ($2.6 million contract) and terminal "A" ramp pavement rehabilitation at Newark International Airport ($5.5 million contract).
The C.H. Winans - Paving Materials and Construction Company over century of service in construction is quite an accomplishment. It has achieved a record of success that has spanned eighteen Presidential Administrations from Benjamin Harrison to Bill Clinton. Few construction firms operating today can match that record
Raymond Bauer on the right.
Bill Griesmyer -- Last update 20-February-2009