Teamsykes’ Blog

Our founder, John Sykes came to Atlantic City from his birthplace in Philadelphia in the spring of 1875. He served his apprenticeship as a tin roofer and metal worker with Currie Plumbing & Roofing Company. In 1901, he opened his own business with three of his sons, John II, Frank, and Dan. During the 1920s most of the large residences in Lower Chelsea and the first Boardwalk hotels were built with our firm installing the quality slate, tile, and tin roofs. During the Great Depression, much of the new construction came to a halt and Sykes Company concentrated on maintenance and repair work. Through hard work and careful planning, our firm managed to break even or better throughout the Depression. This experience taught the value of giving careful attention to small repair jobs, no matter how busy we may be with large contracts. This generation first expressed the Sykes Company adage “you can always buy a large contract by bidding lower, but once you dissatisfy a residential customer, he never comes back.” This emphasis on superior service and respect will always be part of our mission.

John III led the operation until Pearl Harbor, when he was commissioned as Lieutenant in the Civil Engineering Corp. (SeaBees) of the Navy. While he was serving in the United States and in the Pacific, Frank II, Lester, and Dan rallied our firm to complete a number of defense projects, including the Naval Air Stations at Pomona and Rio Grande (now N.A.F.E.C. and Cape May County Airport). In addition, Sykes Company participated in the conversion of the Atlantic City hotels into training barracks for the Air Force.

In 1969, John IV joined the team of John III, Frank II, Lester, Ray (“Dink”), and Richard to help expand Sykes Company to include stainless steel work, heating and ventilation services, and dust collection. John Sykes IV had earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University, an MBA from the University of Virginia, and had worked for Turner Construction for four years when he joined the family business. Soon after, Charles Dobbins Jr., who had been a structural steel estimator, Dink’s sons Ray Jr. and James, Lester Jr., Ronnie Corvino (Lester Sr.’s son-in-law), and James McCabe (John III’s son-in-law) strengthened the Sykes team. Recently, John IV’s daughter Erin, a LEED AP, has joined the firm to launch the environmentally sustainable ‘Build Green, Save Green’ division.