What Four Generations of Family Business Success Can Teach Us

Joe Brito Jr. explains how work ethic, shared values, employee loyalty and community commitment helped his family business prosper across four generations.

C. Brito Construction Co., Inc. and C.B Utility Co., Inc. are part of an esteemed four-generation family enterprise recognized as the premier contractor for emergency utility work throughout New England. In this interview with Familybusiness.org editor Kimberly Eddleston, Joseph Brito, Jr., the third-generation head of the Rhode Island-based business, talks about the company's genesis in the 1950s and why it has grown and thrived since then. His grandfather Ceasar started the enterprise with a single bulldozer and worked hard to expand it and to become a vital part of the community. The ensuing generations, Joe Brito, Sr., Joe Jr. and his son Christopher, have not wavered from the founder's work ethic, commitment and values.  Treating employees well is part of their ethos and has helped the company attract employees who have stayed devoted for decades.  "We all feel part of the same thing," Joe Jr. says."Everybody does what you have to do to make the business and the family successful."

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