Dear ASA Members and Friends,
As I write this letter, many of us are preparing to gather for SUBExcel. By the time you read it, however, the convention will have wrapped up, the conversations will have moved from the meeting rooms back to our offices and jobsites, and hopefully we will all have returned home with new ideas, new connections, and a renewed sense of what makes ASA such a valuable community.
September also brings a much more solemn moment of reflection.
Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, our nation experienced a day that none of us who lived through it will ever forget. We remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We remember the first responders who ran toward danger, the workers who helped in the rescue and recovery efforts, and the countless families and communities whose lives were forever changed.
For those of us in construction, there is another element of that story that resonates deeply. In the days, months, and years that followed, men and women from the building trades played an important role in recovery and rebuilding. Their work demonstrated something our industry understands well: when circumstances change suddenly and dramatically, people come together, adapt, solve problems, and move forward.
That idea of adapting to change also connects, in a very different way, with this month’s theme of market segments, diversification, strategies – whether it’s new locations or new technologies.
No construction business operates in a vacuum. Markets expand and contract. Certain sectors become crowded while opportunities emerge elsewhere. New technologies change how projects are designed and built. Labor availability, material costs, interest rates, regulations, and customer expectations continually reshape the business environment.
Diversification can help companies navigate those changes, but diversification simply for the sake of growth is not necessarily a strategy. Moving into a new market segment requires understanding the opportunity—and the risks. Does your company have the people and expertise to perform the work? Are the contractual requirements different? Will you need new licenses, insurance coverage, equipment, technology, or business relationships? Most importantly, does the opportunity fit your company’s long-term goals?
This issue explores those questions and offers ideas to help subcontractors think strategically about where their businesses are today and where they want them to go tomorrow. Whether your strategy involves entering a new market, expanding geographically, adding services, strengthening an existing specialty, or simply becoming more efficient at what you already do, informed decisions are essential.
As we move forward from another SUBExcel, I encourage you to continue the conversations that began there. Reach out to the people you met. Share what you learned with your team. And take some time to consider how the ideas in this issue might apply to your own business.
Our industry has always been built on resilience, relationships, and the ability to adapt. Those qualities will continue to serve us well, whatever opportunities—and challenges—come next.
Until next month,
Tony Vermaas,
President, 2026-2027
American Subcontractors Association
