By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Caribou-based County Abatement Inc. has been helping to make a healthier Maine for 25 years, completing over 1,500 asbestos removal projects.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Integral members of the County Abatement team include, from left, Seth Sager, Gary Doebener, co-founder Philip St. Peter, Janice St. Peter, Brenda St. Peter, co-founder and President Clinton St. Peter, Bob Goodine and Vince Morrow.
Philip St. Peter and his son, Clinton, co-founded County Abatement in 1987; the family-run company has been removing asbestos throughout the state — from the dormitory buildings at the University of Maine at Orono to the Blaine House while then-Governor John McKernan and Congresswoman Olympia Snowe were in residence.
“That was probably one of my favorite jobs,” said Clinton, who became president of the company in 1993.
Clinton described how every morning, he’d say hello to the governor and congresswoman, as they resided in the Blaine House during the asbestos removal. “I had to pre-paint all of my equipment that attaches to the outside of the house white so it would match,” Clinton recalled.
It took Clinton and the County Abatement staff about five months to complete the Blaine House project.
One aspect of County Abatement that’s helped the company stand apart from the rest is their commitment to customer satisfaction.
Crews have stayed at worksites until 8 or 9 p.m., ensuring that the job is completed right.
“I always stay at a site until I am comfortable that the work we’ve done is what I would expect to see if I had hired someone to do the same job for me,” Clinton explained — exemplifying the solid work ethic he learned from his parents, Philip and Janice.
Customer satisfaction has helped County Abatement become successful over the years, as word of mouth spread quickly from satisfied customers. Resultantly, County Abatement’s shining reputation extends well beyond Aroostook. Though Clinton hasn’t accepted any projects below Kittery, he’s been offered jobs in Portland and Lewiston — he’s even been asked to take on projects in Canada.
The hardest project Clinton and his crew have ever undertaken was removing all the exterior panels of what was then called the Bangor Airport Hilton. Eight stories high, the Aroostook crew removed the asbestos panel-by-panel and wing-by-wing.
“It was a major, major renovation,” Clinton remembered.
With a satellite office in Bangor, County Abatement currently has eight hard-working employees.
They’ve worked on projects throughout Aroostook County, including UMPI, NMCC, the former Loring Air Force Base, and the National Guard armories in Caribou, Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield and Fort Kent.
Before founding County Abatement, Philip owned St. Peter Plumbing and Heating; Clinton worked for Philip, putting together boilers and applying asbestos.
“So ironically, when I was younger I was putting together boilers, and now I’m taking them apart,” Clinton said.
With the complexities required in asbestos removal — the hours upon hours of training as well as medical assessments and the requirement to preserve documentation of records for 30 to 40 years — asbestos removal is no walk in the park, but the St. Peter family has created such a reputation for themselves, their professionalism and expertise resulted in being hired to correct an asbestos removal project that had gone awry under the supervision of another company at the State Cultural Building in Augusta.
While the corrective project was highly sensitive, Clinton explained that he has a very good working relationship with his competitors.
Summer is the busiest season for asbestos removal, but County Abatement employees have kept busy all winter removing boilers at the Northern Maine Community College.
While Clinton and his employees are often working on jobs downstate, Clinton makes sure to support his hometown when he can — whether it’s sponsoring a sports team or contributing to Project Graduation.
County Abatement is located at 529 Main Street in Caribou; additional information regarding the 25-year anniversary celebrating business can be obtained by calling 498-2709.
