DOVER — Ray Martineau, the founder and owner of Martineau Electric, says the key to success and growth for his company over the past quarter century has been simple — one job at a time.

This focused approach and an expansion of the company's expertise have added up to a number of high-profile projects for the commercial and industrial electrical contracting and service company founded in 1984. Martineau said the company, which works throughout the Northeast, has also carefully built its human capital base one employee at a time, allowing it to diversify and enhance its service and engineering capabilities.

Its organic growth, Martineau explained, positioned Martineau Electric to become a vital electrical contractor for some of the most noteworthy commercial jobs in the Seacoast region.

"I think people would be surprised at the amount of large and complicated projects we have done," Martineau said.

The list of projects that Martineau Electric has completed over the past decade represent familiar names and sites in the region. They include the recent 100,000-square-foot renovation and 35,000-square-foot expansion at the National Passport Center at Pease International Tradeport; the massive Wentworth by the Sea hotel renovation in New Castle; the new Portsmouth fire station on Lafayette Road; the 111-room Hampton Inn and Suites in Exeter; the 123-room Kittery Estates assisted living facility in Kittery, Maine; the 35,000-square-foot manufacturing expansion and 4,000 amp power installation at Sig Sauer in Exeter; and the new Portsmouth Regional Hospital medical office building on Borthwick Avenue.

Before deciding to start his own business, Martineau began his career in 1978 and served four years as an apprentice in high-voltage and industrial construction. He now has 30 full-time employees and 20 sub-trade contractors. The company's most lucrative contracting project was $4.5 million, but most of its contracts range from $100,000 to $1.5 million.

For the first time this year, the company submitted applications for award recognition. Martineau said his company was surprised and honored to win not one but three excellence awards recently from the Associated Builders and Contractors association. The awards highlight outstanding construction projects across the country and one of those projects for Martineau included the installation of 5 megawatts of utility power and redoing the entire electrical system at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover. Martineau said the complex project was completed without interruption of services.

"We built them an entire new electric infrastructure from the ground up," he said. "These projects showcase what can happen when skilled companies combine their talents to produce exceptional projects."

The electrical contracting sector of the construction industry is no stranger to major technological leaps. Martineau said his company has kept pace incorporating state-of-the-art, computer-aided design and sophisticated bidding software systems while making investments in training for its employees. These technological advancements are critical in a hyper-competitive industry, Martineau explained, with significant cost challenges for material, fuel, health insurance, worker's compensation premium increases, business taxes and training.

The company has also raised its profile through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-accredited projects. The company has completed or is near completion of three LEED sustainability building projects, including the new Portsmouth fire station, the Hampton Inn in Exeter and The Greenland Building and Horseshoe Pond office complex in Concord, which has attained the highest or LEED Gold certification.

"Green building certification is an important part of the future of the construction industry, and we're committed to producing more efficient and environmentally responsible electric installations whenever possible," Martineau said. "The way the construction industry has worked in the past is unsustainable, and we're proud to be producing LEED-certified projects in a number of different industries."

Martineau said as the company has grown, it has also expanded its charitable outreach in the Seacoast community that includes support for and donations to youth and high school sports, the Children's Museum, and organizations to increase awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

As with many in the construction industry, the economic downturn did not leave Martineau Electric untouched. Martineau said for the first time in three major recessions he had to lay off employees but has since hired back three of the four he let go.

"We were able to keep pretty busy," he said. "We are very fortunate to be in this part of the country because the northeast and the Seacoast Region in particular have done fairly well economically."