Pete Johnson, CEO, left, with Matt Wilson, an employee (Courtesy of North & South Construction)
Three-Year Average Annual Growth: 81%
Founded: 2009
Rank on Private 100: 40
Headquarters: 19 Nimble Hill Road, Portsmouth
CEO: Pete Johnson
Total Number of Employees: 150
Product/Service: Commercial construction
It all started because Peter Johnson’s mother wanted a new house. Johnson and other family members were running a company that built transmission lines throughout New England and told himself, “We’re in the construction business, we can build a house.”
So they did. Then they built a new business office for themselves. Then his brother wanted an addition to his house. “A year or two later, we were in the general construction business,” Johnson recalls.
North & South Construction was founded in 2009 and achieved more than 80% annual average growth in sales between 2021 and 2023. And the company is on track for more growth with Johnson estimating sales reaching $75 million to $100 million in the coming year.
The business is a family affair, with Johnson’s two sons, two sons-in-law, a nephew, and sister-in-law on staff. Johnson, the CEO, credits their dedication and that of other workers “full of ambition, energy and diverse skills” with much of the company’s success.
But strategic acquisitions have also spurred growth, as the company acquired Portsmouth Sign Co., the site contractor S. J. Cantwell and Exeter Lumber between 2020 and 2023.
North & South specializes in commercial and industrial construction and has about 20 consistent customers, ranging from Landry/French, Consigli and Zachua in the Portland, Maine area, to SubCom and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard near Portsmouth.
Johnson expects to add at least 20 new employees in the coming year. “For 2025, we’ve got more backlog than we’ve ever had before,” he says. “I can easily see us expanding even beyond that.”
At 65, Johnson says he has contemplated retirement but finds he’s enjoying “the greatest time” he’s had in 30-plus years in business. “I’m not going to leave because it’s too much fun now,” he adds.