Woburn, MA Shellback Industries, a construction and project management company, has leased an office at West Cummings Park with Cummings Properties. The company specializes in demolition, land grading, excavation, and site clearing, and offers energy upgrade services through LED replacement and ultra-clean options for heat and power.

Shellback Industries is certified as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). In these businesses, the management and daily operations are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. The government program requires that at least 3% of all federal contracts and subcontracts be awarded to SDVOSB-certified businesses.

John Morley, president of Shellback, is a decorated combat veteran. He served more than 11 years as a diver and explosive ordnance disposal expert with the U.S. Navy. Morley founded Shellback in October 2015, and began taking on projects at federally owned sites, such as Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford.

“We’ve really branched out in the two years we’ve been operating,” said Morley. “The Massachusetts Office of Supplier Diversity does a really good job taking certified businesses like ours into account when bidding on public contracts, and that helps get the word out. Because of that, we’ve done some projects with the state, including at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, and now we’re expanding into the private sector as well.”

According to Morley, this expansion – and the travel to numerous communities across the state that comes with it -- is one reason that he chose to relocate Shellback from its previous location in North Andover to Woburn, with its ready access to both I-95 and I-93.

Bringing Shellback Industries on board as a portfolio client is not the first time the Cummings organization has been involved in the veterans community, according to Rob Yacobian, Cummings Properties senior leasing director.

“Through both Cummings Foundation’s grant programs and Cummings Properties’ Employee Directed Giving program, we’ve awarded more than a half a million dollars to a number of local veterans organizations, such as Friends of Woburn Veterans, New England Center and Home for Veterans, Veterans Legal Services, and The Service Dog Project,” Yacobian said. “These giving programs would not be possible without the more than 2,000 leasing clients, like John Morley, who choose to locate their businesses within the Cummings portfolio.”