Type of business ESOP Area served United States | Founded 1913 Founder(s) The O'Malley Family | |
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Headquarters Jefferson Valley, New York Key people Richard Johnson, President | ||
The Blue Book Network, also known as The Contractor's Blue Book or simply as The Blue Book, is a marketing, workflow software and print media company.
The company name is rooted in the fact that for over 100 years they published numerous regional buyers guides listing commercial construction companies, largely subcontractors and suppliers. Annually, 28 regional hard-bound blue book editions were delivered to property managers, facilities managers and commercial general contractors. It is often compared to a yellow pages for contractors, given the focus on full and half page ads within a directory and the more recent evolution of offering solutions for search engine marketing.
History
The book was first published in 1913 in the New York and New England markets. The Blue Book spread to the west coast by 1992 and was permanently retired in 2016. It was subsequently replaced by a series of bi-annual regional magazines called the Who's Who in Building and Construction.
The prior content of the hard bound book was transitioned online and referred to as The Blue Book Network. The web-based buyer's guide contains critical information on architects, contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, vendors, and other companies relevant to the commercial bidding and build process.
In 1999, the company shifted its focus from a print directory into bid messaging. A private and secure online plan room providing full reporting called BB-Bid was released at no cost to general contractors and property/facility managers. The BB-Bid software allowed a user to upload a construction project onto the site and message the bid to the subcontracting and supplier community, regardless of their presence in the paid print directory.
In 2013, the company became an Employee Owned Corporation with the creation of an employee stock ownership plan devised by then owner Jim O'Malley. O'Malley had inherited the company from his father.
In 2014 they partnered with .BUILD to help commercial construction companies secure their targeted domain and appropriate domain name registration.
In 2015, the company which owns Blue Book, Jefferson Valley, New York-based Contractor's Register, launched an SaaS project management software called Building Blok, and a bid management system called OneTeam.build. OneTeam.build was shelved after four months due to bugs and re-released in January 2016. The organization is also known for hosting large trade shows now known as The Who's Who Showcase.
The company has over 500 employees nationwide and seeks to build a business development role within small to mid-sized commercial contracting companies. Blue Book as an organization is valued at around $90 million US as of January 2016. The company Angie's List modeled itself after The Blue Book, with the main difference being Angie's List focuses on residential building.