The Raymond group performed extensive interior work on the Chicken Ranch Casino project in Jamestown, California for Suffolk Construction.
Photo by Moonshot Photography
The Raymond Group began operations in 1936 as one of Southern California’s original lath and plaster companies. Today, the company has become one of the leading design aid, specialty finishes and theme contractors to the regional wall and ceiling industry.
Still based in Orange, California, the company now has offices in San Diego, Northern California and Las Vegas. And Raymond is poised for even more growth, with the company posting $335 million in revenue by 2023, up 11 percent from 2022, according to the Top Specialty Contractors survey presented to ENR California.
The company is also mostly owned and operated by women, as founder George Raymond’s granddaughters, Kirsten Potter and Nicolle Winsor, took over operations in 2017. Earlier this year, Raymond became certified as Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by Women’s Business Enterprise. National Council (WBENC).
The company is extending its commitment to encouraging women to join the industry by participating in the Future Construction Leaders Foundation (FCL) camp for teenage girls.
These are among the factors ENR editors considered in naming The Raymond Group as a 2024 California Specialty Contractor of the Year.
In recent years, Raymond has been involved in some of Southern California’s most ambitious projects, including the Intuit Dome, 8th and Figueroa and the New Sacramento Courthouse. Through its work on these projects, the company has built strong relationships with numerous prime contractors, including Turner Construction.
A showcase example of Raymond’s work is Horton Plaza San Diego, a LEED Platinum live, work and play campus. The firm handled fireproofing, prefabricated exterior panels, frames, plasterboard, insulation, EIFS, plaster and decorative timbers. At the Chicken Ranch Casino in Jamestown, California, Raymond performed air and vapor barriers, insulation, EIFS, fiber cement panels, fireproofing, drywall, framing and acoustic ceilings for Suffolk Construction.
On the safety front, Raymond’s San Diego region completed 3 years without a recordable incident in 2023, and in 2024 the company’s Nor Cal and Vegas region completed a year without an incident.
The company will be featured in the December 16, 2024 print edition of ENR California, which will also feature the annual California and Northwest specialty contractor rankings.
