Brother-Sister team build big business in Niagara County

by Laura Elia Balcom
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, February 28, 2008
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, March 1, 2008

Kenneth Franasiak and Dawn Gilliam stand in front of a model of Calamar’s The Woodlands.

Taking the road less traveled seemed like a natural route for siblings Kenneth Franasiak and Dawn Gilliam. Upon graduating from college, the then 20-somethings dove head first into the business world when they founded Calamar in 1990. Almost 18 years later, the two have achieved a seemingly impossible feat, taking a $40,000 investment and turning it into a $100 million company as well as Niagara County’s largest real estate developer.

As a result of these achievements, both have been on the receiving end of countless awards, including being named to Business First’s 40 Under 40 honor roll, Franasiak in 2001 and Gilliam, more recently, in 2007.

The two Wheatfield natives credit their success to multiple factors, including family, vision, and good old-fashioned hard work.

“Our grandfather served as our mentor,” said Franasiak. “He was very involved with politics; he was the supervisor of the Town of Wheatfield for over 20 years. He was the chairman of the board of supervisors back when the town was run by a board of supervisors.”

In addition to being active in politics, their grandfather also owned several mobile home parks in Western New York and Florida. Growing up, the siblings worked for him, from helping in the office to pouring concrete at the various parks. It was during that time, they learned the fundamentals of construction, company management and real estate.

Then, while in college, the two came up with the idea for Calamar. They wanted to start a vertically integrated real estate company that was essentially one source for many solutions, providing construction, development and property management services – all under one roof.

“We’ll find you the land, finance the project, build the building and manage the property,” said Gilliam.

In the beginning though, the two experienced their share of obstacles. When they first started Calamar, both Franasiak and Gilliam had to act not only as owners and managers, but also as janitors, bookkeepers and the IT department. Yet, wearing numerous hats wasn’t the only challenge the pair faced. The other major hurdle was their age.

“Everybody looked at us like we were crazy,” said Gilliam. “We’d walk into a bank and ask them for a line of credit, and they’d say ‘Who are you and why are you here’. So there were a lot of obstacles that we had to overcome. But I think it’s only helped us grow.”

And grown they have. Calamar has been ranked as one of the fastest growing companies in Western New York. In addition, the staff has expanded from two employees to approximately 160. And, in 2007, Calamar opened the first Class A office building in Niagara County in decades.

According to Franasiak, staying focused on a long-term strategic plan, as well as hiring a talented group of employees, have been critical to achieving such a high level of success.

“We have a vision for the company and we have a very good team in place to execute that vision,” he said. “We all work well together. And we all have an entrepreneurial vision for the future.”

Built, developed, and managed by Calamar, The Woodlands is a 120-acre mixed use park comprised of flex/multi-tenant facilities, industrial, office and retail space as well as a residential component comprised of senior housing apartments and patio homes. The park is located near the corner of Niagara Falls Boulevard and Shawnee Road in Wheatfield.

While the pair admits to their share of differences, Franasiak and Gilliam say that their tight-knit relationship has also played a large part in their success.

“We trust each other implicitly,” said Gilliam. “And we can pretty much finish each other’s sentences. Ken has the huge ideas and I try to narrow them down and execute them. So we truly counterbalance each other.”

“I see so many entrepreneurs out there who don’t balance their management team and management style – and then question why they don’t grow,” added Franasiak. “Luckily our management style has always been in alignment.”

After almost 18 years in business together, the pair is closer than ever. One of the important lessons they’ve learned is to keep business at the office.

“We don’t bring it home,” said Gilliam. “That way we can work together five days a week and then still have Sunday family dinners.”

As for the future of Calamar, Franasiak and Gilliam envision the company becoming a choice provider of real estate services with a global reach. In fact, they are currently in the process of expanding Calamar on a national level, beyond its current Western New York and Southern Ontario footprint.

“Within the next 24 months, we’ll probably have at least four more North American offices,” said Franasiak. However, he added, Western New York will always be home. “We’ll grow nationally and globally, but our headquarters are here, our people are here, and our families are here.”