Donaldson helps his firm take over world's capital.

Donaldson Acoustics Co., an interior finishes firm, has done work on some of the most notable recent projects in New York City--the renovation of the Modern Museum of Art, the Con Edison portion of 7 World Trade Center, PricewaterhouseCoopers' new headquarters.

According to the firm's chairman, Duane Robert Donaldson, such success does not come about by accident--it has been the result of years of careful planning and meticulous attention to the quality of Donaldson's services.

Duane Robert Donaldson, who joined the firm in the 1960's, right after finishing high school--he attended Long Island University at night, after putting his time in at the office--has spent most of his life trying to do justice to his family's legacy.

One of the oldest firms of its kind in the region--Robert Tanic Donaldson, a professional plasterer, opened his business in 1906--Donaldson Acoustics has always had a steady reputation, but it was its current chairman who helped launch it to the top.

Under Duane Robert Donaldson's father and older brother James, the firm concentrated its practices on Long Island, focusing primarily on school projects, of which it did approximately 400.

According to Donaldson, it was his brother James who helped guide the family business through the recession of the 1970's and expanded the firm's services to drywall and acoustic ceilings.

But Donaldson himself has always dreamed of bigger things and after buying his brother's share of the firm, he set his sights on New York City.

"When I brought the company to New York, we grew from approximately 100 men to 1,200 men," Donaldson explains. "We were doing major, major projects--the Lipstick Building, Tiffany's, the Presbyterian Hospital's Milstein Pavilion."

Donaldson admits that he already had good material to work with--"People knew of the firm; it had a good, solid reputation,"--but he credits his management plan with helping Donaldson Acoustics gain its current status.

"We had a company that was over 70 years old. We had a good basic business program that was set," he notes.

"All we had to do was correctly capitalize on our new projects. So I've set a five-year management plan to start the process in New York City. That five-year plan only took me a year."

Donaldson explains that he tries to prove to his clients time and time again that with his firm they will get both fair pricing and a conscientious job. He notes that he believes in a strict compartmentalization of services--at his firm, people stay in the departments they were hired for and rarely play musical chairs.

This, he believes, allows them to do their jobs to their best ability.

"Through the years we have established such a reputation of service and quality that if my clients can get me on the job, they certainly want to do so," Donaldson explains. "One of the basic tenants of our company is to produce value for our clients--correct pricing, excellent service, scrupulous quality. And we deliver this all on schedule or before schedule."

He has also tried to expand the firm's scope of work, through both natural growth and the acquisition of firms that offered related services.

Donaldson Acoustics, which started as a simple plastering shop, now also does carpentry, lathing, EIFS, spray fireproofing, wood flooring and architectural millwork. The company is currently working on the interiors for the New York Times Tower and the Whitehall Ferry Station, as well as the new Atlas Park Mall in Queens.

But even though Donaldson has been extremely successful at running the company and has no plans to step down as the firm's chairman in the near future, he is already grooming the next generation to take over his work.

His son, Douglas R. Donaldson, who has been working in the firm's sales office for the past five years, has recently joined his father in Long Island and is getting his feet wet in the management field. According to Duane Robert Donaldson, "he's making excellent progress."