The board of directors of the Joy Companies Inc., a regional underground contractor based in Hyattsville, MD, has announced the promotion of Melissa P. Koehler to president and chief operating officer of B. Frank Joy LLC. Ken Joy will remain as chairman and CEO.

Koehler’s promotion marks the first time the company has reached outside the Joy family for its top executive post in its three generation, 89-year history.

“Ms. Koehler has been an integral part of the important growth and evolution this company has achieved over the last decade. We look forward to new heights of success under her leadership,” said Ken Joy.

Koehler joined the company in 1996 as an accounting manager and served as vice president of finance and accounting and chief financial officer before becoming the executive vice president. Prior to joining B. Frank Joy, she held positions with Price Waterhouse and several private construction and manufacturing companies.

B. Frank Joy LLC was founded in 1917, by Bernard Frank Joy as a coal hauling and feed delivery business. In 1925, the company started renting trucks to the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and the C&P Telephone Company (now Verizon), customers B. Frank Joy still serves today.

In 1946, at the request of these same customers, Joy became the first contractor in the District of Columbia to install underground conduit and manholes, an expertise that remains at the core of the company’s present operations.

In the 1980s, Joy expanded into natural gas pipeline work, and in the 1990s became a major player installing underground fiber optic rings in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C.

B. Frank Joy continues to work with contractors, utilities and municipalities serving the full range of design, construction and maintenance of underground infrastructure. Recent significant growth has been attributed to the companies’ commitment to new technologies that allow remote inspection and rehabilitation of aging pipes, avoiding costly and disruptive excavation, according to the company.

For more information, visit www.bfjoy.com.

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