OUR LEGACY
Juan A. Gutierrez
Chairman and Founder
Juan was born in Camaguey, Cuba in 1948 and migrated to the United States as a child. Juan was 13 when he arrived in New York in 1962 as part of “Operation Pedro Pan” to live with his grand-uncle in Whitestone, Queens. In New York, Juan finished grammar school at Saint Lukes and went onto attend St. Helena High School, run by the Marist Brothers in the Bronx. When his parents and young brother arrived from Cuba in 1966 in the Freedom Flights he was reunited with them, and the family moved to Paterson, NJ. Juan attended Newark College of Engineering.
After three years of working for the City of Paterson and seven years with Cruz Construction Company, in 1978 Juan founded his own civil construction company, performing work in sewer and water pipelines throughout the State of New Jersey. Over the years, the company has expanded its capabilities and geographic reach and acquired additional construction companies. Today, Juan is the Chairman of JAG Companies, Inc., whose entities include Northeast Remsco Construction and Caldwell Marine International, both based in Wall Township, New Jersey; and Huxted Trenchless, based in Conroe, Texas. The companies perform a variety of civil construction work including pipelines, tunnels, bridges, highways, treatment plants, rail stations and specializing in the installation of submarine cables. These companies presently work throughout North America and the Caribbean.
Juan has served as past President and Executive Board Member of the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association of New Jersey; former Regional Vice President of the National Utility and Transportation Contractors Association; Executive Committee member of the General Contractors of New York; and as a member of The Moles. Juan is also Vice-Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation.
Juan and Marta have hosted many political and charitable fundraisers at their home in Colts Neck, NJ, including one for President George W. Bush in 2008; for Senator Marco Rubio of Florida in 2009 and 2015; and for over 700 guests for The Ronald McDonald “HACER” Organization’s 25th Anniversary in 2011.
They are also loyal and generous supporters and friends of the Salesian Sisters. In addition to supporting Juan’s sister, Sister Teresa Gutierrez, Juan and Marta have enabled hundreds of inner-city kids to attend Salesian Summer Camp over the years. They are also supporters of Msgr. Scanlan High School, Riverview Hospital in Red Bank, NJ and are supporting members of “Memorial Sloan Kettering Society” in New York City. They also support numerous charitable organizations for poor children in the Dominican Republic. Juan is also a staunch supporter of Human Rights for Cuba and helps the dissident group known as the “Ladies in White”.