Communities can be built literally through construction and just as tangibly through support for social efforts. Pratt Homebuilders does both in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area where it is headquartered. “A large part of my staff’s time is dedicated to nonprofit work and giving back to the community,” points out Tina Frizzell, vice president. “I think that’s very unusual for a company this size. We do a lot of work with the American Cancer Society, with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Red Cross and some with local hospitals and children’s hospitals in Chattanooga.
Nowadays students head to college with laptop or tablet computers and smart phones, but when Roy M. “Marc” Young went to Texas State University in San Marcos from his veterinarian father’s farm, he took the family backhoe to make some extra money.
After graduation, when he received his first paycheck from an insurance company, Young realized he could make more money in a few days with his backhoe. So it was back to the backhoe and a one-man business. Twenty years later, that one-man business has grown to employ more than 350 people centering on live pipeline maintenance and new construction for the energy industry.
Part of the Adventist Health System, Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC) is a renowned 504-bed hospital near Kansas City, Kan. It serves 20,000 inpatients and 200,000 outpatients annually and has the busiest emergency department in Johnson County, Kan., the area’s first accredited chest pain center and delivers the most babies in Kansas City.
Read more: Shawnee Mission Medical Center – United Excel – Birth Center Project
When success is achieved, some firms make mistakes as they try to grow their operations too quickly. But, for nearly 85 years, Reliable Contracting Co. Inc. has stayed successful by growing at a careful and deliberate pace, President Jay Baldwin says.
With the firm’s family ownership, “We are a conservative company,” Baldwin continues, explaining that Reliable Contracting does not actually grow any faster than it needs to. “We’re able to grow very safely, which is why we’re still in business.”
From its modest beginnings nearly 40 years ago, Graber Post Buildings (GPB) Inc. has come a long way, CEO Glen Graber says. The Montgomery, Ind.-based firm specializes in many different fields, including the construction of buildings, laminated columns, overhead doors, metal panels and post-frame building materials.
Making life easier for plumbers has been the paramount concern for Sioux Chief Manufacturing Co. since it was founded in 1957. The Missouri-based company has been producing drains, valves, manifolds and other related items for generations, and it says the values instilled within it by its founder have been the bedrock on which it has built its success. “The values upon which the late Ed Ismert founded Sioux Chief continue to be the driving forces behind the company today: concern for the plumbing tradesman, a culture based on family and a dedication to continuous improvement,” the company says.
Being a plumbing, fire suppression and mechanical contractor is a difficult business in any market in the United States, and it can be exceedingly so in New York City. But Demar Plumbing Corp. has spent the last few decades proving that it can be just a little bit easier if you commit to doing every job the right way. Demar displays that commitment on each project it handles.
Victor International is a marriage between art and science. At least that is how Chairman David V. Johnson views the construction company he founded more than 30 years ago in Michigan.
Contact
Construction Today
79 West Monroe St., Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60603
