Accu-Temp
Dave Voll and his nephew Chris Voll founded Accu-Temp in 1982. Both licensed tradesmen, the entrepreneurs launched the company to service commercial heating and cooling ventilation systems in Ontario’s Kitchener Waterloo area. “At that time it was running out of the basement,” Vice President of Business Development Scott Ward says of the humble start-up.
Champion Bridge Company
After profiling Champion Bridge Company in 2021, Construction in Focus is circling back to hear how the company is celebrating its 150th anniversary, find out more about notable projects, and learn what to expect for the future of this long-lived company.
Superior Buildings & Design
Family-owned general contractor Superior Buildings & Design has been delivering comprehensive design-build solutions since 1995. Founder and President Blair Corbeil grew up in the industry, working with his father in Saskatchewan.
Kewaunee Scientific Corporation
The Kewaunee Scientific Corporation story began in 1906 when a small group of investors came together to create a manufacturing company to deliver a top-notch line of laboratory furniture and accessories. Previously, the United States sourced almost all of its laboratory equipment from Europe, Germany in particular. Kewaunee stepped in at an ideal time to fill the domestic gap.
TA Appliances & Barbecues – Builder Division
Onward Manufacturing Company got its start in Kitchener, Ontario back in 1906. From the beginning, it was the company’s aim to provide customers with quality products coupled with top service, and that founding philosophy is still core to the business’ operations to this day. In addition, the company remains family-owned and operated more than a century after it was founded.
Straub Construction
General contractor Straub Construction primarily focuses on construction projects for local, state, and federal governments, including all branches of the United States military. The company also specializes in public school projects. Straub got its start in Alaska forty years ago, before moving to San Diego, where the headquarters are today. Most of Straub’s projects are located in California and the Southwestern United States, where it specializes in full installations from the ground up, design-build, design-bid-build, “and just about everything in between,” says Vice President Patrick Nolan.
Borea Construction
Borea Construction is a leading name in Canada’s renewable energy sector. The diversified engineering, procurement, and construction contractor delivers construction solutions for the power industry, providing unique expertise to clients throughout the nation.
1-800-SWEEPER
A nationwide service network made up of independently owned power-sweeping companies, 1-800-SWEEPER unites sweeping companies throughout the United States beneath a common marketing and service structure. Partner companies provide parking lot sweeping, street sweeping, and construction-related power sweeping services to a wide variety of customers, from nationwide and regional facility managers to municipalities and local contractors.
DEI Systems
Electrical and low voltage systems integration contractor DEI Systems LLC is located near Boston in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The family-owned-and-operated business sets itself apart with a unique, dynamic approach. In addition to mainstream construction service, the company delivers turnkey engineering, design, and build services for every building system that requires high or low-voltage power.
Jottan, Inc.
Jottan, Inc. launched in 1974 with nothing more than a pickup truck, a ladder, and a commitment to customer satisfaction and safety. Over time, the company’s emphasis on customer satisfaction, along with its exemplary safety record, won over a growing client base. As a result, Jottan was able to expand the business from maintenance and repairs in western Pennsylvania to roof replacements, coatings, maintenance, and repairs throughout all of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is currently ranked by Roofing Contractor as one of the top 100 roofing contractors in all the United States, at 47th.
Pueblo Mechanical & Controls
Pueblo delivers full spectrum HVAC, Plumbing and Controls service and installation for education, government, industrial, healthcare and commercial customers. As a leading provider in the state of Arizona, the company has completed tens of thousands of projects and service calls, and its solutions and services range from system repairs and replacements to multi-million dollar retrofits and installations, encompassing intricate design-build specifications.
Clarence Davids & Co.
Clarence Davids, Sr. launched his landscape company in 1951 with one truck, a seventh-grade education, and lots of can-do attitude. “His office was the back porch,” remembers his son, current Clarence Davids & Co. President Bill Davids. “Mom helped him with phones and bookkeeping.”
Crystal Greens Landscape
Crystal Greens Landscape specializes in all phases of commercial landscape management. Since its founding in 1990, the Portland, Oregon-based business has helped clients maintain and improve property value through a wide range of services and technical expertise.
Alpha Structural Inc.
David Tourjé found a place in the construction community after his parents moved to the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Mount Washington when he was twelve years old. “Back then it was a pretty isolated hillside area,” Tourjé remembers. “It kind of cut me off from all my friends. But I made new friends who all happened to be in construction.”
New Cycling Infrastructure Creates New Construction Opportunities
COVID-19 has created new concerns and complications for mass transit. Physical distancing is challenging – if not impossible – on subways, buses, and trains. For instance, when encountering just 30 percent capacity – an estimated total of 510,000 riders each day – passengers on Toronto’s public transit would be unable to maintain a safe distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Toronto Transit Commission. This challenge has been seen throughout countless cities over the past year.
Ceramic Technics
Ceramic Technics Ltd. (CTL) is a leading importer and distributor of high-grade porcelain tile and natural stone materials, primarily to commercial clients. Headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, CTL offers over 500 collections from the U.S. and Europe to clients throughout the retail, hospitality, healthcare, corporate and educational sectors. Strong relationships with the architectural and contractor communities have set the company apart from its inception and have been a secret to lasting success, while a dedicated, close-knit company culture has also played a vital role in CTL’s longevity and growth.
Icon Legacy Custom Modular Homes
Icon Legacy Custom Modular Homes, LLC was founded in 2007, “just in time to watch the market tank,” remembers Sales Manager Bruce Bingaman. Yet, despite this challenge, the family-owned and operated company managed to thrive and grow to become a strong presence in the industry.
2020’s Landmark Projects
The construction industry has managed to overcome some massive hurdles in 2020. Despite a range of challenges, from orders to halt work during the shutdown to navigating new health and safety requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the industry kept going. As the year draws to a close, it is time to celebrate some of its notable success stories.
Family Firms in the Construction Industry
Every family business tells a story – stories of perseverance and challenge, of exciting highs and heartbreaking lows. Some of these stories stand the test of time. One of the most remarkable began in sixth century Japan with a humble construction startup. In 578 AD, a Japanese prince wanted to promote Buddhism in his country, where Shinto was the dominant religion. No one in the nation boasted the carpentry skills needed to build the ornate Buddhist temples the prince envisioned, so he hired a man named Shigemitsu Kongothree from a Buddhist state in what is now Korea. The newcomer launched the company Kongo Gumi, completed the Shitenno-ji temple in Osaka – which still stands to this day – but did not return to Korea. He saw a golden opportunity to continue his trade and so the small, family construction company flourished and grew and stayed in Japan longer than anticipated – over 1,400 years longer.
A&H Equipment
A&H Equipment is a leading distributor of municipal and environmental product solutions. From top quality street sweepers and snow removal trucks to sewer cleaners and sewer inspection equipment, the company sells, rents, and services a wide range of equipment for customers throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
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Calhoun Super Structure
From a single concept to an international manufacturing company specializing in engineered fabric buildings, Calhoun Super Structure provides more than a century of collective expertise from a team of experienced professionals who bring leadership and accountability to every project.
ArquitectonicaSTUDIO
Despite its relatively young age, ArquitectonicaSTUDIO is an established, interdisciplinary voice on the Miami architecture scene that has proven to be a dynamic and capable collaborator across a host of project types and sizes, unafraid of exploring creativity and novelty. As part of Arquitectonica, the ArquitectonicaSTUDIO team specializes in boutique-style projects incorporating interior and landscape design while benefitting from being an integrated part of the greater ecosystem and community creativity of its parent company.
Innovations in Asphalt
From preserving skeletons of prehistoric animals in Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits to playing a pivotal role in road and highway construction, asphalt remains essential to the manufacture of waterproofing products, joint filler compounds, shingles, paints and varnishes, insulating boards, brake liners, preservatives, and much more.
STAR, Inc.
As winter comes to an end, many of us are thinking about spring maintenance around our properties, including driveways and other paved surfaces. And few people understand the importance of sealcoating and keeping ahead of potential problems better than Girish C. Dubey. You could call it his passion.
McConnell & Associates
When you operate a seasonal business that is busiest in the warmer months, the winters can seem very long. The nature of the seasons is changing for McConnell & Associates, an asphalt pavement service company based in Kansas City, Missouri. As the company’s website describes it, you can find its work ‘wherever you walk, park, or play.’
1st Choice Glass
Over the past 19 years, 1st Choice Glass (1CG), with corporate headquarters in Monroe, North Carolina and satellite offices in Charleston, South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, has emerged as a trusted partner of general contractors and developers in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, and on occasion as far afield as New York, Florida, Alabama, and Ohio.
