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.
Champion Bridge Company
The history of Champion Bridge Company stretches all the way back to the mid-1800s when founder Zimri Wall began work on a range of construction projects in Ohio. In 1871 he partnered with his brother Jonathan to build the picturesque Martinsville Covered Bridge, which is still used to this day. The brothers went on to develop a new iron truss bridge they patented as the “Champion Wrought Iron Arch Bridge,” which led to the company’s current name.
Transportation Projects that Changed the World
Throughout history, humans have been limited by simple logistics – how to get from here to there? For thousands of years, venturing out of one’s village required braving wild and rugged terrain. Travel was inherently dangerous. Roads were rough and rudimentary, if there were any at all.
Chesapeake Bay Steel
Founded in 1962, Norfolk, Virginia-based Chesapeake Bay Steel (CBSI) has long been a fixture in the Virginia Tidewater area. The company specializes in steel fabrication and erection and has had a hand in many recognizable projects throughout the region. After decades of experience, the team is expanding the company’s reach while maintaining the values of this family-owned-and-operated business.
Bolair Fluid Handling Systems
In 1982, Leonard Haddow designed and built the “Bolaro-Cat,” a clever, two-component pumping system using Aro pumps and air motors for spray and dispense applications. The engineering entrepreneur launched a business selling and servicing the custom-made product out of Mississauga, Ontario for varied applications from hockey sticks to pipeline coatings. By the late 1980s, the small company had taken on the Graco product line in addition to Aro (now Ingersol Rand Aro), making Bolair a recognized expert for both Aro and Graco pumping systems within the two-components coatings industry.
Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA)
The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) serves approximately 2,600 firms involved in heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing, piping, and mechanical service. The trade organization is the go-to resource for the industry, offering everything from educational opportunities and technological initiatives to advocacy. The COVID-19 crisis has brought out the best in the organization as the team works to provide the support the industry needs during this challenging time.
L&L Builders
L&L Builders got its start in 1960 as a residential masonry company operating under the name Larry Book Contracting. Business boomed and the company quickly expanded into the commercial sector and evolved into a merit-shop general contracting firm.
Jeremy Hiltz Excavating
A quarter of a century ago, a New Hampshire-based entrepreneur named Jeremy Hiltz used his strong foundation in the construction industry to launch his own company. “I grew up in the excavating business with my family and went out on my own in 1996 and started the company from nothing,” Hiltz says.
Menuiserox
Simon Boucher, a carpenter with a passion for woodworking, founded Menuiserox in 1979 to sell state-of-the-art hardwood components to the construction industry. By 1985 the humble startup had expanded well beyond its hometown of Beauceville, Quebec, to sell throughout the province.
Wood in Interior Design
Wood is a remarkable building material. From Ancient Egyptian tombs to sleek, modern office buildings, this natural resource decorates interiors across time and space.
KMJ Industrial Contractors
KMJ Industrial Contractors installs, relocates, restructures, and moves machinery anywhere in North America. In addition to machinery moving, the team and their industry partners specializes in electrical, mechanical and fabrication services as well as specialized transport, project management, and machinery storage.
Miller Bros. Const., Inc.
Miller Bros. Const., Inc. has a proud history stretching back 75 years. “We started out by digging ditches,” says President Brad Miller. Since then, the third generation, family owned business has grown from humble beginnings in Northwest Ohio to an industry leader licensed in 12 different states.
I Build America
Construction professionals build our nation – literally. I Build America (IBA) works to give these men and women the recognition they deserve. The national movement instills pride in the construction industry, educates the public about the value of construction, and recruits the next generation of construction professionals.
ACPA
Founded in 1963, the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) represents the $8 billion concrete pavement industry. ACPA membership is open to concrete pavement contractors, materials and equipment suppliers, and cement companies, consultants, and others involved in the design and construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of concrete pavements.
Thieneman Construction
Thieneman Construction, Inc. (TCI) has completed over 220 jobs with a value of more than $400 million since it was launched in 1999. TCI focuses on the water and wastewater industry, including municipal and private water plants, municipal wastewater treatment, wastewater collection, wastewater reuse, and residuals management. Committed to providing quality, local work, the Indianapolis-area business has offices in Westfield, Indiana and Merrillville, Indiana.
Next Generation Materials Could Change the Way We Build
In an era of astounding technological advances, smart building materials have industry insiders rethinking the basics—and potentially transforming age-old ways of doing things.
American Concrete Institute
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) is a leading authority and resource for the concrete industry. Founded back in 1904, the institute has grown to include over 95 chapters, 110 student chapters, and nearly 20,000 members across 120 countries.
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TurnPoint Services
Since its founding in 2016, TurnPoint Services has skyrocketed to success, growing from $30 million in annual sales in a single market to annual sales of over $1.4 billion and an active presence in 34 states.
Architectural Precast Innovations, Inc.
For 60 years, Architectural Precast Innovations, Inc. (API) has been committed to delivering high quality, custom prefabricated architectural precast concrete building components to diverse customers and market segments. Exceptional craftmanship, commitment to sustainability, and a relentless drive for innovation are just a few qualities API is known for. The company has built its reputation one award-winning project at a time, completing projects as small as signage to more complex structures like One Willoughby Square, Brooklyn, New York, a 2024 PCI Design Award Best Office Building and Sustainable Design Award Honorable Mention.
Kimberly’s Reef
Learning can take place anywhere, and The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is testing this theory with a unique approach that takes students, researchers and enthusiasts alike below the surface in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Here, they will get as close as they can to the wildlife, environment, and ecosystems they intend to research.
Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC)
Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) provides a depth and breadth of services, programs, and opportunities for manufacturers. Headquartered in Owen Sound, Ontario, with a national presence, EMC also encourages young people to enter the manufacturing workforce and is always looking for ways to enhance the sector.
Facing Up to What’s Facing Construction
When you think of the world’s largest industry, perhaps agriculture or energy come to mind—but it turns out they’re not the biggest.
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
After profiling the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) sustainability efforts in previous articles, Construction in Focus caught up with the organization once again, this time to learn about an exciting new report. State of Decarbonization: Progress in U.S. Commercial Buildings 2023 discusses the sector’s progress, the current status of data availability, and mechanisms available to reduce the carbon emissions of commercial buildings in the United States—the first report to compile all of this information into a single source.
