Sherriff Goslin Roofing provides both residential and commercial roofing while offering superlative service regardless of a project’s size. The company, which also installs windows, gutters, and siding, has been family-owned throughout its lengthy history.

“We go back a long way. I’m currently the fourth generation,” says President and Chairman of the Board, Steve Ticknor, who is the great-grandson of co-founder Fred Sherriff.

Serving homeowners
Sherriff Goslin Roofing has 17 branches in total, situated across Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. All branches are company-owned and mutually supportive; if one branch requires assistance on a project, other branches are happy to step in. And while the team does work on commercial projects, the focus is on “residential reroofing on existing homes,” explains Executive Vice President, Craig Lockerbie.

“Our bread and butter is your average homeowner in the small town of Anywhere, USA,” agrees Ticknor. “We want to keep them happy and have them tell their friends and neighbors about us.”

The company’s primary focus is residential reroofing and commercial flat roofing. Its services include roof repairs and replacement, storm damage restoration, and installing shingles and specialty roofs. Among its ancillary services are gutter, window, and siding installation—again, largely for existing structures.

Standout products
At present, the company can handle almost any type of roofing project, including specialty assignments involving metal, copper, or even ‘green’ roofs. Metal roofs are highly durable, stand up to brutal weather conditions, and are aesthetically pleasing. Lockerbie points out that metal roofing “is becoming a bigger part of the business,” due to increased customer demand.

A green roof, meanwhile, features a layer of live vegetation, be it shrubs, flowers, plants, or even trees, installed on a flat roof surface. Rooftop flora enhances insulation, resulting in more energy-efficient buildings, and absorbs rainwater, reducing the flow of runoff into sewers. Green roofs can also offer office workers a tranquil spot to unwind while helping building owners and developers achieve LEED certification. The growing popularity of green roofs “has a lot to do with LEED building; you get credit points for installing a green roof,” Lockerbie explains.

The team has also installed copper roofing, including a recent project involving a copper roof on a Greek Orthodox church.

In addition to outstanding service, Sherriff Goslin stands out with the patented Art-Loc, a specialty shingle originally developed in the 1920s by Bert Goslin. Unlike traditional shingles, these shingles interlock, forming a visually striking and structurally sound diamond-shaped pattern. Initially used to cover cedar shingles at a time when sealant strips were not common, Art-Loc has been an enduring success.

This product “is really what propelled us as a company at that time,” Lockerbie shares. “We still install thousands of squares each year of this product in the Midwest.”

In fact, almost all the shingles used by Sherriff Goslin are manufactured by the Atlas Roofing Corporation of Atlanta, Georgia. “They make Art-Loc for us. We’re the only ones who can sell it,” says Ticknor.

The biggest asset: people
The company’s family ownership model has provided consistency throughout the many decades and serves as a template for workplace loyalty. All told, managers of the 17 branches have a collective 454 years of service, a testament to the dedication and commitment that gives Sherriff Goslin a competitive edge. “We think loyalty is a big deal,” says Ticknor, citing cases where two generations of the same family work for the company.

“One of our biggest assets is the people that work here,” echoes Lockerbie. “We’re still here because of them. That’s very important to us.”

Sherriff Goslin employs between 150 and 180 staff on a seasonal basis as, for obvious reasons, work slows down in wintertime when snow blankets the Midwest. The team self-performs some tasks while subcontracting out other roofing duties, and in terms of new hires, the firm prefers “somebody willing to do whatever the job takes. Somebody not afraid of heights, obviously—you spent a lot of time going up and down a ladder—and somebody that really cares about servicing the customer,” says Lockerbie.

Safety and quality above all
To support its people, the company offers comprehensive employee and safety training. Two full-time safety monitors—who happen to be father and son—conduct safety training and perform on-site inspections, ensuring that employees are up to date with their training, keeping track of new Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, and constantly visiting jobsites.

And the Sherriff Goslin team is equally devoted to quality and customer care. Each roofing project begins with a free, thorough inspection. If clients wish to go forward, they are assigned a specific project manager who guides them through the process and keeps them updated on the progress of the work. Project managers are immersed in all aspects of an assignment from start to finish. Jobsites are tidied after work is completed, and clients can contact the company if any post-construction problems arise.

High standards, of course, are imperative given the nature of Sherriff Goslin’s business. “When you sell a roof, you’re selling something that you look at every day,” says Ticknor. A poorly done roof will be obvious to anybody driving by. Given this, it is essential that the work is done correctly and that all projects go according to plan, and this attitude is reflected in the company’s core values: safety, integrity, and quality.

A rich history
Sherriff Goslin Roofing traces its roots to 1906—a time when airplanes were a new innovation and automobiles were still rare. That year, Fred Sherriff organized the Battle Creek Roofing and Manufacturing Company. In 1910, he partnered with B.G. ‘Bert’ Goslin, and Sherriff Goslin Roofing was born. In the early years, employees were known to travel to jobsites by bicycle or train.

At one time, the company had branches as far afield as Illinois and even Florida, but over the decades, these were consolidated to streamline operations, as having to drive hours for projects was not a recipe for profitability, says Lockerbie. Regardless of these structural changes, the presence of the Sherriff and Goslin families has remained a constant, and the two families currently share majority ownership.

Churches, along with barns, offices, and other structures, represent the commercial side of the company’s business. High-profile projects within this segment include the Gilmore Car Museum, a huge complex featuring hundreds of vintage vehicles in multiple buildings spread over dozens of acres in Hickory Corners, Michigan. Among other tasks, Sherriff Goslin installed metal roofing and Art-Loc shingles on the museum’s facilities. “It’s a pretty big project that we continue to work. They keep adding buildings there,” says Lockerbie.

Success in the modern era
While Ticknor is certainly proud of the team’s achievements in the commercial sector, the company’s residential work remains paramount. “The big, fancy projects are really cool, but really our mainstay is dealing with individual homeowners, whether a 1,200-square-foot Cape Cod or a $1 million home. It’s about dealing with that individual person, because their home is [probably their] largest investment,” he notes. “No matter how big or small their home is, they’re trusting us to take care of them.”

“I’m seeing a wide variety of work. It’s not just residential; it’s round barns, country clubs, apartment complexes, huge condo complexes,” says Vice President of Marketing Cindy Goodison. Goodison takes the lead in the area of company promotion and uses a licensed drone pilot to get aerial shots of completed roofing projects. Such footage offers a vivid demonstration on how the firm blends old-fashioned craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.

Goodison explains that advertising by the individual branches is more localized. Branches are better suited to respond to local conditions—whether it be a storm or strong economic growth in a community—and use print or television to spotlight their services. “Branches have the latitude to do what they see fit at a branch level,” she says. “They’re the boots on the ground. They know their competitors. If the competition turns up the heat, they know it’s time to start making noise in their areas.”

Going forward, the company plans to focus on enhancing its existing service offerings and continuing to hit high benchmarks in terms of quality, safety, workplace loyalty, and customer support.

“We’d like to be at 125 years in business,” Ticknor says of the five-year forecast for the company, adding that he is thankful for the company’s longevity. “We’ve made it to 120. We don’t take that for granted at all.”

The post This Family-Owned Business Marks 120 Years<p class="company">Sherriff Goslin Roofing</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

“We build trailers for people who work hard. That’s our mission. That’s who we design for, that’s who we respect,” says Francis Wieler, head of Marketing.

Regardless of the industry served, the company’s trailers are used by “working professionals who rely on this equipment daily,” he adds.

Products of the highest standard
RawMaxx has recently launched a variety of new trailers as well as an advanced solution called 3D Configurator. The latter enables prospective customers to create digital trailer designs on a computer screen based on their input, while the new trailers include the G7X Series, GDX Knight, DTX Deckover Tilt, and SGX models. Wieler describes the G7X Series as “an evolution of our GTX Series.” While the GTX trailer is 102 inches wide, the G7X is narrower, at 83 inches. As such, the new G7X Series represents a more affordable option for clients looking for a trailer that is both maneuverable and compact.

Trailers in the G7X Series include the versatile Bumper Pull model, which is available in 20, 22, and 24-foot lengths and comes with a front toolbox, powder coat finish, and a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds (the measure of the total weight of a fully-loaded trailer).

The G7X Gooseneck trailer is another model in the new G7X Series, also available in 20, 22, and 24-foot lengths with a 14,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating and front toolbox. The G7X Gooseneck trailer offers exceptional stability and is well-suited for heavy loads.

The company’s GDX lineup consists of general duty dump trailers, a category popular with contractors. The new GDX Knight trailer features 10-cubic-yard capacity, 41-degree tilt angle, and a manual tarp system. The trailer offers durability and efficiency, and loading and unloading is a cinch. The GDX Knight is designed “for crews who consistently push heavier materials or higher volumes. It has structurally reinforced walls and increased capacity,” says RawMaxx.

The DTX Deckover Tilt is also designed for handling heavy loads, with a GVWR of 14,000 pounds. This model boasts 17-degree tilt angle and a hoist-lift system fitted with a 5×16” cylinder for speedy and efficient loading and unloading. An upgraded version offers a gross vehicle weight rating of 20,000 pounds.

The SGX trailer, meanwhile, has a gravity-tilt design, an 8,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating, and is suitable for moving boom lifts, scissor lifts, and cherry pickers.

Some of these trailers feature the Milwaukee PACKOUT system, an innovative, modular storage setup comprising various chests, boxes, and cooler units for heavy-duty storage. Milwaukee PACKOUT “gives operators an organized space and secured tool storage placement under the trailer directly.”

Quality from the start
RawMaxx was founded in Mexico in 2017 with a focus from the start on manufacturing heavy-duty steel trailers. “While the product line has expanded significantly, the core mission has remained the same: build strong, dependable trailers.”

Manufacturing and design work is all performed in-house aside from a few components such as axles and hydraulic systems, which are obtained from trusted outside suppliers. The company uses CNC laser cutters, press brakes, plasma cutters, and other machinery to self-perform its engineering, fabrication, welding, assembly, and finishing. “We maintain control over our production process to ensure consistency in quality.”

The company sells its products through an extensive dealer network—most based in the United States, with a few in Canada. While clients cannot buy directly, RawMaxx sees this as an advantage.

“We do not sell to end users,” he says. “This allows us to focus on manufacturing products and development. It also helps keep the price lower, because we can sell a full load to a dealer, which ensures that the customer is going to get a better price. If somebody from New York buys a trailer from us directly, the cost of shipping that one trailer is going to be more than if we ship seven or eight trailers on one load.”

People-powered service
At present, the company employs 600 people, an increase of about 40 from this time last year. The spike in personnel can be attributed to increased demand for the products in the United States.

When it comes to new hires, RawMaxx looks for people with a strong work ethic, a willingness to learn, a team mindset, a sense of accountability, and an alignment with the company’s values of integrity, hard work, expertise, innovation, and adaptability. “The culture overall here is blue collar, performance-driven, with a focus on continuous improvement and respect for the craft.”

The company prides itself on being “non-corporate,” he adds. There is no rigid company bureaucracy; issues are dealt with right away, and do not require months of meetings, memos, and analysis to address.

Customer support is offered via the company’s nationwide dealer network, and to this end, RawMaxx offers spare parts, replacement parts, service guidance, technical assistance, product updates, and warranties including five years for axles, three years for structural issues, and one year for paint. “If a customer has an issue, we work directly with the dealer to ensure that it’s resolved quickly and properly.”

In addition to its customers, the company believes in supporting charities and its workforce, with charitable endeavors including funding for a local orphanage and an overarching commitment to its nearby communities. And the RawMaxx team is happy to help fellow staff members through rough patches with financial aid or other forms of assistance. Staff members “will always stand together and support each other in times of need or when surrounding communities are in need. The entire team will rally and organize food, clothing, and financial drives. It’s part of the culture here at RawMaxx.”

Safety, of course, is also central to the company culture. Workers receive comprehensive safety training with established protocols in case of accidents or mishaps. Personal protective equipment including helmets, work boots, and googles, are mandatory and paid for by the company.

Making customization easy
RawMaxx has also forged a partnership with prominent automotive celebrity Dave ‘Heavy D’ Sparks, who co-starred on the reality show Diesel Brothers on the Discovery Channel. Heavy D shouts out the company’s innovative design, superior components, focus on safety, excellent customer service, wide array of products, customization, and heavy-duty construction in his glowing testimonial on the company website. Heavy D also participated in the launch of 3D Configurator at the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) 2025 show in Nashville, Tennessee and praises the solution in a company YouTube video.

3D Configurator, as mentioned, allows potential customers to view digital trailer models based on their selections regarding size, specifications, options, colors, and models. Customer input is used to add or remove details, and the ensuing image can be viewed from multiple angles, giving clients a clear sense of what they are buying. Customers “can see where every dollar is going. They can see visually what the trailer is going to look like,” states RawMaxx, adding that the 3D Configurator “is a tool to give as much confidence to the buyer as possible.”

The solution has earned the company industry kudos and took first place in a competition for ‘Best in Show for Services & Software’ at last year’s NATDA conference.

Facing challenges
While optimistic, RawMaxx is well aware of certain challenges facing the company, including volatility in the trailer sector. Underlying this volatility are rising material costs, supply chain changes, and regulatory developments. RawMaxx addresses these issues “through strong dealer and supplier relationships, in-house manufacturing control, operational efficiency, and strategic pricing adjustments. We focus on stability and long-term relationships rather than short-term reaction.”

Going forward, the company has plenty of new ideas, enhancements, and product concepts in the pipeline. “There’s always new stuff that comes out. We have a few engineers who consistently look at the market, look at what the needs are out there and what people are asking for. It can take months or years to refine something before we do release a new type of trailer.”

Over the next few years, RawMaxx also hopes to see the company strengthen its dealer network even further, continue to innovate on the digital front, and maintain its reputation for durability and integrity.

“Our goal is sustainable growth, while protecting product quality and brand reputation. That’s very important. There are a lot of people who depend on RawMaxx to make a living, whether it’s the people building the trailers or the people who depend on them to get their job done.” RawMaxx plans to be there, serving all of these people with quality, innovation, and integrity, for the long haul.

The post New Products, New Partnerships, and New High-Tech Solutions<p class="company">RawMaxx</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Since being profiled in Construction in Focus in February 2025, Troyer Post Buildings has expanded its workforce and opened a new branch in Greeneville, Tennessee.

“We’ve got about half-a-dozen offices or so for people to come in and meet with salesmen and design their dream building,” explains Owner and CEO, Tim Troyer. “The Greeneville branch is a local presence in the community there,” and is already meeting with success, seeing 650 quotes and $4 million in sales already.

As shared in our previous profile, post frame buildings have a unique heritage. The concept originated during the Great Depression in the 1930s, when impoverished farmers sought out new materials for building barns. To save money, farmers began to embed decommissioned telephone poles in the ground and place a roof on top. By using telephone poles as support columns, farmers could avoid the expense of digging foundations and then pouring concrete. Pole barns could either be open-air or enclosed (walls can be added once the structure is up and then insulated if desired). They proved to be as sturdy as conventional barns and became widely popular.

What began as a cost-saving measure soon caught on, and the pole barn concept was expanded to include warehouses, sheds, and private residences. Bigger post frame structures still lacked foundations for the most part, but frequently featured concrete slab floors to enhance interior comfort. Steel trusses were also incorporated into larger structures to augment stability.

At present, the agricultural sector brings in the most business for Troyer Post Buildings. Within this sector, the company offers hay pole barns (roof-only structures with metal gables and steel trusses); pole equipment sheds (three sided-buildings featuring single-sloped roofs); and pole barn lean-to sheds (made from wood rafters or steel, these sheds are usually attached to a building and are used to protect equipment from inclement weather). For the commercial market, Troyer sells pole barn riding arenas (spaces for training horses); storage units (ideal for boats or recreational vehicles); and warehouses.

The residential market, which largely consists of barndominiums or “barndos,” is currently experiencing the strongest growth at the firm. Over the past year, the company has helped build roughly 40 barndos, which feature roomy interiors and a rural vibe. Commenting on their appeal, Troyer says, “I think most people are trying to find affordable housing. At the end of the day, they’re trying to find a large living area with a lot of square footage for a reasonable price.”

The barndo segment might become Troyer Post Building’s leading market “in the next year or two,” he adds.

The company’s barndo models range from the simple and compact (the Birmingham Barndominium, for example, measures 1,200 square feet based on a four-inch monolithic concrete slab) to the grand (the partial double-story Lexington Barndominium measures 3,032 square feet based on a four-inch monolithic concrete slab). The company also sells enclosed pole barn garages and an enclosed pole barn workshop (a space for doing hobbies or crafts) within the residential segment.

With strong ties to its communities, Troyer Post Buildings primarily works in Tennessee and Kentucky, although the team has also served clients in Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The company maintains a lumberyard at its main location, stocked primarily with wooden poles made from Southern Yellow Pine, “a local lumber that’s strong,” explains Troyer.

And while Troyer has a wide selection of existing building models that customers can choose from, clients can also create their own design. The company offers a software program called 3D Designer which allows customers to select the color, length, height, roof type, roof pitch, interiors, windows, doors, and building frame of their proposed property. The program analyzes the customer’s input and then comes up with a design.

Once the customer settles on a design, the company offers advice about feasibility and cost. If all goes to plan, Troyer Post Buildings can put together a package of materials that consists of wooden poles and other structural elements. These material packages are then delivered to the customer who can either erect the building themselves or hire a contractor recommended by Troyer. The same delivery and construction process occurs when clients chose a building from an existing model.

Given that its business is centered on lumber and construction material, Troyer Post Buildings adheres closely to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protocols. “We do pretty intensive safety training… and we follow safety guidelines,” says Troyer. “The biggest thing is not trying to rush people and to let them do their job—quality work at a steady pace. I think that’s the key for safety: focusing on quality and taking your time to do it right.”

This has been a priority from the start. The company was founded in 2014 by Tim Troyer and his brothers, who learned about construction firsthand from their father. The young firm primarily focused on pole barns for farmers but soon grew to encompass multiple sectors.

One thing that hasn’t changed since the early days of the company is the importance of faith. The Troyers are devout Mennonites, a Christian denomination that emphasizes hard work, family values, and simple living. Philanthropy is one way the family puts its beliefs into practice; when we spoke, Tim Troyer had just returned from a trip to Africa. His African mission was undertaken alongside Feeding the Orphans, a non-profit group from Knoxville, Tennessee that provides care, support, and religious uplift for the needy. Troyer Post Buildings also works with local food banks, adoption centers, and other charitable endeavors.

The family also expresses its faith through honesty and fair dealing, business practices that lead to win-win results. “We built a name in the industry for being trustworthy. We do what we say we’re going to do. At the end of the day, if we say we’re going to be there, we’ll be there. When you build with us, there are no hidden surprises. You get what you signed up for,” says Troyer.

The element of trust applies to the company’s supply chain as well, and Troyer Post Buildings prefers to work with a selection of known vendors rather than constantly switching suppliers based solely on price. “We consider our suppliers our partners. We try to create long-term relationships with our suppliers and treat them like part of the company. We try to create a win-win situation for both of us,” explains Troyer.

Promotion is handled in a low-key and decidedly unflashy fashion. While the company uses social media, online marketing, and banners to promote itself, it also sets up booths at country and local fairs to spread the word.

Clearly, it’s a winning strategy, as the firm’s workload has increased so much it’s expanded from 40 employees at the time of our previous profile to 60 today.

“When you do good work, you always get more work. All of our departments have grown,” says Troyer.

To be sure, he is proud of the company’s ability to create good, new jobs within local communities. When it comes to new hires, the company likes “humble and hungry people,” he says. This fits with the company’s culture, which is centered on such values as trust, innovation, consistency, and being helpful.

Thankfulness is another core value: “We’re very blessed by God, so we’re thankful for that. We’re trying to make our decisions based on what would please God and to follow the principles that’s he’s laid out,” explains Troyer.

The company aims to remain debt-free when possible and to constantly add value in everything it does—and this later trait applies to employees and clients alike. “We’re focused on adding value to each other as a team. We’re focused on adding value to our customers,” says Troyer.

Its success has not gone unnoticed, and the company has been earning industry kudos as of late. In April 2025, Troyer Post Buildings was ranked #224 on the Financial Times’ list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies. The list ranks the 300 companies in the U.S. with the largest revenue growth between 2020 and 2023. The firm was also awarded as Best Pole Barn Builder from The Greeneville Sun, and has ‘Recommended Builder’ status from Upper Cumberland MLS. Tim Troyer is reluctant to take credit for these achievements, stating he’s “blessed to have a good team to work with,” and that earning such honors wouldn’t be possible with their efforts.

Of course, Troyer Post Buildings faces its share of challenges and difficulties. The company is dealing with the impact of “a lackadaisical economy… people are struggling, and don’t have extra money. We’re trying to show our customers… that what we bring to the table is worth what they’re paying for,” says Troyer.

Still, things look good for the company, which plans to build on its existing competencies instead of adding new services per se. “We’re just trying to do what we do and do it well,” says Tim Troyer. “I just hope that we can serve more customers in the future and continue to build an even bigger and better team.”

The post This Family Business Offers Building Alternatives<p class="company">Troyer Post Buildings</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

View Homes is a unique, award-winning home building company based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with a multi-state presence, a flair for aesthetics, and a reputation for customer support. This firm offers a wide array of new homes to prospective buyers in different communities in a variety of styles, sizes, and price points.

In operation for over 30 years, View Homes works with a series of franchise partners and brands including Horizon View Homes, Aspen View Homes, and Desert View Homes. Through these partners, the company provides affordable luxury across New Mexico, Texas, Iowa, South Dakota, and Colorado. But what sets the company apart isn’t just how many homes it builds; it’s how it builds them. At the heart of its philosophy is a simple belief: “build high-quality, forward-thinking homes in places people want to live, [and] you’ll have happy customers for life.” This insight guides everything View Homes does.

Indeed, View Homes doesn’t chase trends; instead, it learns from people, with a design process that begins with understanding how buyers want to live. That means creating floorplans and communities that feel intuitive and welcoming, spaces that blend timeless style with practical features people truly appreciate. Standard offerings often include upgrades that other builders might charge extra for, so homeowners get added value as a baseline.

The company pairs its construction expertise with “best-in-class customer service,” a commitment to guiding buyers from first look through closing and beyond. This commitment is designed to exceed expectations at every step, a promise that has contributed to the company’s growth and reputation and been recognized by the broader industry with a series of awards, including the NRS Award in Customer Satisfaction, two consecutive “Builder of the Year” awards, and the Better Business Bureau Torch Award, the organization’s highest honor for ethics and business practices.

The company’s transparent, service-first approach is exemplified by its easy-to-navigate website, launched in 2023. Since a home is one of the biggest investments a family will make, View Homes takes that responsibility seriously, making it easy at every step for prospective buyers to find what they’re looking for. As Valerie Varney, View Homes National Vice President of Marketing, puts it, “We wanted a site that reflects the innovative approach we take when building our homes. Not only does our new site offer a fresh modern look, but the ease of use and new customization elements allow for a more intuitive and responsive user experience. It’s never been simpler to find the View home that perfectly suits your family’s needs,” she says.

The “Find Your Home” tab offers a wealth of information about a range of properties and neighborhoods, while Community Overviews note key details such as local schools, parks, nearby Interstates, military bases, retail offerings, and more—all important details for people looking for a place to settle and put down roots. Potential buyers can also enjoy digital walkthroughs of the company’s home designs to gain a better feel for the interiors, exteriors, and overall space, and can access advice for first-time homebuyers, tips for accessing financing, and more.

View Homes’ website also showcases its Thoughtful Home Collection, an “unparalleled collection of homes [that] represents decades of experience and research, resulting in our most technologically advanced residences to date,” says the company.

This collection consists of attractive houses with high-tech touches and user-friendly features, representing “the ultimate in modern living.” Each Thoughtful Home comes with a top-end HVAC system, a fully finished garage with heating/cooling and epoxy floors, a water treatment system, a touchless faucet and soft close kitchen cabinets, “Whole House” connectivity and a Wi-fi network on each floor, three garage lifestyle options (a murphy bar, a fitness area, or a work bench), and an Amazon drop box on the front porch.

The Thoughtful Home Collection is currently offered at Callan Village in Waco, Texas, and at The View at Desert Springs in El Paso, Texas.

To be sure, View Homes has built a robust marketplace presence with its family of brands, each reflecting the unique character of its region while maintaining the company’s core values of quality and customer focus. The company also offers a Local Builder Program, inviting experienced homebuilders and construction professionals to bring View Homes’ models and values to new markets. This program taps into shared technology, design resources, and operational support to help partners succeed under the View Homes umbrella.

Ultimately, View Homes does more than just sell homes; it builds neighborhoods and strengthens entire communities. The company values compassion, excellence, honesty, and collaboration, and these principles inform all aspects of the business, from material selection to sales, marketing, and post-purchase service. Support for clients doesn’t end once the homeowners receive the key to their property; rather, View Homes provides warranties along with support for customers experiencing after-hours emergencies, who can contact the company for intervention.

View Homes represents a hybrid model in the homebuilding space: a company with enough scale to operate across multiple states and brands, but with a commitment to craftsmanship and customer feedback more commonly seen with regional or boutique builders. From first-time buyers to people upgrading into their forever homes, View Homes focuses on the human side of homebuilding, delivering places where families can grow, thrive, and make memories. The company’s ongoing evolution—including dynamic online tools—reflects a company that listens to its customers and adapts without losing sight of its foundational values.

As the firm continues to grow, its mission remains the same: to provide great properties at decent prices, paired with excellent customer service during all aspects of the homebuying experience.

The post Creating Happy Customers for Life<p class="company">View Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

President and Chief Executive Officer Teddy Rodgers cites a simple formula involving customer care, quality workmanship, and a humble attitude as the secret to the company’s success.

“I think part of it is focusing on the customer’s experience,” states Rodgers. “We’re trying to have a very authentic relationship with our clients. What we do isn’t always fun for people, because it’s our job to keep their vision and the budget aligned,” he says.

“We still take opportunities that companies that have been in business as long as us would probably pass on, and it’s because you don’t want to forget where you started and how you got here” he adds. “My partner kind of jokes with me: ‘You’re the only person I know that would go out and bid a $15 million to $20 million project and turn around and bid a $10,000 project.’” Working on these lower-priced contracts helps build the company’s reputation and can lead to multi-million dollar assignments, he explains.

The company was launched in 2006 by Rodgers and Brent Anderson. Anderson today serves as co-owner and Chief Financial Officer. Partnering with Bruce McGaughey in 2015 allowed the company to actively pursue commercial work. That partnership helped Anderson & Rodgers flourish, with Bruce McGaughey now acting as Vice President of the company. All told, the company presently employs around 20 people, and while it primarily takes on projects within central Kentucky, it is also licensed to work in Ohio, Florida, and now, Tennessee. The firm offers a combination of in-house and subcontracted services with trusted partners.

Anderson & Rodgers’ work for the residential sector encompasses everything from bathrooms and kitchens to outdoor spaces, additions, and brand-new construction. Within the commercial sector, the company has done projects for the retail, office, medical and health, and multifamily building markets. It has taken on some fascinating restoration/historic projects as well, restoring a century-old log and stone shelter for the state of Kentucky, as well as the John G. King building, a historic office building in downtown Lexington constructed in the 1870s, for example.

Not all end users of Anderson & Rodgers’ construction projects walk on two legs. Horses account for a sizeable amount of the company’s business, which is understandable given that the state hosts the world-famous Kentucky Derby and features countless sites where horses are trained, raised, and reared. To this end, Anderson & Rodgers “just finished a modern surgery center for an equestrian hospital,” notes Rodgers with pride.

Anderson & Rodgers also does a brisk business in equine barns, creating safe, secure, controlled environments for horses. Equine barns are available for both residential and commercial customers, and the firm partners with some of the most renowned barn designers in the country on equestrian riding arenas to train horses or for recreational riding.

A few years ago, Anderson & Rodgers partnered with Harrison Harvesting to construct a USDA-regulated meat processing plant, and the companies have joined forces again to build a retail outlet in Richmond, Kentucky. Operating under the corporate name Bourbon Barrel Beef, the outlet will offer “high-quality, locally sourced beef products,” explains newly hired Sales and Marketing Director, Trey Schadt, adding that, “more families in Richmond will be able to access sustainable meat.”

Ground was broken for the project in early December, with construction scheduled to wrap up by spring. Once it opens, the Richmond location will become Harrison Harvesting’s third retail outlet in Kentucky.

The company is also working on a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project in Cincinnati and a massive private home in Georgetown, Kentucky. These two assignments underline the firm’s range and willingness to take on totally different projects.

The HUD job, which is centered on an affordable housing development, serves two purposes, says Rodgers. First, it “gives us an opportunity to give back” and provide decent housing for disadvantaged people, he explains. At the same time, doing this work “really sets you up for future opportunities with state or federal [agencies] or non-profit organizations,” he says.

The private home project, meanwhile, entails a 24,000-square-foot property with an intriguing backstory. “It’s a very unique property and the story behind it is just as unique. The [owner] bought it at auction partly built many years ago. He farmed the land for years and finally decided to make the investment and finish the property. The hope is to finish that project and make a video about it, although it may take some convincing considering the private lifestyle the client lives.”

The latter comment touches on a new aspect of the company’s business. Since we last spoke in April 2024 for Construction in Focus, Schadt was brought on board to drum up new business, network with colleagues and potential clients, and promote the company. “I love to tell stories about construction and try to educate people on what a construction process looks like,” says Schadt. Some of these stories are told through photographs, text and videos on the company website, and social media profiles. “Trey’s been vital to the company taking a more targeted approach to its image,” says Teddy. “We have always worked hard to have a polished image, spending money on professional photos instead of doing them with our iPhones, but now we have someone focused on this mission full-time, so it’s been a game changer.

As for what the company looks for in a new hire, “experience is key, but attitude is as well. Construction is hard enough as it is; there are constant challenges. If you’re a problem solver, it’s a great field for you because you’re going to face problems with supply; you’re going to face problems with labor; you’re going to face problems with customers,” says Rodgers. “If you’re expecting everything to run perfectly, you’re going to be pretty miserable.” Normalizing these struggles is a day one training tool,” Rodgers adds. “I heard someone once say, ‘a pessimist is just a well-educated optimist.’”

The company takes good care of its personnel, hosting monthly safety meetings and toolbox safety talks and providing all appropriate PPE. It also takes good care of its customers; Anderson & Rodgers earned top kudos in the annual Best of Lexington 2025 awards, compiled by the Lexington Herald Leader. The firm has consistently rated high in these awards over the years, and this time around, won silver in the best remodeler/contractor category and gold for best interior designer.

The gold honor, bestowed upon Lead Designer Shana Baum, highlights the firm’s comprehensive design capabilities. The team offers a base package consisting of design consultations, floorplans, electrical and lighting plans, material plans, and more. Using specialty software, Anderson & Rodgers can also guide customers on a 3D tour to see what a proposed design would look like once completed.

Anderson & Rodgers also continue to be active on the philanthropic front. The group takes part in a charitable Christmas tree giveaway event, raising $850 with the help of other local businesses, and participated in a doghouse auction for a local humane society, partnering with an architect to design the doghouse and raising $1500. “There’s always something we’re putting our hands in to give back to the community. It’s fun and rewarding,” Rodgers says.

Of course, the company faces its share of challenges, from economic uncertainty to tariffs. And ironically, the high caliber of the Anderson & Rodgers workforce can be challenging in that other businesses are eager to poach personnel. “We’ve fought to keep our employees, but there are always companies scouting our employees,” he shares. “We’re hiring very talented people. I’ve got a great team.” Rodgers also states, “I don’t know any other company that’s had the same amount of people leave to start their own successful businesses. It truly speaks to the drive and talent we strive for from our team.

As for the future, Teddy Rodgers is not thinking about introducing any new services, preferring instead to “polish and sharpen,” existing capabilities. Growing the company’s footprint is also top of mind. “We’d love to expand into more markets, do more work in Cincinnati, pursue more work in Tennessee. The same goes for Indiana,” he adds. “About a third of the 16 medical facilities we built from 2014 to 2020 were in Southern Indiana.”

Growth will be organic, he emphasizes; the firm is not interested in chasing work or luring clients, instead focusing on meaningful interactions with potential clients and peer organizations, being proud and active members of the BIA. Brent Anderson has acted as President for two terms, and Teddy Rodgers as Remodel Council Chairman. Brent currently remains on the board as the immediate past president, actively lobbying with State Legislators on issues important to BIA and their members.

Schadt wants to build more partnerships. “Within the process of construction, people can butt heads,” he says, “whether it be with the architect and builder or builder and engineers. We want to come together as a unified front and say, ‘Here’s how we can help you and be a resource for you throughout any stage of this process.’”

Overall, the company’s level-headed, “boots-on-the-ground” approach, as Rodgers calls it, seems to be paying off. “Nobody was considering us for a million dollar-plus project 15 years ago. Nobody was considering us for a $10 million project five or six years ago. Now we’re at the point where we’re being considered for $10 million to $20 million projects,” he says. “We have to continue to grow that portfolio.”

The post Exceeding Expectations, Every Time<p class="company">Anderson & Rodgers Construction</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Silvi Materials operates a network of concrete plants, gravel and sand reserves, mining operations, rock quarries, and a barge terminal in both New Jersey and its home state of Pennsylvania. The company’s main customers are construction firms, contractors, government agencies, landscapers, and concrete manufacturers, and this vertically integrated firm also offers transloading and stevedore services, maintains warehouses, and operates commercial real estate.

Now, Silvi Materials has become a lot bigger. In a deal finalized this summer, the company acquired the assets and operations of Eagle Rock Concrete, a leading ready-mix concrete producer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The newly acquired firm will now bear the name Eagle Rock Concrete, a Silvi Materials Company.

“We’re letting them run as a separate business, while reporting up to our headquarters in Fairless Hills,” explains Co-President Larry Silvi II. “We’ll be employing our best practices with them. We’re basically sitting back and watching how they do business before we implement any changes. We feel they do some things that we could learn from, and we’ve got some things they could learn from.”

Eagle Rock’s assets include nine high-production ready-mix plants, one greenfield, and 115 ready-mix trucks, most of them less than two-and-a-half years old. Thanks to the acquisition, Silvi Materials has gone from roughly 800 employees to nearly 1,000. The deal drastically expands the company’s market reach in the Southeast and enhances its regional logistics network for slag and cement distribution as well.

“I would say we’re very acquisitive,” says Silvi. “We are looking to continue to grow and expand, organically and through acquisitions.”

Indeed, Silvi Materials has also been on an organic growth spurt as of late. This fall, the company announced that it is building an import terminal at a deep water port in Morehead City, North Carolina. Once completed, the facility will feature a pair of 100,000-ton storage domes and specialize in Type I/II low-alkali cement and Grade 120 slag. Designed to receive overseas cement shipments while offering trucking and rail loadout, the terminal is expected to be in operation in the fourth quarter of 2027. Significant as the Eagle Rock acquisition is, “Our plan to build a deep water import terminal in North Carolina is as big, if not an even bigger financial commitment,” notes Silvi.

At present, the company is operating a temporary cement rail loadout site in Morehead City. This facility is receiving rail loads of cement from the company’s premier cement terminal based in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

Against this backdrop, the company also recently opened a new RexCon Mobile 12 concrete batch plant in Newark, New Jersey. Installation of the Newark plant was managed by an internal construction team, and the project included site grading, the installation of a mobile central-mix batch system, setting up trailers, and building on-site stockpile bins for aggregate.

Open since March of this year, the RexCon plant is strategically situated near Jersey City, the New Jersey Turnpike I-78, and Routes 1 and 9. With a capacity of 180 yards of concrete an hour, the plant can support an array of concrete mixes including foundational footings and high-strength applications. The RexCon facility complements an existing Silvi Materials site in East Newark, New Jersey and will be matched by more new branches down the road.

These days, Silvi Materials’ admirable work ethic and emphasis on quality is getting noticed. The company recently won the prestigious 2025 Excellence in Concrete Award for High Rise Construction from the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (EPDACI). The team received this honor at a May 1 ceremony in recognition of its contributions to the construction of a 31-story concrete apartment building in Philadelphia. Silvi Materials provided ready-mix concrete for the building, which contains over 270 apartment units and five penthouse floors containing private balconies.

“To control heat of hydration, the foundation was poured using a custom 50 percent slag mix and a detailed thermal control plan,” explains a company press release. “From there, Silvi provided concrete for all vertical and horizonal structural elements.”

These achievements represent new milestones for a firm that was originally founded in 1947 by Laurence Silvi Senior. Over the decades, the team has taken on a slew of high-profile projects including the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, and JFK Airport. Growth has been so significant in recent years that the company is looking to expand its corporate headquarters, a project expected to break ground next year.

Yet for all its success, the company leaders have not neglected the fun side of the business. When we spoke, Larry was excited to discuss a brand-new company concrete mixer outfitted in a striking Kelly green that matches the iconic throwback uniforms of the Philadelphia Eagles, as Silvi Materials has a partnership deal with the Eagles, who won the 2025 Superbowl.

In the midst of all this recent growth, Silvi Materials has also been undergoing significant internal changes including a massive IT infrastructure update. The update entails an overhaul of the firm’s customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) programs and is nearly complete. “Even though it was a long journey with a lot of bumps on the road, we’re on the one-yard line. When we first started this, one of the implementing companies said, ‘this is like ripping your central nervous system out of your body and putting in a new one.’ They were right,” Silvi says.

The IT overhaul fits with Silvi Materials’ technological and ecofriendly ethos. The firm has embraced a paperless office concept to reduce waste and established a cutting-edge e-ticket system that is centered on computer tablet data, not paper invoices. This high-tech mindset is also evident in company plans to establish a rail terminal in Ohio. Once operational, the terminal will have a rated capacity of 250,000 tons of cement a year and offer around-the-clock unattended loading in a process already in place at other facilities run by the company. “If you want to pick up a load on Christmas Eve at 9 p.m. and you’re registered and in the system, you can do it.”

The process runs as follows: a truck fitted with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag pulls up at a company site. Camera systems take photos of the license plate and the driver. The driver’s credentials are run through the company database, and they enter a code that authorizes the emission of a certain volume of cement. When this level is reached, the driver receives an e-ticket which they sign for and then “he’s on his merry way,” Silvi explains.

Futuristic as this process might seem, it is comparable to filling up a car tank with gas at a self-serve station. The new plant will be based in central Ohio and should be operable “by the second quarter of 2026,” he says.

There are also discussions about using artificial intelligence (AI) to augment truck and equipment inspections. “You could set up a shed where you drive a truck or a piece of machinery through it, and AI takes a series of pictures and evaluates whether you’ve got worn hoses, whether you’ve got oil leaks, whether the piece of equipment is clean or not.” Plant managers currently do such inspections manually.

Significant proposed AI initiatives will have to wait until the company’s IT infrastructure is fully updated, however. “Once we get our ERP up and running, then we’ll go out and start evaluating different AI companies,” Silvi shares. “We’re thinking second half of 2026.”

Going forward, there are no plans to alter the company’s ownership status. Being a family-run business has worked for nearly 80 years, and company leaders see little reason to deviate from this path.

Indeed, Larry Silvi II forecasts a very bright future for the company. “I see us branching out further,” he says. “We’ll evaluate every opportunity as it comes up, based on population growth, ease of doing business, taxes, and labor.”

The post Cementing the Future<p class="company">Silvi Materials </p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The business specialized in solutions that speak to a bygone era in cinematic history, when movies were shot on celluloid film. The company made film and chemical processing equipment, drybox air systems—also called dry cabinets, storage systems to protect film and film gear from humidity and contaminants—and silver recovery cells, which are commonly used in darkrooms to recover silver elements from chemicals used to process film.

“From ’76 on, any major motion picture you’d see in the movie theatre had gone through something he had made,” states Daniel with pride. During the 1990s, moviemakers started to transition from celluloid film to digital technology and demand for celluloid film-related equipment dropped sharply.

In 2000, Valenzuela suffered a heart attack and his son-in-law stepped into the breach. At the time, Daniel was working as a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff; he was an experienced lawman but knew little about metal manufacturing. Nonetheless, the LA County Sheriff’s Department gave him a six-month leave of absence to manage the business as Valenzuela recuperated.

Few of Daniel’s policing skills were applicable to his new role, other than the ability to suss out “if employees were trying to get something over on me,” he jokes. He did, however, have a naturally inquisitive nature, a good work ethic, and an outsider’s perspective. He peppered the shop floor staff with questions and worked hard to make changes in a business that was struggling at the time.

“At the end of the six months, my wife and I decided that I would stay there and continue with the company and help make it great again. They did their best sales they ever had that year,” he recalls.

In 2004, Valenzuela closed his business and sold his equipment to Daniel and his wife Petra. The company name was tweaked from Metal Engineering, and the business was moved from an 8,000-square-foot space to the 15,500-square-foot facility it currently occupies. Petra passed away earlier this year, so the firm is now solely run by Daniel and his son Bryce, Project Manager.

At present, the company is eagerly anticipating the arrival of a special laser welding system to augment its service lineup. The order was placed after the company researched the laser welding system and found much to its liking.

“The gist of it is it welds faster than MIG welding, which right now is the fastest form of welding,” explains Bryce. “It uses more precise and direct heat than TIG welding, and it delivers full penetration in a single pass… a job that would normally take you an hour, you can do in 15 minutes without any metal fatigue.”

The system is “very easy” to learn, he continues. He expects that the leading-edge solution will arrive by December of this year.

As with most services at Metal Engineering & MFG., laser welding will be handled in-house. The company’s motto, ‘Where Craftsmanship and Technology Meet,’ reflects its devotion to technological solutions and old-fashioned skill. The company has its own machining and welding equipment and uses CAD software for planning, and, if it needs to subcontract anything out, it relies on a handful of trusted partners.

As a custom metal fabricator, Metal Engineering & MFG. often works as part of a larger team of contractors for the commercial, residential, and specialty markets. Once a project is completed, the company offers maintenance, although such services are not often needed.

“Nine times out of ten, our products don’t require any maintenance,” Bryce says. “The only time that ever happens is, say, for a water feature—if the chemicals are imbalanced and the chlorine levels are way too high, sometimes that causes stainless steel to rust. In that case, we come out and perform the maintenance and tell them what’s wrong with their water. But that’s very rare.”

Even if most modern films are made using digital technology, the company still does some work for the silver screen. The last big film the company worked on was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a Quentin Tarantino thriller shot on Kodak 35mm film. Tarantino’s use of old-fashioned film stock necessitated the use of old-fashioned accessories. “We made all the film reels for all the movie theatres in the nation to run the film and the traveling boxes for those films,” Bryce explains.

While Metal Engineering & MFG. does not do much movie work these days, it has developed a new niche doing metalwork for theme parks and casinos. “We get hired by contractors,” says Bryce, “and through them, we do a lot of work for theme parks. You can’t walk through one of their parks without running past products that we make.”

About a decade ago, the company did secondary metalwork at a huge theme park area. The team also contributed to a striking 39-foot-high fountain featuring three stylized sculptures of women embedded in a column rising from a base. 22,000 lbs. of stainless steel support the fountain and its sculptures, built for the lobby of the Palazzo, a high-end casino and hotel that is part of the larger Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

“Water comes from the top, from a chalice all the way to the bottom, which is the floor below. Everything underneath is stainless steel,” Daniel says. “We do a lot of water features as part of the team that puts them together; we do the metalwork.”

Personnel levels at Metal Engineering & MFG. vary depending on the nature of projects at hand. On a big assignment, the company might use as many as 30 employees, while for most work, the firm relies on a core of roughly 12 staff members. When hiring, the company likes applicants who are “go-getters,” says Bryce. “We try to hire people who mesh well with everyone, too.”

Indeed, the company aims to cultivate a family-like atmosphere, lending out shop trucks, for example, for employees facing car problems. Employees can use the shop trucks to save on repair bills. For their part, employees are expected to be honest and focused on quality. “I tell every employee, whether they’re new or old, ‘If there’s a mistake made, don’t try to hide it. Just come up and say, ‘Hey, I messed up’ and let’s try to figure out how to fix it,’” he tells us.

In terms of quality, “I never want to hear the words, ‘It’s good enough.’ Any company can do good enough. They’re not hiring us to do good enough; they’re hiring us to do better,” adds Daniel. “We’ve got to try to make this the best that we can. If something doesn’t work right, we’ll step back and see what happened: ‘What caused this?’ Then we’ll correct it.”

In a similar fashion, Metal Engineering & MFG. takes a strict line on safety, with regular safety meetings and ample and readily available PPE.

Promotion of Metal Engineering & MFG. is largely a matter of word-of-mouth endorsements. The company does attend trade shows but primarily relies on customer referrals or general contractors hiring it back for new projects. Being that the company is still relatively small, “I would say the biggest challenge is that the industry is kind of changing—more and more companies are favoring big business, big corporations. What we’re doing to solve that problem is really focusing on our quality and our customer service,” says Bryce.

The team is also pondering the possibilities of opening an operation in Florida, perhaps in tandem with some customer operations. “We’re in talks to see if that’s a viable option,” Bryce says. And of course, the company can’t wait to start using its laser welding solution once it arrives.

Looking ahead, “We want to continue to be more of a leader in technology,” Bryce asserts. “That’s the biggest thing with metal manufacturing—integrating technology into what you’re doing and not being afraid of it, whether that’s integrating an AI model into our quoting services, laser welding, or any other new technology that’s coming up. There are a lot of new things emerging right now.”

The post From the Silver Screen to Casinos and Beyond<p class="company">Metal Engineering & MFG.</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

This impressive data was compiled by industry research firm FMI Consulting of Raleigh, North Carolina, for the benefit of the Modular Building Institute (MBI). Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, the nonprofit institute represents modular construction companies around the world.

While pleased with the findings, there was “nothing too shocking for me” in the FMI reports, given the popularity of modular construction, says MBI Executive Director Tom Hardiman.

“Everybody’s talking about housing. Local governments, state governments, federal governments… The Canadian government is pushing their Build Canada Homes initiative and modular is at the forefront of it,” states Hardiman, referring to a new Canadian government agency that aims to create more affordable housing.

There are two main types of modular buildings: permanent structures featuring foundations, often used for housing, healthcare, education, or office space. Relocatable modular buildings, as their name implies, are moveable, and this category consists of school portables, temporary housing for workers, emergency disaster shelters, and the like.

Multifamily residential is leading the permanent modular market in America, accounting for $7.1 billion in project value last year, and this is expected to rise to $11.3 billion by 2029, according to FMI’s 2025 United States Permanent Modular Construction Industry Report. Office-use buildings accounted for $1.4 billion in U.S. permanent modular construction last year, and this sector is expected to top $2 billion in 2029. For its part, the relocatable modular market generated $4.7 billion in total U.S. revenues in 2024.

In Canada, the multifamily modular market was valued at CDN$2.16 billion in 2024, followed by the commercial sector at CDN$644 million, education buildings at CDN$495 million, office space at CDN$135 million, and healthcare facilities at just under CDN$100 million, as reported by the FMI’s 2025 Canadian Permanent Modular Construction Industry Report. The reports cited speed to market and cost efficiency as leading drivers of the modular market.

In modular construction, sections of a building are built offsite in a factory. Large modules are shipped to a worksite and put together somewhat like massive building blocks. Steel and wood frames and concrete are the primary materials used in modular construction, and light-gauge steel framing is particularly popular for low-rise modular buildings. Only a handful of modules are needed to complete a structure; traditional construction, by contrast, is primarily conducted at the building site using countless parts and pieces.

Modular construction is safer, speedier, more sustainable, and less expensive than conventional methods, say advocates. Since modular building requires fewer workers and less on-site work, it can help ease soaring housing costs. And modular homes are constructed in controlled factory settings, which is “much safer than working outside, hanging off a building 10 stories up,” adds Hardiman.

Modular construction also produces less waste than traditional construction, which typically generates bins of scrap which are shipped to landfill sites. With modular, leftover lumber and other materials can be set aside in the factory for use in future projects.

MBI has approximately 700 members around the world, the majority of whom are from the permanent modular sector as mergers and acquisitions have reduced the size of the relocatable modular segment. Canada accounts for approximately 80 members, while Europe has roughly 60. Interest in modular building is growing in these regions, says Hardiman, who points to MBI’s recent World of Modular Europe event in Madrid, Spain in October. In Canada, newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to tackle housing issues, and Build Canada Homes was launched September 14, 2025, under his auspices. MBI has worked with Canada for years and continues to meet representatives there to talk about the sector.

MBI hosts its annual Awards of Distinction to salute notable achievements by its members. MODLOGIQ, a Pennsylvania-based commercial modular construction firm, took first place this year in the Permanent Modular Healthcare category, for its work on a 100,000-square-foot hospital called the Athens Medical Campus. About 95 percent of this four-story hospital facility was prefabricated in Pennsylvania before being shipped to Athens, Ohio and assembled. Waste was drastically reduced on the project and much of the material was recycled.

“This approach prevented 400 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, recycled 230 tons of materials, and significantly cut project costs,” notes an MBI case study.

“The community got their hospital completed a year early, so it was a great story for the community and our industry,” marvels Hardiman.

On the political stage, MBI continues to grapple with the long wake of the Davis-Bacon Act. Passed during the Great Depression, the act mandated that companies pay local prevailing wages to laborers and mechanics employed on government-funded public works projects. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor announced plans to tweak the act so its provisions included modular construction. Given that this would drastically raise costs for the industry, MBI lobbied hard against these changes. The U.S. Department of Labor eventually scuttled plans to modify the act. While this was a victory for MBI at the federal level, the fight continues.

“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing now is a lot of states taking up ‘Little Davis-Bacon’ [Acts]. We had Oregon and New York pass bills this year to expand prevailing wage rates into modular factories for state-funded projects—schools, housing, healthcare,” Hardiman states. MBI is working hard to rescind such bills or convince state legislators not to pass new ones.

Pushback against modular construction might stem from the sector’s growing mainstream acceptance, which threatens the conventional construction industry, Hardiman suggests. MBI runs an initiative called the Modular Advocacy Program (MAP) to raise funds for awareness campaigns. Fundraising has enabled MBI to hire a national public relations firm which arranges interviews and produces news articles; in Canada, another public relations firm performs a similar on behalf of MBI. The institute also maintains a foundation for public education.

The goal of all this activity is to highlight the benefits of modular construction while dispelling stereotypes, since people often confuse modular buildings with trailer homes, for example. These efforts are starting to bear fruit, says Hardiman. “We’re finding more groups like architects, engineers, contractors, are reaching out to us and saying, ‘We have modular on the agenda. Can you speak to us?’ Whereas in the past, it wasn’t on their agenda,” he shares.

In addition, MBI continues its work with the International Code Council (ICC) to implement modular construction standards. MBI is encouraging legislators to adopt standards it has produced in collaboration with the ICC. These include ICC/MBI 1200, which covers planning, fabrication, assembly, and design in off-site modular construction, and ICC/MBI 1205, which concerns regulatory compliance and inspection. These standards have been adopted by Utah, Virginia, and other states.

MBI also has a close relationship with the University of New Brunswick—which features an off-site construction research center—and the American Institute of Architecture Students. In addition, MBI works with universities in proximity to its annual World of Modular conferences and offers scholarships to students who want to attend its annual conference in the U.S. “Last year, we had 50 students come there; we pay for it. We just think, if we want to get the best and brightest students, they should be at the industry conference meeting people,” says Hardiman.

MBI also offers details about careers in the sector as well as job postings as part of its careers in modular construction campaign. “Anyone can send us their résumé and then we try to matchmake with our members. [We provide] a portal for careers in our industry.”

With an eye toward cultivating the next generation of skilled workers, the future looks very bright, with the U.S. modular market forecast to hit $25.4 billion in 2029, based on a 4.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to FMI. The Canadian modular market is estimated to reach CDN$6.4 billion that same year based on a five percent CAGR, adds FMI.

As for further growth potential, Hardiman cites the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure published earlier this year by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). While the report focused on non-residential structures such as transit (which earned a D), ports (B), and rail (B minus), it also covered aviation and schools, both of which received dismal D+ grades. When all results were compiled, U.S. infrastructure earned a C overall.

While this is actually an improvement on previous ASCE scores, Hardiman was unimpressed. “We’ve got to do better,” he says. “I’m not suggesting that modular is going to solve all the problems, but I think it’s time to take a fresh look at how we build.”

The post Big Gains Ahead for Modular Construction<p class="company">Modular Building Institute </p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

Founded in 2014, Wind River Built used to focus exclusively on tiny homes—that is, small, comparatively inexpensive residences on wheels. The firm was featured on the hit reality show Tiny House Nation and gained a reputation as a premier builder in this sector. In recent years, it has tweaked its business model and expanded into modular construction.

“It was more of a shift in where we think the bulk of our business is going to come from,” explains Director of Business Development, Amelia Dicks. “We will never fully move away from building tiny homes on wheels.”

Modular buildings have foundations and are fashioned from segments built in factories. These segments, or modules, are transported to the building site then fitted together like huge building blocks. Offering a faster, cheaper, and greener alternative to traditional construction processes—in which residences are erected at a building site—modular construction is rapidly gaining in popularity.

Production is carried out at Wind River Built’s 100,000-square-foot plant on 30 acres of land. The company runs a single shift at the moment, built around a shortened week as production crews work 10 hours a day, 4 days a week. Production staff enjoy their three-day weekends, and such a schedule “is part of our culture that everyone seems to enjoy and appreciate,” says Dicks.

The company’s production duties are all self-performed. “We do everything in-house. We have our own cabinet shop, paint booth, spray foam, we do HVAC in-house,” Dicks notes with pride. “We don’t have any subcontractors.” The company does, however, partner with third parties who install its modular buildings. The team works with developers and designers who approach the firm with design concepts that it then brings to fruition, and also offers model designs for modular buildings which can be viewed on the company website.

The factory complies with industry standards from the ICC NTA, an International Code Council organization that certifies modular buildings. When it comes to tiny homes, Wind River Built adheres to American National Standards Institute 119.5 to certify the tiny homes as Park Model RV’s through Pacific West Associates, an engineering firm that provides consultation and quality assurance services for the tiny home niche.

This intense focus on quality is a key element in ‘The Wind River Difference,’ a company ethos that also encompasses excellence and community spirit, says Dicks. That difference is all about “care for both our people and our products,” she says. “It really does translate into everything our clients get from Wind River Built: carefully-crafted products and a customer experience that makes them know they found the right build partner. We’ll welcome anyone to our shop to see and feel this for themselves.”

The Wind River Difference is clearly having an impact; earlier this year, the company won a prestigious Excellence in Innovation Award from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of East Tennessee.

We last spoke with Wind River Built in November of 2024, and at that time, “We had just released our Hospitality series,” says Dicks. “Hospitality has been a great industry for us, but we also care deeply about building homes for people. So, since our last interview, we’ve released a few signature residential models and have a few more that will be online soon,” she says.

The hospitality sector is still the company’s largest market at present, and designs include the Nova (286 square feet in size with a gable roof, open sleeping area, kitchenette, private bath, and dining area) and the Ronan, which is 390 square feet with floor to ceiling windows and a private sauna. Other hospitality designs include the Rogue (small at 180 square feet, it still offers a porch, coffee bar, and spaces for living and sleeping) and the Wind River Sauna (104 square feet, complete with a private outdoor shower).

For all that, the company’s most popular modular design is a residential model called the Cascade, Dicks tells us. This model home features one bathroom, a pair of bedrooms, and an open floor plan. The house exterior is 43’ long, 25’ wide, and 13’ tall, with 700 square feet of interior space and a base price under $200,000. She attributes the Cascade’s popularity to the fact that “it’s hard to find single family homes at that footprint size… built with traditional construction anymore.”

Given its diminutive footprint, the Cascade could also fit into the emerging accessory dwelling unit (ADU) category, she adds. Sometimes called ‘granny flats,’ these units are secondary residences located on the property of an existing home. They are often small and, as their nickname implies, frequently house older relatives who want to live independently but remain close to their families, or young adults preparing to launch. ADUs can also be used as guest houses for short-term visitors.

While Wind River Built is eager to explore opportunities in the ADU market, permitting and extensive paperwork can make it a challenge to get such units installed. Obtaining pre-approval for building plans from municipalities would be one way to speed this process along, Dicks says. The company is also looking to expand its presence in the student and workforce housing sector as well as the single- and multi-family residential sector.

Regardless of the sector involved, almost all of the firm’s projects are based in the Southeast, Tennessee in particular. That said, “We are actively pursuing development projects across the country and have been approached with some bid requests for the Caribbean and other islands,” Dicks shares.

The company currently has 110 employees and in terms of new hires, “We look to find people that fit with our culture, that want to grow with us. We look for people with integrity… that want to do good work and be part of something that’s meaningful and fulfilling for them.” Led by an accessible, open-minded team, the company is “not corporate,” she says. “Everyone gets a voice.”

Non-corporate as it may be, Wind River Built is starting to land some big contracts. One project mentioned when we last spoke, to build 75 cabins for a resort in the Great Smoky Mountains, has since been completed. The cabins are done, pending installation.

To keep growing, the company attends trade shows, is active on social media, and engages in old-fashioned networking, the latter involving “finding people we want to work with and reaching out to them.” Wind River Built also hosts events at its own facility and takes on in-house projects that showcase its talents and the benefits of modular construction. At the time of our interview, the team was in the process of having a Cascade model modular home installed in Signal Mountain, a town near Chattanooga. VIPs and “people who may be modular-skeptic—who haven’t seen a modular home before” have been invited to view the residence, says Dicks.

Another project involves the installation of a Cascade home on a parcel of land donated by the Chattanooga Land Bank Authority, an affordable housing organization. This partnership is one of Wind River Built’s latest charitable endeavors. The firm has also worked with North Carolina-based nonprofit group, Patriot Relief, to build homes for victims of Hurricane Helene. The team assists with classes that raise awareness about the trades, supports the United Way, and regularly picks up litter as part of an Adopt-a-Highway effort as well.

The company also maintains an internal ‘Helping Hand Fund’ that is used to assist “our Wind River Built family as well as community members,” says Dicks, and has a committee that brainstorms team-building exercises that often involve a philanthropic component.

Going forward, the company may build another facility on its property. It also aims to cement relationships with designers and architects as it takes on larger assignments.

“A lot of developers will go to their existing professional team, which might include [architects and designers], asking about modular, and then those architects and designers are tasked with finding manufacturers,” Dicks explains. “So, we’ve been putting more effort into expanding those relationships and we encourage people to reach out to us if there’s interest in doing developments with modular construction.”

Wind River Built is also determined to educate politicians and the public about the benefits of modular construction. While becoming more commonplace, many people still mistakenly associate modular with lower-quality trailer homes. “We have to talk to municipalities, talk to the community, help them understand that these are real residential homes, and they’re of a high quality,” notes Dicks.

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As to what helped DY Concrete make it to the 10-year mark, Vice President and Co-Owner Jason Delehay cites its commitment to customer support.

“We build our business around customer service and support, and that’s something we’re really proud of,” he says. “In the concrete pump industry, when you have issues, it’s very rare that those problems occur at one in the afternoon; it’s always one in the morning, so we have people in place that answer our phones. They can direct an operator on a jobsite, troubleshoot on how to get around problems, and diagnose issues.”

The company’s pumps are manufactured by South Korean company, DY Innovate (DYI). DY Concrete imports these pumps and then adds electrical, mechanical, driveline components, and other finishing touches. The fully-assembled pumps are then sold to clients through a sales network spanning Canada and the United States.

Used to pour and pump concrete at worksites, the company’s pumps fall into two main categories: line pumps and boom pumps. Line pumps have stationary pumping units and can be mounted on trailers or trucks. These compact pumps use hoses for pouring purposes and are well-suited for foundations, driveways, and other residential projects requiring concrete. Trailer or truck mounted boom pumps are much larger, with elongated boom arms that move vast amounts of concrete. Boom pumps are typically used for big projects like parking lots, high-rises, and airports. DY’s pumps feature a user-friendly design and 360-degree continuous swing-boom technology.

New products include the TP-30 trailer pump, which augments the existing TP-50 and TP-70 line. Powered by a 140-hp Tier 4 Final engine, the TP-30 has an output of 50 cubic yards an hour on its rod side and 34 cubic yards on its piston side. Small-size trailer pumps such as the TP-30, meanwhile, are efficient in demanding or cramped worksites.

The 38X-5ZR is a more sizeable addition to DY’s product line. With a vertical reach of 37.5 meters, horizontal reach of 33.5 meters, and output of 160 cubic meters an hour on the rod side and 108 cubic meters an hour on the piston side, this massive boom pump was built to “Midwest spec,” says Delehay. This means the 38X-5ZR was built to meet technical specifications required by Midwestern states, including regulations regarding cold-weather conditions.

Also on deck is a new 20-meter pump called the 20X-4Z which will feature “the lowest unfolding height in its class in North America,” and should be “mounted and ready for delivery in early Q1,” he shares.

In addition to its product line, the company maintains a parts and service branch in Calgary, Alberta, is partnered with a sub-dealer in Ohio, and is starting to work with a service sub-center in North Carolina. And now, the company’s much anticipated e-commerce site, which will enable customers to order parts and equipment online, is in the final testing phase. If all goes to plan, the e-commerce platform will launch this fall. “Anything related to a concrete pump will be available on that site,” Delehay notes.

While the site welcomes all clients, smaller companies should find the platform particularly helpful. Businesses with only one or two pumps run by a time-pressed owner who has to pump concrete themselves will appreciate having a quick, convenient method for ordering parts and components. DY will deliver parts directly to clients based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and ship to customers elsewhere via the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. “Whether it’s FedEx, UPS, or putting it on air cargo, we can pretty much provide the majority of the United States and Canada with quick overnight delivery,” says Delehay.

Of all DY’s new products, its virtual reality (VR) simulator might be the most attention grabbing. Produced through collaboration between DY engineers and programmers in South Korea, the VR simulator gives users the realistic feeling that they are pouring concrete from a pump. “We’ve got a lot of really good feedback on it,” says Marketing Director Braden Huggins. “The operators were very impressed with the realistic nature of it. Of course, you don’t have the vibrations (or your concrete guy yelling at you!) but operators said as far as the functions, it’s really spot-on. We’re hoping this will be a good training tool for DY customers.”

The VR simulator was a hit at an in-house ‘pump rodeo’ the company hosted in June to celebrate its 10^th anniversary. An obstacle course in which participants had to maneuver a boom pump around a variety of impediments was another popular draw with rodeo attendees.

The company hopes to make the simulator commercially available in the near future as it was also a key attraction at the company’s booth at the last World of Concrete (WOC) event. WOC is “the industry’s only annual international tradeshow dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry industries,” in the words of organizers, and it is also one of DY Concrete’s pivotal promotional forums. The team is already gearing up to display its trailer pump lineup at WOC 2026, and the company is also actively involved with the American Concrete Pumping Association (ACPA) trade association.

Looking ahead, DY Concrete Pumps aims to increase the amount of community and charitable work it does. “As a company, we’ve looked for more charity opportunities with our local community,” says Huggins. A food drive held last Christmas was a big success, with staff donating a significant amount of canned goods. This year the company is launching a breast cancer awareness campaign. One of the company’s trucks will be decked out for this campaign and showcased at the next WOC show as well as local community events and parades. People will be encouraged to add the name of a loved one who has been affected by breast cancer on the side of the vehicle. DY Concrete has also supported local animal shelters and Future Farmers of America (FFA) groups. This caring attitude is typical for people who are part of what Delehay calls “the DY family.”

“Whether it’s employees or customers, when you’re underneath the DY umbrella, you’re treated like family and treated with respect, and that goes a long way,” he says. “We’re continuing to build a culture here where people are proud to come to work. People are proud to represent our brand outside of work as well. You’ll see employees at personal functions wearing DY brand clothing.”

The notion of a family is not just metaphorical; Delehay and his father Joe are the owners of the company, and clients have “direct access to the owners. You don’t have to go to a board of directors and wait two weeks to hear something if you have an issue with your truck. We’re all about making sure we get things done right away and get things done the right way,” he says.

In terms of challenges, the company has been buffeted by some economic headwinds as of late, with the workforce dropping from roughly 80 employees at the time we previously spoke to around 55 today. “There’s been a little bit of uncertainty in the market this year,” says Delehay. “Talk of wars and political challenges have made people kind of hit the brakes a bit. Interest rates are still higher than where they should be, and everyone right now is dealing with the ever-changing world of tariffs. These seem to change every other week. Of course, that affects our cost and retail pricing.”

When the company does ramp up again and hire new staff, it will likely focus on youth. “We’re always looking for that younger generation,” Delehay states. “We’re looking at building with people who want to be here for the long term. If they have a good attitude, then they can build a career with DY.”

He is optimistic about the future and proud of the company’s heritage. “In 10 years, we’ve had a lot of growth. We’ve exceeded people’s expectations of where we’d go in 10 years… we want to be able to say we’re the best overall when it comes to service and supporting our customers.”

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