A true family affair, Terry Horton joined his brother Donald’s company, D. R. Horton, helping him build homes in Dallas-Fort Worth. He eventually raised his son Trent in the home construction industry, where he instilled a love of the business and a wealth of knowledge in the young man from an early age.

“That was my upbringing, with the early beginnings of that company,” says founder Trent Horton. “Lots of other family members joined; eventually they hired outside the family, and it kept going.”

After leaving that company in early 2001, Terry and his son Trent focused on land development. They launched back into the construction industry in 2009, later restructuring to establish Kindred Homes. Seeking expansion, they partnered with Todd Miller’s Glacier Custom Homes in 2018, enhancing the company’s portfolio with a luxury product line.

“Now operating as Kindred Homes, we’re finding our way to grow into a larger company,” says Horton. “Expanding will allow us to achieve a little bit greater scale, which we believe will enhance our stability. Being very small isn’t always as helpful as you may think, so our focus is on making daily efforts to grow.”

After 15 robust years, the team is obviously doing something right. Enduring family ties have also helped maintain the company’s success over the years. “If you grow up around it, you learn what not to do by osmosis,” Horton says.

He adds that the industry has changed a lot over the years with the loss of many mid-sized developers, making it harder for small to medium-sized private homebuilding companies to buy finished lots in neighborhoods.

“Although it can be a negative to be smaller because of all the big fish, it allows us to really have a focus on our customers and make modifications or changes quickly,” says Todd Miller, Partner. “Something we’ve been working on over the past few years is improving our customer service and having a nine-point process of how we go through this cycle and engage with our customers.”

It’s largely about communication, he adds—letting clients know what the company is offering and ensuring it’s communicated correctly, as well as communicating throughout the entire process to guarantee the quality expected is being delivered.

“That’s something we’ve improved greatly over the last 18 months with some of the people we’ve brought on,” Miller says. “Plus the ability to allow customers to personalize their home. That’s where we’re different from some builders we compete with; we allow some modifications and are more flexible with changes, so they feel they’re more bought into and invested in the process,” he shares.

While in larger companies there may be arduous processes involved in decision-making, smaller family-owned companies like Kindred allow questions to be answered and moves made quickly. “Being smaller, when we see things that don’t make sense, it’s a little easier and quicker for us to pull back and reallocate how we’re doing things. It allows us to make more changes that some of the other, larger builders may not be willing to do.” Within the Dallas area, Kindred builds around 100 to 200 houses a year, so the company is not so big that it can’t adjust quickly.

“As we aim to grow, it’s important for us to provide a superior customer experience, so that our buyers want to share with their friends and family how much they enjoyed building with us,” says Miller.

Word of mouth is always an appreciated method of earning new business, he adds. “That’s an important part of our business, those second, third, fourth buyer referrals, and we’ve worked hard to foster that,” says Miller. “We also use a service called Avid Ratings to gather feedback on our customers’ experiences, helping us continuously improve and meet their expectations every time.”

That commitment to quality customer service trickles down to how employees are treated. Kindred Homes was built on strong family ties and values that continue to this day.

“It’s truly a family feel here,” Miller says. “Culture has changed in business to be more employee-centric, and we’ve done a good job in getting our employees to understand they’re important. We try to share what we’re doing and welcome their input.”

Both Horton and Miller believe their company’s culture is only continuing to improve, as evidenced by high retention. “We’ve got a consistent team, and that consistency is something we’re really proud of,” says Miller.

“We’re all approachable, which feels good to people,” adds Horton. “There’s stability in a smaller company and it feels more like a family.”

“Kindred does feel like family. We know each other well—not only regarding work matters but also our personal lives.” agrees Courtney Castleberry, Marketing Manager. “What stands out to me is the commitment you get to see from senior leadership. They set the standard and work closely with every department to help us grow and succeed. This close-knit environment is a key highlight of working at a smaller company.”

The company’s personable approach extends to its charitable works as well. This includes its Hometown Heroes program, which supports educators, law enforcement, nurses, and other city workers, as well as the team’s ongoing contributions to local Toys for Tots initiatives. For example, Kindred Homes has participated in Toys for Tots year after year, with more than 250 toys donated last year alone. “We ask all of our employees to engage in our charity efforts,” says Castleberry, “but we also invite community members to join in giving back by providing donation boxes in each of our model home communities and hosting events in partnership with Toys for Tots. It’s been wonderful to witness the collaborative involvement.”

On the industry side, Kindred Homes is currently focused on growing Dallas-Fort Worth which is a “massive” market for housing, offering a significant opportunity for the company. And while Kindred already stands out through personalization and customization, another point of difference is the value the company can add to a community.

The aim is to “thoughtfully expand our portfolio of communities over time,” says Horton. “If we have an opportunity to go into a neighborhood that doesn’t make a lot of sense for us in terms of our product, the way we build, or who we’re competing against, it would be a thoughtful thing to say no, and instead grow in communities where we can be who we are, do what we feel we’re the best at, and profitably grow that way.”

Being authentic by holding to the company’s own vision and plans for future success is important to Kindred, he adds.

“You could just grow by buying lots, regardless of whether they make sense, but we’re going to buy lots that allow us to be successful for the people we put in those neighborhoods,” agrees Miller. “We’re not just going to grow for the sheer sake of revenue but to be thoughtful, so we can manage our balance sheets and also manage our day-to-day operations.”

Kindred’s competitive advantages also include better salespeople, better customer service, and better construction, Horton adds. Instead of just looking at a price point alone, big builders often compete head-to-head on price in certain communities, and whoever has the lowest cost of goods will have the most comfortable margins. “We’re not really focused on that, not really interested in competing that way,” he says. “I do believe the market is large and differentiated enough so that we can find the appropriate communities and grow over time.”

Naturally, affordability is also an ongoing concern for this team, Horton says, with customers’ incomes not keeping up with growing inflation, fuel costs, utilities, property taxes, and insurance over the years. “I’m shocked and surprised—but thankful—that consumers have held on as long as they have, but in talking to friends and family at all different income levels, their grocery costs are two and a half to three times what they were two years ago,” says Horton.

However, housing prices have outpaced inflation over the last three decades, he adds, which is beneficial on the investment side. “We’ve proven time and again that the greatest creation of wealth for most families is through their home. If we can somehow get that average family or average person in a house, it’s a forced savings account that should appreciate over time.”

Kindred’s commitment to building quality homes while holding to its personal vision and family values is made easier by its ability to attract and retain high-level and high-quality employees, allowing the company to ultimately provide a better product, adds Miller.

“It’s part of the culture, that it’s truly a family-owned and operated business. Everyone is treated the same way and enjoys coming here and hanging out for eight hours or more a day,” he says. “And we have the projects ahead. We encourage everyone to work hard, but we also like to play hard together. That’s what’s important to us.”

The post Family First – Roots Run Deep at Kindred Homes<p class="company">Kindred Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The oldest privately-owned homebuilder in Texas, HistoryMaker marked its 75^th anniversary this year. The company designs homes that are aesthetically pleasing, economical, and environmentally friendly. Some structural elements are built off-site for the sake of efficiency and speed, and energy saving measures include insulated glass, high-efficiency air conditioning, Energy Star rated appliances, and LED light bulbs. High-tech features include WiFi garage door openers and thermostats, easily accessible wiring, and hard-wired connectivity.

In addition to building homes, HistoryMaker provides its customers with links and information about lenders and insurance via its website. The company site also explains the multi-step method for buying a home from them. The “HistoryMaker Process” begins with a purchase agreement, then a loan application, and a conditional approval letter. Next, if all goes to plan, the client is invited to make an appointment at the HistoryMaker showroom to select their preferred flooring and cabinetry, along with other features, finishes, and flourishes.

Further steps include a “pre-drywall meeting” (homeowners are invited to inspect installed plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems prior to drywall going up), a quality inspection, then closing. HistoryMaker offers a warranty and maintains a dedicated customer service team to assist homeowners with any issues they might have after moving in.

The HistoryMaker website is packed with pictures of beautiful homes the company has built. The residences offer a sturdy looking elegance, with clean lines, appealing façades, and family-friendly touches such as spacious yards, patios, and porches. Videos of completed homes are also available, as are digital tours of potential floorplans. Prospective homeowners can investigate the company’s floorplans, move-in homes, and communities in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio.

A blog on the HistoryMaker website contains articles about the financial benefits of homeownership, popular residential communities, and stylistic suggestions (“Embracing Biophilic Design: Bringing Nature into Your Home” is the headline on a recent post).

HistoryMaker Homes traces its lineage to O.N. Mitchell Sr., a grocery store meat department manager who launched his own business, Mitchell’s Grocery, in East Fort Worth in 1946. Health issues ensued, however, and O.N. Mitchell’s physician recommended he seek new employment that involved fresh air and less stress. As a result, O.N. Mitchell got into the house-building business. His timing was excellent—servicemen were flooding back after World War II and looking to set down roots, some of them benefiting from government home loan guaranty programs for veterans.

In 1949, O.N. Mitchell Sr. and his son, O.N. Mitchell Jr., constructed and then sold their first home for approximately $5,000 (the equivalent of roughly $66,000 today, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator website). The firm built and sold more homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex region and achieved such success it began to develop entire communities. The first such community, established in 1958 in Arlington, Texas, consisted of 160 single-family residences, the priciest of which was listed at $9,995 (about $108,000 today).

O.N. Mitchell Sr. passed away in September 1977, but the company he created and the values he espoused such as hard work, a family focus, and religious commitment, continued to flourish. The firm took an innovative approach in response to economic conditions. When gas prices and mortgage rates increased dramatically in the late 1970s, HistoryMaker began selling homes with 1.5 story floorplans that incorporated an unfinished room over the garage. Homeowners could save money on costs and finish this room at their own speed.

In the mid-1990s, Nelson Mitchell joined the firm, eventually becoming the fourth generation of the Mitchell family to lead the company. Under Nelson Mitchell’s watch, HistoryMaker grew rapidly, with closings soaring from 412 in 2009 to 800 in 2016, according to Builder magazine’s annual Builder 100 list. By 2022, closings had risen to 1,267 and HistoryMaker was ranked 57^th on the Builder 100 list. Things have since slowed a bit (2023 closings totaled 927) but the company remains firmly entrenched in the top echelon of American homebuilders.

A few other things have happened in recent years: in 2017, Lane Wright became HistoryMaker’s first president who wasn’t part of the Mitchell family. Also, HistoryMaker established a presence in Houston then San Antonio, Texas, in addition to its Dallas-Fort Worth base.

Building and selling homes isn’t all that matters to this long-lived company. HistoryMaker has long been involved in charitable and community endeavors. The firm has raised millions of dollars for women’s shelters, food banks, the Miracle League (an organization that enables disabled children to play baseball), and Homes for Hope (homebuilders who construct a house then sell it, with proceeds going to assist low-income people).

Indeed, HistoryMaker has earned industry kudos for its charitable work. In 2022, CEO Nelson Mitchell accepted a Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award (an honor that “recognizes home builders who demonstrate a lifetime commitment to public service” in the organization’s words).

Recently, HistoryMaker was involved in a high-profile initiative to right a decades-old wrong involving African-American civil rights leader Dr. Opal Lee. In the late 1930s, when she was a little girl, racism and vandalism drove the Lee family from their home in the Historic Southside Neighborhood of Fort Worth. Habitat for Humanity, HistoryMaker Homes, and other companies recently joined forces to build a new home for Dr. Lee on the site of her original family residence.

2024 has been a momentous year for the firm; Zac Thompson became president following the retirement of Lane Wright, and HistoryMaker marked a milestone anniversary. While home styles, technology, and designs have changed since the early days of the firm, HistoryMaker’s values remain intact as the firm moves forward.

These core values include high performance (“We believe high-impact outcomes are driven by a culture that is built on respect and trust, and transparency,” reads the website), accountability, customer service, and “Christ-Centered Heartbeat” (conducting business with integrity and honesty).

Clearly, these values have served HistoryMaker well, given its transformation from a small outfit run by a former grocer to one of the leading homebuilders in the Lone Star State.

The post Venerable Homebuilder Marks 75 Years Building Houses and Dreams in Texas<p class="company">HistoryMaker Homes</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

A go-to source for rear-ventilated façade systems, SVC provides upscale and environmentally friendly options for building requirements with an RVF system that satisfies all criteria for ecological, sustainable, and ecologically friendly designs thanks to its clever layer structure, which offers a component specifically suited for every exterior wall function.

Continuing the construction legacy of Murray Sommer, Eric Sommer initially started his career in residential home construction, focusing on backyard decks, finished basements, and house framing. With his skills progressing, Eric transitioned to high-end custom home building and later to commercial and industrial projects. His expertise in wood construction led him to work on iconic Canadian structures, including the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Italian Gallery and Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa.

When the company restructured in 2015, Patricia Overgaard came on board. Together they discovered Ultra-High Performance Concrete and recognized it as a building material with the potential to transform architecture while minimizing environmental impact.

Currently manufacturing a number of products, including Flat UHPC wall panels in sizes 1220mm x 3660mm x 14mm up to 38mm; curved, shaped, and flat architectural concrete building elements as large as 3.6m x 7.5m x 75mm or as required; Dream Wall insulated concrete panels made with 1” of UHPC on the inside as well as the outside that can achieve R-values as high as R100; and iClad thermally broken attachment systems made from galvanized steel or stainless steel, SVCs’ main advantage is the capacity to complete intricate projects that call for a great deal of mold creation and careful engineering to realize the vision of the building designer.

“With the technology that Spring Valley has developed for flat panels, we are able to provide the market with a mass-produced panel with threaded holes in the back of the panel in a 150mm grid to facilitate the panel’s attachment to the building,” says Sommer.

With a focus on full building envelopes, SVC provides a comprehensive array of services and products. Regardless of budgetary constraints or price ranges, the business can collaborate with a client to attain their ideal results.

Producing UHPC is Sommer’s and SVC’s main priority and CAAST (Concrete Art and Applied Science Technology) is its hallmark product. Described as a “unique product,” CAAST concrete is fully engineered, combining particle density theory and chemistry to formulate concrete that can do the required job.

Depending on the project at hand, Spring Valley produces two types of concrete: Ultra-High Performance and High Performance. These types of concrete are primarily distinguished by their overall strength. UHPC is 120 MPA and beyond, while HPC is 90 to 120 MPA. While most projects are best suited for HPC, when a project calls for it, UHPC can be implemented. Concrete selection is influenced by a number of parameters, including water resistance and flexural strength, and for those at SVC, all of these considerations must be taken into account.

Sustainability and environmental concerns also benefit from SVC’s capacity to create thin concrete profiles. Due to the carbon footprint cement production leave behind, as well as related problems with mining and transportation, concrete has a negative reputation, and Sommer suggests one solution is simply using less.

Making investments in concrete innovation and sustainability has been part of SVC’s mission since the company began its journey into UHPC, and innovations have included mold making techniques, mold design, attachment methodology, and mixes with different properties and aggregates to create the appearance that is called for while maintaining the structural objectives.

“We are committed to fulfilling the design visions that architects task us with, which calls for a lot of out-of-the-box thinking,” says Sommer. “Our commitment to innovation reaches beyond architecture to innovative infrastructure applications currently under development.”

One of the company’s initial attractions to UHPC technology was the sustainability of the material. A building clad with UHPC uses less material than standard precast; UHPC panels can be made as thin as ½”. Another important aspect of sustainability is durability, in which case UHPC is an unparalleled material.

“The past 20 years have seen significant advancements in precast concrete technology, with the introduction of UHPC playing a key role in driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in precast concrete construction,” says Patti Overgaard, Marketing and Sales. “UHPC’s superior strength, durability, and resistance to corrosion allow for thinner and lighter components, and its refined nature and moldability allow for more aesthetically pleasing and creative architectural projects.”

Additionally, advancements in production methods—such as digital fabrication techniques and automation—have also allowed for more precise and efficient manufacturing of precast concrete elements. “This has increased the quality and consistency of precast concrete products, leading to faster and more cost-effective construction processes,” she adds.

The increased requirements for improved thermal performance of building envelopes require thicker insulation in the wall assembly, and UHPC allows designers to use precast concrete without the need to increase the thickness of the wall.

Some of SVC’s notable projects are notable indeed, including 1 Park Row, a high-rise in Manhattan where UHPC was the chosen material as thin profiles allowed the architect to optimize the space within the residential units. This 23-storey mixed-use building in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District, designed by Fogarty Finger Architects and developed by Circle F Capital, received a $90 million construction loan from Parkview Financial in 2021. The 305-foot-tall structure will yield 103,000 square feet with 58 condominium units in one- to three-bedroom layouts, along with 19,000 square feet of office and retail space on the lower levels.

This reinforced concrete superstructure features wooden formwork aiding in settling the newly poured concrete. Meanwhile, the voids of the window grid are steadily being lined with blue insulation boards in preparation for the installation of the floor-to-ceiling glass envelope and interstitial spandrels, which will be spaced at two-storey intervals.

The LiUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) Local 183 Headquarters in Toronto is another highlight. The project features UHPC, chosen due to its aesthetic appeal. “The reduced weight and ability to cast complex forms made it an ideal solution to achieve the architect’s design,” says Overgaard.

Some challenges the company has faced recently include the quality and availability of raw materials, adds Sommer. “Spring Valley’s clients are constantly pushing us to develop solutions and details for their projects as they push the material to new limits,” he says. “The demand for CAAST concrete has grown exponentially, requiring significant investment in people and equipment.”

Despite these challenges, SVC has enjoyed a number of highlights and accomplishments recently, including its current work producing 3D cladding for its first tower in NYC. “We have developed multiple proprietary mix designs as well as a thermally broken substructure system to attach the panels to the building,” says Sommer. “Our iClad system was designed to meet the budget and energy requirements of the building.”

Additionally, Spring Valley’s CAAST UHPC is gaining a foothold in the market and is being specified by architects throughout North America.

Looking ahead, SVC’s planned transition into a purpose-built facility will allow the company to integrate all learning while enhancing efficiency and productivity to meet the growing demand for UHPC products.

When it comes to what sets SVC apart from similar companies, there are a number of factors. “We recently purchased a large-format laser machine just to fulfill the design objectives of one project,” says Overgaard. “We also manufacture our own thermally broken substructure system which allows us to modify and customize it as necessary to accommodate project-specific needs.” SVC has also designed a mold that allows the company to cast anchors in place which results in higher pull-out strengths and less time.

“Our willingness to take on complex projects and 3D geometry is one of our strong points,” says Sommer, adding that other manufacturers focus primarily on standard flat panels as their factories are set up for this type of repeatable production. SVC proudly stands apart, however. “We are happy to create custom colours, molds, and surface finishes for our customers.”

The post Building Core Strength with Concrete Solutions<p class="company">Spring Valley Corp</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

It starts with experience. “We’ve done it for over fifty-plus years,” Vaughn says. “We have been the benchmark leader for a very long time and continue to drive that success with the experience that we have. Our extensive industry experience and expertise in manufacturing metal roofing and wall panels distinguish us from smaller competitors and new entrants in the market. We have the products, the manufacturing, and the know-how,” he says.

“Many of our manufacturing employees and management teams have dedicated their entire careers to this business, becoming true experts in their field. For many of these individuals, this has been their sole job throughout their lives,” he explains. “Our team carries a wealth of experience and industry expertise.”

Of course, there is the product itself. “What sets us apart is the exceptional performance and quality of our products,” Vaughn emphasizes. Fabral’s dedicated team diligently upholds high standards. “We take pride in our operational excellence.”

In another point of difference, sustainably has long been at the forefront. The company’s metal panels are made from partially recycled materials and are fully recyclable at the end of their lifespans. “The product itself is sustainable,” Vaughn notes. “Many of our products have reflective properties, helping to reduce heat absorption and enhance energy efficiency.”

Durability is another important advantage when it comes to sustainability. “Many of our products have a thirty-plus year warranty. So, for most people that put a metal roof on their house, that roof is going to last throughout their lifetime.”

This applies even in tough weather conditions. “The metal, obviously, withstands a lot of natural weathering,” says Vaughn. “You look at some of the coastal regions where there are hurricanes, or some of the areas prone to tornadoes, hail, and fire damage, that metal roofing will withstand some of those harsher elements. The durability of it makes it a sustainable product, unlike shingles or asphalt. Those products, they’re damaged, they fly off the house, they have to be replaced. Well, metal is going to withstand a lot of those harsher climates or elements.”

Fabral supports green building practices and contributes to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. “A lot of our products qualify for LEED,” says Vaughn, and the company goes the extra mile to educate potential customers about how to best utilize these products. “We engage with the design and build community through educational programs, partnerships, and initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable building practices. We work with architects, builders, and other stakeholders to encourage the adoption of green building technologies and methods.”

The company’s commitment to the customer is another key to success. “We pride ourselves on customer service and have an internal customer service department. Each of our manufacturing facilities has dedicated customer service representatives that work inside those facilities, and they’re on the phones, talking with customers daily; they know the customer. They have relationships with those customers.” This builds long-lasting trust between the two parties. “It’s not some automated computer or something like that. There are real people there to talk and support and answer questions and take orders.”

Fabral’s in-house engineering department also gets involved in customer service. “That does play into customer support from a technical standpoint. Many of our competitors lack in-house engineers and typically outsource this work.”

In a recent example, an architect was able to speak directly to an engineer to ask questions in order to obtain a full understanding of the products. “We were able to provide solutions for a particular design and give that architect confidence that this is how to move forward with the design of this project.” These in-house engineers also ensure the products’ quality and durability. “A lot of what they do is product testing and onsite inspections to ensure our products are meeting industry standards for environmentally responsible manufacturing,” says Vaughn.

The company values new technology, ensuring that its products and processes remain relevant. “We have made significant investments in new equipment to make sure that we’re keeping up with technology and are able to innovate and come up with new efficiencies and new ways to better produce products,” he says.

Flack Global Metals acquired Fabral in February 2023, a move that has strengthened the business substantially. The company retained much of its independence but gained valuable support. The fact that Flack is an industry insider is significant. “Having someone who understands the metal business has been very advantageous throughout our organization,” Vaughn explains. “They’ve made huge investments in the organization. We’ve seen that already internally with newly created positions, internal promotions, and upgrades to our facilities.”

The acquisition has also led to increased efficiency. “We’ve cut a lot of waste. That’s attributed to Flack coming in and really understanding the metal supply chain and [having] that knowledge. Flack provides critical support, and insights into all things metal-industry-related.”

The new ownership has also been a good fit when it comes to company culture. “From a cultural standpoint, it’s been a huge injection of positivity,” Vaughn says. “There are a lot of synergies with that acquisition.”

Bringing two teams together has provided new opportunities to troubleshoot and improve the business. “We are able to discuss and brainstorm ideas [with an] industry partner,” and pursue those ideas with an aligned focus for success,” he affirms.

For example, the team has put forth new incentives that have boosted employee retention and engagement, while rewarding performance. “This has led to employees having a stake in the success of the business, and drives us all to be top performers.”

The influence of Jeremy Flack, Flack’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, is being felt throughout the company. “His enthusiasm and his energy have really trickled down throughout the Fabral side of the business, and everybody’s excited,” Vaughn says. “We are optimistic about where we’re going.”

Fabral has several new initiatives in the works.” Says Vaughn, “we are super excited about new opportunities to grow and expand as our future is looking very bright!”

The post Over Half a Century of Success<p class="company">Fabral</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

The ability to work in both the private and public sectors has helped keep the company ahead, especially during tough times. “We’ve got a lot of competition,” says Vice President Allen Hendricks. “A lot of companies that we compete with either just do almost all public or all private, and we found over the years, with economic downturns, that it is good to be involved in both. If the DOT has economic problems, there is still usually private work going, and vice versa. So, it gives us a good balance, and we can ride out those ups and downs in the economy.” The company’s work is about 60 percent public sector projects and 40 percent private.

Another factor that sets the company apart is that it produces its own asphalt. “This year we have 14 asphalt plants between North and South Carolina,” says Hendricks, “and we’ll do $350 million just on the asphalt side.” The team has been strategically growing this side of the business over the last two decades, and the effort has paid off dramatically. “When I started, 21 years ago, we had five asphalt plants, mostly around Charlotte,” he remembers. “We did about $35 million worth of work a year.”

Manufacturing asphalt in house gives the company greater control over quality and cost, and this has obvious advantages. “If we can control our cost to the best extent we can, we can be more competitive in the market,” Hendricks says.

Blythe Construction has been recognized by the industry numerous times for its work. Most recently, the company won a Quality in Construction Award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) for its work on I-85 in Davidson County, North Carolina. “We’ve had several Quality in Construction Awards over the years,” Hendricks shares.

Current notable projects include additional work on I-85 as well as the widening of I-485, which is “probably the most high-profile project around Charlotte right now,” he says. “That’s a big construction and asphalt project. It has almost 700,000 tons of asphalt on it.” Blythe Construction’s work on I-485 is expected to be completed in early 2025.

Whatever the project, the team is always dedicated to safety. “It’s the priority,” says Safety Manager Joshua Jones.

This robust commitment to safety is evident throughout the company, says Safety Director Ross Peters. “It’s our commitment at all levels of the organization, starting with our parent company, and more locally with our present CEO, Alan Cahill. Then it trickles down from there, down to the frontline employees where everybody is engaged in creating a proactive safety culture and a safe environment for our team and our subcontractors to work in every day.”

The company’s approach to safety is holistic. “The strength is there are many different parts that go into it,” Peters says. “It’s training. It’s culture. It’s leadership. All these things help us move forward. We don’t just focus on documenting safety tasks and think that’s it, or focus on safety equipment or PPE and think that’s the answer. We know that those elements are all a part of it, but we know that the team also needs to be aware, through training, of what the hazards are. Additionally, we need to effectively communicate all these elements and hold our team accountable to them in a safe and healthy way.”

Director of Training and Development Tracy Faithful makes sure the company maintains this focus on leadership when it comes to training. She points out that “the leadership development, the soft skills, as people refer to them, are actually the critical skills” that affect the entire company. “Leadership development is integral to our success; it’s our competitive advantage. Because if people don’t feel valued, appreciated, and respected, or find meaning in their work, they will leave the organization,” she says.

The team is not leaving any of this training up to chance. “By implementing evidence-based best practices from multiple disciplines, we’re able to identify gaps in our leadership, empower and grow current leaders, and develop the next generation,” says Faithful. “Tailored coaching and training give our people the support they need to reach their full potential as well as personal and professional goals.”

Of course, the technical side of training is vitally important too, especially when it pertains to safety. “I’m a big advocate of training,” says Jones. “There’s really no sense in focusing on a person’s conduct in the field and how many years of experience they have unless they’ve had proper training, and we have one of the best training programs I’ve ever been involved with.”

This top-of-the-line program always goes the extra mile. For example, when it comes to job safety analysis, “We don’t just hand them paperwork and expect them to know everything about it,” he adds. “We walk them through it… Same thing with our weekly safety talks. We change them up to keep them fresh, but at no point in time do we just hand them off and expect them to know what to do without proper training first.”

The company’s training also gives current employees a chance to move up in the company. “We want to be intentional about upskilling our existing teammates, helping them grow alongside the organization,” Faithful says. “They’ve been with us. They’re dedicated. They’re committed and want to grow.” These dedicated employees “may start, for example, on the end of this shovel today,” but can “end up being a loader operator or an excavator operator as the next step on their career path!”

To move up, employees engage in a combination of hands-on and classroom-based learning, including the use of simulators that can assess both skill and aptitude. “Simulators can assist with the development of muscle memory associated with heavy equipment operation, which helps tremendously before they take the proverbial iron seat on our field training site,” she notes. “Sustained and focused practice builds the confidence and skills essential to turn our people into operators.”

The company even uses a training and development worksite, “where they actually get on the equipment to train in a safe, controlled environment that replicates, as closely as possible, the conditions and tasks of actual job sites,” she explains. “By transitioning from classroom to simulators to the project training site, students can actually put into practice what they’ve learned. It’s the 70-20-10 rule; 70 percent of learning is on-the-job experience, 10 percent is classroom, and the remaining 20 percent comes from the relationships we build along the way from coaching, mentoring, et cetera.

After they move up in the company, these upskilled employees are supported with ongoing training. “Our people are the most precious resource and valuable asset we have. And our people appreciate, unlike our equipment, which depreciates,” Faithful points out. “Training’s not an expense, but an investment, an investment in all of our futures.”

As the company moves forward, this focus on safety and training will remain foundational to its success. “The push for a safe work environment is not going anywhere,” Peters says. “Everybody should have a safe place where they can work.”

After nearly a century of success, Blythe Construction will continue to invest in the dedicated employees who have brought the company this far, ensuring a strong future for many more years to come. “It’s all about our people,” Faithful summarizes. “We’re building our company one person at a time.”

The post Standing Strong in a Competitive Market<p class="company">Blythe Construction</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

At home at its headquarters in Hillside, Illinois, C&N Construction, Inc. is an industry specialist with a generous presence across the state and beyond, with two more thriving offices in Peoria, Illinois, and Charlotte, North Carolina. C&N Construction, Inc. is a licensed general contractor that specializes in roofing, siding, and gutters across various states while its storm restoration experts and property claims specialists are some of the best in the industry. The company’s estimations are done in-house by Xactimate Level 3 estimators, and the company is certified as a GAF Master Elite contractor.

Here, quality drives longstanding relationships. Recently completing a 70-unit apartment complex project in 90 days illustrates the skill of C&N Construction, Inc.’s field teams and high level of efficiency throughout the firm. Yet, taking care of roofs is not its only consideration for success.

Reinvesting earnings means building solid foundations. As part of this drive, the company recently launched a vigorous rebranding campaign that has seen billboards installed along busy expressways showing off its new look. It also spruced up its website with a redesign and powerful SEO boost.

With an unlikely start in life guiding him to be the change he wants to see in the world, owner Curtis Eshghy brings a lot more to roofing and staffing than industry expertise and pride in quality. Alongside a sense of tenacity, he also has an uncanny understanding of human nature and a firm belief in the goodness of people. “As a leader in our industry, to assist other upcoming companies with advice and resources [makes us] an asset to them,” he says on going out of his way to protect newcomers to the roofing industry from making the mistakes he had to overcome along the way.

From an economic standpoint, Eshghy believes in continuous growth. To achieve this, between 10 and 15 new sales associates join the company monthly. Plus, its entire workforce is formally employed. The company holds all relevant certifications and its 150 installers are equipped with all the training they need to excel at their trades, leaving only the need to utilize specialty subcontractors for trades such as electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Therefore, customers are guaranteed C&N Construction, Inc. quality without the frustration of having multiple companies working on their projects.

The rewards for this uncommon approach to roofing have been generous, with C&N Construction, Inc. doubling its revenue annually since its inception and landing the firm a coveted spot in Roofing Contractor Magazine’s Top 100 Roofing Companies every year for three consecutive years now. “If [we’re] building something that’s going to last, [employing our own teams] is a huge aspect of that,” Eshghy says.

Remaining current and competitive means having the right equipment. To this end, the firm invests in select machines that render the quality its customers have come to trust. With four box gutter trucks used for seamless gutter installations, field staff have all the tools they need to deliver excellent work in the field. In addition, they are awarded points based on their performance. That allows management to keep standards high by supporting its teams in bringing their A-game to the job at all times. It also helps to identify staff’s weaker areas, allowing for skill and knowledge deficits to be promptly corrected through training.

Established by Eshghy in a room in a rented house in Batavia, Illinois, in 2009, the company moved to its first real office in Broadview, Illinois a short time later. After expanding into an adjacent property, its offices moved again, growing while balancing start-up costs. Since then, C&N Construction, Inc. has gone from strength to strength. “We are probably now one of the 50 or 60 largest roofing companies in the country,” Eshghy says.

Starting with a single employee, Katie Fatigato, Operations and Marketing Manager, the team has grown considerably since those early days.

Investing in his team is a matter of great pride and enjoyment for Eshghy. By helping staff receive continuous education, personal growth, and a stable home life, this visionary leader knows the company’s future can only get better. As a result, tenures here are impressively long, resulting in a sense of family and security conducive to a degree of loyalty that is rare to come by these days. “It is very rewarding building people on the business side and on a personal level—creating that stability and locking in motivation,” he says, underscoring the importance of enabling growth in people’s lives as a significant motivator.

The company’s investment in its people goes beyond the usual free lunch, instead offering frequent company outings such as Top Golf, Six Flags, and company BBQs, as well as two annual company trips which see around 50 or more staff at a time, plus their partners, join in a destination group getaway on the firm’s tab. Here colleagues get to know one another better and bond in some beautiful locations like Mexico.

For Eshghy, the greatest gift in running the company is having the ability to help others. As a result, supporting those in need is part and parcel of working here. Several institutions benefit from this generosity including the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois; the Batavia Women’s Club; a local orphanage the company donates to at Christmas; and countless local youth sports teams, to name a few. C&N Construction has also completed 15 projects that included roofing, siding, and gutters in aid of Habitat for Humanity as well as donating leftover construction materials throughout the year, another of its community projects that help keep the team motivated to serve.

Incarcerated for five years at the tender age of 18, Eshghy knows the hard edges of life well enough to value the merits of treading gently upon this Earth today. With this wisdom informing and motivating how he does business, this is a man who wanted more from life for himself and others than hiding behind his past for the rest of time. Pushing through the discomfort of the early days, the once rudderless teen transformed himself into the kind, open-minded leader he was meant to become—one who could not be happier to serve.

Eshghy is committed to contributing to an employment solution for the post-incarceration ostracization which remains common in society today. “I want [young] people to understand that you can change your life. It’s not always what it seems at that age,” he counsels.

As part of the mission to support youngsters facing similar situations as he once did, Eshghy is developing trade training programs in collaboration with two county juvenile detention centers—a brilliant initiative that stands to change the face of labor in the region for good. “If you keep [these young guys] working from nine in the morning until seven at night, they’re going to be too tired and [without] enough energy to re-offend,” he says.

“They’re going to be making money. They’re going to be a part of society. They’re going to be paying taxes. And they’re going to feel good about themselves,” he adds, pointing out the potential for minimizing young male reoffending rates in this way. By training and employing as many as 60 individuals at a time who also receive support in becoming licensed, the all-around rewards are significant.

In the meantime, the team is doing all it takes to build a future as solid and trustworthy as its services while becoming Chicagoland’s number-one roofing contractor. Looking further ahead, however, its sights are set on strategic expansion and becoming the United States’ leading commercial multifamily and residential roofing expert. To achieve this, growing its sales team and its revenue is the next obvious step.

By creating opportunities for those who need it most by training them to deliver premier roofing services, C&N Construction, Inc. is not only committing to its own future; it is also committing to the futures of fellow Americans. Eshghy and his team are unwavering in this mission. “We want to be the place people come for their future in the trades,” he says with a welcoming smile.

The post Better Business, Better Roofing<p class="company">C&N Construction</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

That’s the way it has been since he founded Greenfield Contractors in the summer of 2011. “Good client relationships are very important for us,” he says, “and the only way to maintain those relationships is to understand their needs, provide solutions that fit those needs, and do so in a professional manner.”

Providing fabric structures, metal buildings, and grain bins, Greenfield serves customers in industries such as agriculture, industrial, mining, sport and recreation, municipal, and transportation. Greenfield Contractors supplies high-quality alternatives to traditional industrial buildings, from small storage sheds to massive fabric or metal structures measuring thousands of square feet.

Single-stop convenience
Unlike some others in the industry, Young and his team at Greenfield work with property owners every step of the way on their building journey. From the concept to the construction process to completion and handover, all aspects—including design, budgeting, scheduling, construction, site cleanup, final inspection, and warranty—are handled with the utmost professionalism. No detail is too small or too large.

“The first thing we do is meet with the customer and work together to get a drawing to confirm what they want,” explains Young. “That way, we know what the customer wants and we can provide an accurate estimate.”

Once the design is established, Greenfield moves into the quoting phase for the building itself, concrete work, and other trades. Working with trusted partners for the concrete portion of the project, Greenfield performs its own building installation.

“We are a general contractor,” says Young. “So if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I want you to build a building, but I’m too busy to do much: you get the permit, do the earthwork, build the building, and hand me the keys when it’s done,’ we can do that.”

Flexible and open to all client needs, when customers do want to take a hands-on approach, Greenfield is happy to handle just the building and the concrete work. In either case, clients benefit from the company’s commitment to quality, decades of combined experience, transparency, and accountability from start to finish.

Founded on experience
Long before earning his degree in mechanical engineering, Lucas helped his father on construction projects with everything from work around the house to erecting pole barns, setting trusses, drywalling, and replacing windows. No stranger to the construction industry, he later worked for another general contractor. Immersing himself in the business, he handled everything from sales to project management and marketing. In time, he became inspired to establish his own company.

“I finally realized there was no secret recipe,” he says. “I could easily do what I was doing for them, or I could do it on my own.” Greenfield’s sole owner for years, he eventually brought a partner into the business. “As we grow, having other owners involved gives it long-term stability.”

With years of experience in the building sector, Greenfield is skilled at advising customers on the structure that best satisfies their needs. Although clients often come to the company with a particular building type in mind, a conversation will sometimes see them change their minds from steel to fabric, or vice versa. In one case, a client decided on steel instead of fabric for a large structure measuring 160 by 130 feet and 46 feet to the eaves.

Whether fabric or steel, Greenfield provides customers with a breadth of building styles and sizes to meet every need. The company’s smallest fabric structure measures 16 by 20 feet while its largest fabric structure is a massive 200 feet wide by approximately 500 feet long. “The small one was for a salt storage building, and the large one for grain,” Young shares.

To date, Greenfield’s smallest steel building measures 40 by 40 feet, and the largest 160 by 250 feet. At present, the company is quoting on a 500-foot-long building with a height of 46 feet. Steel buildings require a concrete base, as do some large fabric structures.

Depending on structure size and type, assembly times vary. Buildings are made to order, and the entire process, from ordering to completion, can take from a month to over a year, depending on size.

At Greenfield Contractors, all projects are handled with the utmost concern for the safety of staff, customers, and contractors. All staff members at the start of their employment take a 10-hour OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training course. All OSHA standards are followed and enforced at Greenfield, and workers must wear harnesses when they are on lifts. “We have strong feelings about safety, and make sure everybody gets home safely at night,” says Young.

Fabric or steel?
Knowing which materials are best suited to which applications, Greenfield offers customers a variety of building types. These include round/arch profiles, gable profiles, and high-top profiles. Fabric allows plenty of natural light to penetrate and is ideal for corrosive environments—for instance, when housing salt, fertilizer, manure, or livestock.

When ordering, clients have the option of fire-retardant or non-fire-retardant fabric. In other cases, steel buildings may be a better choice, especially for manufacturing purposes or a heated shop space. “That’s where steel frame buildings do a lot better,” says Young.

With either option, Greenfield is known in the industry for the quality of its buildings and its outstanding warranties. All fabric structures come with a 20-year manufacturer’s warranty, which includes coverage for corrosive environments. Metal buildings are backed by a 25-year manufacturer’s limited warranty for galvalume panels and a minimum 30-year finish limited warranty for painted metal panels. In some cases, customers can choose a warranty of up to 40 years on metal structures.

They’ve got you covered
From a company that started as a small shop, with Lucas doing the physical labor and his wife handling accounting, Greenfield Contractors has grown to a staff of about 40, with locations in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. Primarily creating grain bins in the early years and moving on to fabric-covered buildings a decade ago, Greenfield recently “re-branched” out into grain bins and steel frame buildings, and its own steel building crew.

“We recently bought 15 acres across the road from where we are now, and are planning to develop that for the next phase of our company, with a bigger office and bigger shop,” says Young of the company, which is nearly booked up with work through the end of the year.

“We see ourselves growing the number of locations and serving a larger geographical region,” he says. “The project sizes keep increasing considerably, so we see a lot of growth, focus, and continuing to be a recognized employer in the communities we are in.”

The post Building Trust Out of Fabric and Steel<p class="company">Greenfield Contractors</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.