A privately owned and operated company founded in 2007, Primera’s current markets include Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Southern California, and Nevada, with plans to keep growing. “We’re a longstanding company here in Arizona and in other markets,” says Pat Heine, Chief Revenue Officer.

Providing such interior finish products as cabinets, countertops, floor coverings, and wall tile, Primera also runs and operates design centers in several of its markets. “We’ve taken a dynamic approach to entering new markets,” adds Heine. “If we have an anchor customer who would like to bring us into new markets, or if we have a partnership with a manufacturer, we’re open to entering new markets that way.”

By offering quality products and superior customer service, Primera has built relationships with numerous long-term clients who appreciate the company’s attention and care. “I’ve been here a little over 12 years, and some of the clients we have now we had when I started—and some, prior to my starting,” Heine says. “We pride ourselves on long-term relationships with the right partners.”

Focusing on maintaining meaningful relationships has allowed the company to grow and expand its footprint along with its projects.

Product-wise, builders still construct houses with much the same items, he adds, and while some products gain popularity while others fade away, Primera’s Design Center helps customers choose the exact right look for each home. In fact, the state-of-the-art Design Center, built in 2019, has since been awarded two silver awards by the National Association of Home Builders. “It’s a pretty big honor and a beautiful showroom,” says Heine.

Primera’s Design Center consultants assist and, if desired, guide homeowners to select a complementary suite of products for their new home that reflects their individual style. It can be a daunting process for some homebuyers, so Primera’s design experts take away the pressure. Notable trends right now are: “In cabinets, we’re seeing a lot of natural wood tones,” says Heine. “In flooring, we’re seeing large format tiles, lighter colors, and wood tones. With wall tiles, we’re seeing a lot of very bold accent colors. It’s great to see the market transition to more color. It makes our job more diverse and fun.”

Creating a warm and welcoming company culture is also important to the company, says Tony Reinhardt, who moved into the CEO role a little over 18 months ago. “We wanted to bring our core values to the front and center,” he says.

Establishing its core values into a framework has allowed Primera employees to talk about them, live them, and use them in their day-to-day decision making. “They really are our guiding principles of how we want each other to work together and how we want to conduct business, both internal and external,” stresses Reinhardt. “The leadership team put together a really nice presentation of the values followed by a full rollout.”

Each member of Primera’s Executive team recorded a video message about a core value, introducing and discussing behaviors that would exemplify how to live the values on a daily basis.

“We’re starting to integrate those into our employee reviews,” adds Reinhardt. “We’re also integrating them into our job description and our hiring process, because we believe if we have individuals that live those core values, it will make our overall business better.”

For instance, the core value of being solutions-driven encourages Primera’s installation and service teams to come up with solutions every day while assisting customers. “We want people to try to find solutions in the field as well as continue to find ways inside the office to do things better,” Reinhardt says.

Embracing core values was one of the bigger projects the company undertook in 2024, along with launching a monthly newsletter to help identify employees who have exemplified these values, complete with nominations and awards. “We’re really trying to shape our culture to support each other and work together,” says Reinhardt.

“Our Executive team meets on a weekly basis,” Heine adds. “We address our immediate issues, and then on a quarterly basis, we identify the top items in moving our company forward. Actions are assigned to Executive team members, so they are responsible for their timely delivery. We’ve focused on improving our customer service and moved our KPIs (key performance indicators) from a monthly dashboard to a weekly dashboard.”

“This approach allows us to deal with things more quickly,” Reinhardt agrees. “This new management process has allowed us to be more proactive than we were in the past.” And customers appreciate these efforts. Primera has received several quarterly awards from large builder partners for excellence in customer service, warranty, and on-time completion.

As for obstacles, Primera’s focus on single-family builders coupled with an overall market slowdown due to higher interest rates has made it a challenging selling environment. “Our biggest challenge is finding the right product at the right price in order to meet our builders’ expectations,” Heine shares. “Tariffs are also a big challenge right now. We’re looking at more domestically based manufacturers and products that are readily available so we’re not impacting our builders’ customers. It’s all about the security of our supply chain.”

Overall affordability applies to everything, adds Reinhardt, whether it’s interest rates, product, labor affordability, or the affordability of a house. But there is hope on the horizon regarding home building with an eye to affordability, whether in the realm of attached houses, built-for-rent units, or standalone, small apartments. “There’s a new focus on building that’s not just single-family production that we’re able to tap into,” says Reinhardt. “Affordability is key. The people working in the home building industry are also getting older, and not as many folks are entering it,” he says. “We have some long-tenured people, whether at Primera or just in the home building space, who have a lot of knowledge who are getting ready to retire. Finding that next generation of expertise is certainly a challenge in the home building space.”

Additionally, the company is deeply committed to helping out its local communities via a range of partnerships and philanthropic endeavors. Such initiatives have included the Woody and Millie Ingram Guest House, where Primera contributed cabinetry and installation labor in Colorado Springs, Colorado for the facility, which provides a warm environment close to medical facilities for cancer patients, NICU infants, and other patients.

Primera is also a proud construction sponsor for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, donating the cabinetry and labor in support of raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the fight against childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

There is also the HBA’s annual Cares Cup Top Golf Tournament, which Primera consistently supports and participates in, raising funds for accessible and transitional housing in Colorado Springs.

But one of the more interesting projects Primera undertook in the last 12 months was participating in the ABC show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Phoenix, Arizona. “We partnered with Taylor Morrison to provide cabinets and countertops for the Banner Health Center, which was a really neat experience for us,” says Reinhardt of the project, which helps families in need while also bringing together volunteers and communities during challenging times.

This commitment to helping others is an extension of Primera’s dedication to creating a healthy, happy, and well-rounded workforce. “We’ve really been in the industry a long time,” says Heine. “We understand the needs of our builders and have a breadth of product offering. We feel we’re aligned with the best vendors in the business, and we have the ability to geographically serve our builders in multiple markets. A lot of those relationships carry over from state to state.”

This means Primera isn’t just working with builders in one market, but in many cases, in multiple markets, because “we understand them.”

And while Primera has a significant footprint in the southwest area of the United States, it benefits from being neither a small company nor an especially large company, adds Reinhardt. “We are nimble,” he says. “We’re able to make decisions quickly, and when a customer needs something, we’re able to make a decision and help them. We’re sure we’re taking our company in the right direction.”

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Owners of Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based GMH Construction, the Perkinses have seen their share of changes in the market over the decades. A remodeler since high school, Greg founded the company in 1994 and was later joined by Dane. With a team of dedicated industry design, build, and remodeling professionals, GMH Construction works alongside its customers, making their projects a pleasant experience. The company’s expertise includes kitchens, bathrooms, basements, sunrooms, home additions, and even whole-home projects.

“My background as a carpenter has led me to use a phrase,” explains Greg. “There are a lot of people who call themselves, as we do, design-build. I add to that, saying, ‘We design to build.’” GMH’s goal isn’t to design a project that can’t be done, but to do it the way clients want it to be done.”

“Our endeavor isn’t to design something that just looks striking on paper, but a design that fits the customer’s budget, lifestyle, needs, and wants,” adds Dane. The approach accommodates budgets and expectations while planning for future goals. “Sometimes, customers may not have the time or budget for a full renovation, but we can still accomplish a large portion of their vision by leaving some areas to be renovated later. That’s where thoughtful planning makes all the difference,” says Dane. “We try to be accommodating for every client to make sure in the long run they are happy. We want them calling us back for more projects!”

Certainly, GMH Construction has seen big changes in trends based on lifestyle needs. During and after COVID-19—with so many suddenly needing work-from-home spaces—demand grew, and renovation requirements shifted. Instead of just renovating a single room, such as the kitchen, customers also wanted a home office, a theater room, and other expanded home projects. Years after the pandemic, the company is still seeing increased demand for entertainment and sports rooms and work-at-home areas.

“A lot of entertaining happens around the kitchen, so [this shift is] about family, people wanting to enjoy what they’re doing,” Greg says. “Basements are also a big deal for us in the Midwest since everybody’s got one, and it’s a very affordable improvement to be made. Adding a bar, kitchenette, workout room, golf simulator, theatre room, or entertainment room really adds to the excitement of a finished lower level.”

Over the decades, GMH Construction has formed long-term relationships with repeat customers and trade partners. This includes working with in-house crews, who do much of the carpentry work, and experienced plumbers, electricians, tilers, and other contractors. “There are a lot of specialty trades, and we want to make sure our clients get the best person on their project,” says Dane.

When looking for trades, Greg and Dane ensure they can do the work to GMH’s standards, understand the company’s vision for each project, and communicate well with clients. “Our trade partners and our employees have been with us for a long time. A key trait in those who work with us is the need to respect that clients are welcoming us into their home to do this work,” says Dane. “Not only do we want our clients to feel comfortable with our trade partners, but we also need to be confident in their expertise, and assured the work will be done right and on time.” When in a client’s home, GMH’s contractors do all they can to keep disruption to a minimum.

Trade partners often tell Greg and Dane how much they enjoy working with GMH, stating that it is one of the best-organized companies in the area. “That means so much to me, because it shows we’re honoring our promises—staying on time, on budget, and doing our best to deliver what we’ve committed to the homeowners,” says Greg. “Our trade partners love that, because they come in, do their job, and move on to the next project, rather than having to deal with disarray in their schedules. Having trade partners that respect and appreciate our organization—and respect homeowners—is great, because they go above and beyond to make sure that our clients are happy.”

Pleased with the quality of GMH’s work, clients will often plan their next home project while one is still underway. “We like to know what their big dreams are and plan accordingly for the next successive step,” says Greg, adding that the company proudly provides two-year warranties after project completion. Truly listening to customers, giving them the best work possible, and appreciating their short and long-term visions continues to earn GMH plenty of satisfied, repeat customers.

Focused on southeast Wisconsin, GMH Construction works within about a half-hour drive of its office in Pewaukee. “That service area is quite large, actually,” says Greg. The company is sometimes asked to take on jobs outside its area but prefers to remain closer to home to serve clients the best it can. “The focus is to make sure we are satisfying our clients the best way possible,” he says.

As a further assurance of quality, both Greg and Dane are certified NARI professionals. Members of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. According to NARI, “members are committed to integrity, high standards, ethics, and continual professional education. NARI Milwaukee members are local, proven, and trusted.”

Although the company has received plenty of awards and recognition for its outstanding work—including being a 2024 Milwaukee Magazine Home + Design Awards Finalist—the Perkinses say their real award comes from customers who keep coming back to GMH and refer their friends and families to the company. “My biggest award is when a client calls me to say they really appreciate our work, have us come back and do something else, or refer others to us because of how we took care of them,” says Greg. “We’re not chasing glamour—it’s about designing spaces that bring joy, comfort, and connection to those we work with, as well as for ourselves and our employees.”

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