When Nathan Ries, Noel Valenti and Erik Bolsinger worked together for a Chicago builder constructing high-rise residential buildings in the 1990s, they developed a management ethos that integrated the input of developers, architects and general…

Cover Story

Based in the Chicago suburb of Westmont, Illinois, Kinsale Contracting Group Inc. (Kinsale) is a company specializing in strip-outs and cleanup work. Its crews are called to handle important sequences at the start of many construction projects,…

Terry Cheek opened TLC Plumbing, Inc. (TLC) with a dream of helping his plumbing clientele receive the very best service. With a full apprenticeship under his belt as well as experience with other plumbing companies, he began to feel the pull…

Knowledge can be a powerful tool. When an industry professional wields it effectively, that is when knowledge becomes power—transcending into action that can positively impact the workplace.

In 1991, Henryk Pach packed up all his hopes and dreams, as well as a recipe for success passed down from his father. He left his native Poland for the shores of the Land of Opportunity.

Ambitious. Optimistic. High achiever. Forward-thinking. These are a few traits that can be used to describe Joe Langton, a visionary entrepreneur and landscaping expert who is well-known for embracing out-of-the-box solutions to accomplish important…

Cover Story

Steve Slater earned a B.S. degree in psychology from Calvin College, now called Calvin University, and followed that up with a law degree from Valparaiso University. But unlike many other newly minted lawyers, he left the legal field and instead…

If 50 percent of life is just showing up, as the saying goes, Neighborhood Floors & More, LLC (Neighborhood Floors) cranks it up to 110 percent, says Co-Owner Brian Mallams.

Beyond building top quality projects for his clients, Construction Contracting Services Inc. (CCSI) President and CEO Calvin Williams uses his influence within the construction field to bring awareness of diversity and equity. He strives to…

A family tragedy, an innate mechanical aptitude and a lifelong interest in entrepreneurship are essential elements of Pat Esposito the man, the expert elevator mechanic and the Owner of Plainfield, Illinois-based Total Elevator Service.

Cover Story

LH Block Electric Company, Inc. (LH Block) was established in the 1950s by Lukas Hunsinger when he immigrated to the United States from Europe. He hired Randy Block as an apprentice in 1972 with the promise that if he worked hard he could one…

Tom Trinen’s experience in the high-rise window cleaning industry began in 1977, cleaning windows during summer breaks from college. After graduating in 1980, he was hired full time at a national window cleaning company as a sales and operations…

Most people wouldn’t associate bravery with awning manufacturing and installation, but a willingness to delve into large commercial projects that no one else will touch is exactly the kind of thing that sets apart Merrillville Awning Co. (Merrillville…

When the accomplishments, beliefs, actions and guidance of the forefathers are adopted as core values by future generations in a meaningful and successful way, a family legacy is then passed on to future generations. It is impressive to discover…

Flooring in many ways offers pathways, and the story of Superior Floor Covering, Inc. (Superior) features its share of pathways, too. From its bumpy beginnings to its mother-daughter leadership today, the company and its employees have found…

More than 30 years ago, communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe collapsed, providing the opportunity for millions of families to rebuild and pursue a new way of life. Those years of change motivated many people in Poland to make their way…

When CEO Steve Gagnon walks through his office doors each morning, he has another opportunity to win customers for Allstar Asphalt, Inc. and continue his life’s passion of building parking lots. The paving company, based in Wheeling, Illinois,…

Unified Construction Group (UCG) was formed in late 2008 by a pair of former colleagues, Nathan Ries, who was a project manager at the time and Noel Valenti, who was a superintendent. The two first worked together during the high-rise condominium…

Janice Reading grew up watching her father build sewer repair and septic businesses in the southern suburbs of Chicago. Today, she’s applying the same sense of urgency in responding to customers’ needs to continue his legacy and build her own…

Cover Story

Meyer’s Heating & Cooling was established by Harvey Cleland in 1951. He ran the Northwest Indiana-based heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical contracting business for five decades.

In 1986, Alfred Wall Jr. recognized a growing problem—as computer use was becoming widespread, so was glare from computer screens and monitors. He devised a solution in the form of a clever design called a louver, which is a grid type of optical…

Tim Marabella, Executive Vice President of the Great Lakes Construction Association (GLCA), is passionate about engaging members, building value and finding the construction industry’s next generation of workers.

For the team at Sterling Renaissance, Inc., it’s not enough to make the client happy. They also go above and beyond for the people who use their buildings. During construction of a 98-unit property for senior adults called The Kilpatrick Renaissance,…

Mark D. Carroll is a tinkerer. From the time he was a young boy, he was taking things apart to see how they worked. So it’s only natural that his company, ConstructionCAM, was born out of his curiosity to make something new. ConstructionCAM,…

Cover Story

There is strength in numbers. Many people have heard this age-old cliché, which suggests there is greater power or security when many individuals or organizations join a single cause. One could also interpret this adage to mean there is strength…

Owning a business is the ultimate expression of the American dream—with a caveat. The promise of any successful business may be inspired by possibility and freedom, but its foundation is built day to day in the trenches, from a team committed…

When it comes to the scope and scale of work access as well as forming, shoring and related specialty solutions, few companies—if any—have the inventory of products or the depth of expertise of BrandSafway across the global commercial, infrastructure…

In 1890, Edmund J. Longyear, a mining engineer from the first graduating class at the Michigan Mining School (now known as Michigan Tech), drilled the first diamond core hole in the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota. To accomplish this…

When Richard Harris, President of Noble Modern Builders LLC, created a name for his firm, he did so with the goal that the name would communicate the company’s values. Those values include integrity, high quality, transparency and dependability…

Phoenix Builders, Ltd. is no stranger to new and challenging projects. For more than three decades, the company has grown and established itself as a reliable full-service construction partner across a variety of industries, including restaurant,…

Family businesses are not all created equal, but they do carry a similar weight of expectation, a genuine regard for tradition, and a focus on treating clients and employees as the lifeblood of their organizations. After five generations in…

Cover Story

According to Daniel Levin, Cain Millwork, Inc.’s CEO, the “10,000-square-foot cabinet shop” that Roger Cain founded in 1978 has steadily grown to become a much larger, diversified company since his family purchased this business in 1996.

When it comes to finding the best partners to complete a job, construction professionals have long relied on trusted relationships. But in today’s demanding environment with labor shortages, increasing project complexity, tight budgets and fast-track…

Growing up as a first-generation American in Cicero, Illinois, Carmen Gratace knew from an early age he wanted to own his own business. It’s a goal and desire he harnessed and rode to found Global Builders, Inc., becoming one of the leading…

Win. Trust. What an exceptional name for a bank.

The “work hard, play hard” mantra isn’t lost on Synergy General Contractors (Synergy) because fun is part of each day’s schedule.

From the iconic Wrigley Field and Chicago’s towering skyscrapers to the classic residential structures in the metro area, the Oremus family has helped define the character of a city, a state and much of the Upper Midwest over the last 60+ years.…

Cover Story

When Gayla Smith of Frankfort, Illinois, first came across the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Smart Home Program, she knew she had to get involved. The program builds specially adapted smart homes for severely injured veterans…

There’s a popular saying that suggests necessity is the mother of invention. For Alex Tovstanovsky of Working Capital of America, this adage aptly describes his journey as a successful business leader.

There’s no cape or superhero title, but Gayle Van Sessen protects public waters to ensure they remain clean and free of pollutants. She also watches the bottom line for construction companies.

Brian Parks was serving his term as President of the Antioch Lions Club when it looked like their dream of building the Williams Park Pavilion was not going to happen.

With the distinctive claymore sword as his shield of honor, Michael K. Gallagher has built a business on the principles of his Celtic ancestors—strength, integrity and a willingness to battle for those they represent.

Cover Story

Six years ago, a group of volunteers from a food pantry in Waukegan, Illinois, gathered at a local restaurant to discuss a matter weighing heavily on their hearts. These eight individuals yearned to find a better way to impact the families they…

Peter Fazio Jr. applies his planning and construction skills to meet some people’s wants as well as other people’s basic survival needs. A new home here, a new business location there…and even a homeless shelter just down the road.

Gone are the days when simple fire and smoke alarms warned building occupants of impending danger. Technology in the life safety industry has evolved so rapidly that integrated fire and security systems can now notify people about a variety…

Fred Schramm has the ability and experience to look at a construction plan, foresee problems and suggest improvements—all to meet the goals and objectives of his clients. This foresight works to make his firm, Schramm Construction Corp., succeed.

When David Rambhajan, President of Industria Construction Services (Industria), was a kid growing up in Chicago, he played baseball in Horner Park, which lies along the north branch of the Chicago River. At the time, the river was fenced off…

Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with nearly three million people living in 77 communities that contain more than 100 neighborhoods. With so many people and the vast variety of communities that exist within the metropolitan…

Cover Story

There are nearly 1,400 Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the world. Only 23 of them have earned “Affiliate of Distinction” status, an award established in 2013 to honor local chapters as “the best of the best” on a national classifying…

Larry Bullock doesn’t just try to put things in perspective for minority business owners—he tries to flip their perspectives by 180 degrees.

Something as basic as a gate is easy to ignore, until it becomes a problem.

For two weeks a year, an extraordinary group of firefighters, policemen and other first responders from 14 states take personal time to organize and build a specially adapted home for a military veteran in need as part of the nonprofit, A Soldier’s…

Howard Turner has devoted his professional life to mechanics lien law, spending 52 of his 56 years as an attorney advocating for contractors, subcontractors, lenders, owners and suppliers throughout the state of Illinois. In fact, he literally…

Cover Story

Eight out of 10 incidents in the construction industry are caused by an unsafe act, but the Builders Association in Chicago is dedicated to changing that statistic. In 2013, the organization held its inaugural Safety Stand-Down, a toolbox talk…

Eight years ago, few would have expected AMS Earth Movers (AMS), a regional hauling and material supply company based in Lake Villa, Illinois, to be a thriving business today. In its early days, the company struggled to gain a foothold in the…