A Shining Success in Flint
How E&L Construction Group remains committed to its community
Flint, Michigan, has made national headlines in recent years. Anyone who has seen or heard the news knows of the water crisis and the mounting challenges that this city has faced.
Part of the Flint narrative that is often overlooked is the story of the residents and companies that are committed to their community—working to better the lives of their neighbors even in the face of adversity. One such company is E&L Construction Group, Inc.
A Flint Success Story
E&L Construction Group (E&L) has called Flint its home since 1953. The company traces its roots back to its original formation as the Erickson & Lindstrom Construction Co. Over the past 64 years, E&L has grown to be one of the premier construction companies in the state of Michigan. In recent years, it has also grown nationally—performing construction work in 16 states.
Even with the company growth and out-of-state work, E&L has stayed committed to Flint. Its leadership chose to be a Flint-based company during the recession and after, and further proved their dedication to the community by choosing to stay in Flint two years ago when their previous building became too small.
In the past few years, E&L’s employee count has risen by over 300 percent. By 2015, the business had outgrown the headquarters space it had been based in for 30 years. The leaders of E&L faced a decision: should the company relocate completely—leaving Flint for a nearby town—or should they stay true to their Flint roots?
Rather than leave the city, E&L renovated another location within the city limits, establishing its new headquarters quite literally right off the runway at Flint’s Bishop International Airport.
E&L President and CEO Greg Krueger calls the decision to remain in Flint “purposeful.” “We were established in Flint, and we are committed to staying in Flint,” he says.
The company also remains firmly committed to supporting the Flint community. This support can be seen in the way E&L contributes to the area’s economy with local projects, philanthropic activities, and company investments in staff and the people of Flint.
Committed to Community
E&L works for some of the largest companies in the world, including General Motors, Toyota and Walmart. But the construction company doesn’t limit itself to one industry or area. Its work covers a wide array of projects, from industrial, retail and commercial work to institutional and health care—and everything in between.
And, of course, many of those projects are staples of the Flint community.
One such project is Flint’s large shopping mall, the Genesee Valley Center. Located three miles from E&L’s office, the company originally built the mall in the early 1970s and then helped to expand it years later by adding a $25 million addition. Today, E&L is working with the mall owners to handle a steady stream of added renovations, including many tenant build-outs, along with the construction of new stores.
“We’ve been around 64 years, so a lot of things we built years ago we’re now renovating,” says Tim Fick, Vice President of Business Development.
Another similar project is the Mott Community College library, which E&L originally constructed, and later renovated and updated.
E&L’s construction projects also extend to water treatment facilities and pipelines. When Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) began work on a pipeline to supply fresh water from Lake Huron to Flint, E&L stepped up to build the intermediate pump station.
E&L has also been a staple for General Motors for the construction and renovations of automobile plants in Flint and surrounding regions.
The firm even lends its construction expertise to give back to the community. Employees have built playgrounds and contributed to food banks, just to name a couple of local philanthropic activities. These projects are in addition to nonprofit organizations that E&L supports monetarily: Whaley Children’s Center, United Way, Job Corps, Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, among many others.
“We are Only as Good as our People”
At E&L, giving back to others also extends to giving back to staff members. “We are only as good as our people” is a phrase that appears on the E&L website, and it’s the perfect motto for how E&L’s strength lies in the talent and expertise of its people—its most valuable assets. E&L currently employs approximately 140 employees (30 office employees and 110 field staff), and the company continues to attract and keep people that management considers to be the best in the business.
One of the ways E&L does this is by investing in continued training and education initiatives, ranging from career advancement seminars to on-the-job training and safety programs. In fact, its in-house training and education program was recognized when it won the Associated Contractors (AGC) of Michigan’s Cornerstone Award for Construction Training Excellence.
A major point of pride for E&L is its safety record. Because of its record, E&L has been awarded with AGC safety awards for the past five consecutive years and has been recognized on a state and/or national level for safety every year for the past 20 years. For example, these efforts were recognized with an AGC 2016 Michigan Outstanding Safety Performance Award in the building division category where recipients must achieve at least 50,000 work hours with zero recordable safety incidents.
The company takes carefully measured steps to make safety a top priority. E&L holds regular safety meetings that include a relevant, current topic that the safety officer and safety director speak on. Safety is the first topic covered at every job meeting and is emphasized from day one of a project.
Because of its commitment to safety, E&L is helping ensure that every employee remains protected and healthy. Krueger says, “We are a great company because of our people, and their safety and well-being will always be my number one priority.”
From projects to people, as E&L’s leaders consider future prospects, they plan to continue to be a main contributor to the development of the Flint community. Mark Krueger, E&L’s COO, puts it simply: “We have been, and we want to continue to be, part of the Flint comeback story.”