Hoogendoorn Construction Inc.

Hoogendoorn Construction Inc. (HCI) is a leading South Dakota-based full-service contractor. Pete Hoogendoorn, president of HCI, founded the company in 1979 out of Canton. Hoogendoorn’s wealth of experience has allowed the company to grow from a small startup to a booming construction company with a knowledgeable team of 45.

“Pete had worked for other general contractors and wanted to do his own thing, so he started his own company,” explains Paul Maassen, part owner and secretary of HCI. Maassen has been in the construction industry since the age of 15, when he started working with his brothers in agricultural construction, sometimes roofing barns.

“Pete is my father-in-law,” says Maassen. “When I started here, we were doing a lot of schools and sewage treatment plants.” Maassen started with HCI in 1997 as a laborer and soon reveled in learning the commercial side of business. He quickly moved up in the company with a wide range of responsibilities and matching skills. “I actually set up all of the computer systems,” he says.

Hoogendoorn’s familiarity and Maassen’s capabilities garnered HCI a reputation of which to be proud. The team has built a portfolio that includes civil, commercial and public projects, ranging in size and complexity. HCI offers general contracting, design-build and construction management services all over South Dakota, Iowa and occasionally in Minnesota.

Start to Finish Service

HCI works closely with clients to design a functional, attractive and affordable end product. The company emphasizes communication at all phases of projects from site selection and assessment through to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Maassen and the HCI team are budget-minded, and the company employs a vast network of reliable suppliers and contractors to keep costs low and quality consistent. “We definitely have preferred vendors and subs,” says Maassen. “But with public projects like schools we have to take the lowest bidder.”

Maassen reinforces the importance of relationships with subcontractors, as the company subcontracts masons, painters, drywall installers, plumbing, electrical and HVAC work. HCI has several contractors it regularly partners with on projects due to reliability and consistent performance.

“We team up with other firms for design-build, dirt work, concrete, steel erection, rough and finish carpentry,” he elaborates. “They have the cranes and welding capacity for footings and foundations, precast or steel erection. We also team up for some of the wood framing, rough and finish carpentry.”

A Well-rounded Portfolio

HCI doesn’t fit neatly into any category of construction. “We do pretty much everything but homeowner residential work,” explains Maassen. The company’s portfolio includes water treatment projects, schools, churches, hospitals, industrial warehouses, assisted-living facilities and more. Many of the projects are complex, combining features from many different commercial and industrial applications, especially in schools.

The company built a career education center in Sioux Falls, S.D., that required some ingenuity. The center serves high school students in the area and includes both standard classrooms and shops for trade education. “Some of these kids are studying construction and auto-body mechanics,” explains Maassen. Others are involved in the health industry, information and technology, and culinary arts.

HCI regularly picks up contracts with colleges and universities and completed the Rowenhorst Student Center at Northwestern College. The student center includes all of the necessary college amenities, including a bookstore and a post office. The new building houses a cyber café where student can recharge on coffee and snacks, a wellness center with health and counseling services as well as classrooms and meeting spaces for study groups and campus organizations.

Maassen and the team are working on Bethany Meadows, a combination independent and assisted-living community in Brandon, S.D. The project will add a new, 70,000-square foot nursing home facility to the campus, which spans over 150 acres. The building includes living spaces planned to house 60 residents, an indoor pool and spa, as well as a classic, family-style dining room.

Though the team has managed to stay busy, it is no secret that the construction market is competitive. While the market for new construction has slowed over the recent recession, Maassen says, “It’s slowly improving.” Competition adds challenges to the industry and Maassen believes banks have been more cautious; however, he says, “It makes us make sure we can make it work.” Overall, the company has come out of the industry slump with a better business plan.

HCI takes a personal approach to construction projects. Every design assesses and incorporates elements that serve the end function of a building, based on owners’ and end users’ expectations. The company credits its employees’ hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence for building a reputation as the industry standard bearer. Hoogendoorn, Maassen and the company team’s many years of experience combined with a devotion to quality allow Hoogendoorn Construction Inc. to provide clients highly functional structures that are put together with the same masterpiece mentality as a work of art.