Kingery Construction

For over 89 years, Kingery Construction (Kingery) has been delivering experienced commercial construction and general contracting services. Additionally, the company’s notable skills are backed by solid relationships with customers and members of the Lincoln, Neb., community.

“We’ve been doing business for 89 years and the thing I’ve noticed the most is our ability to continue to build projects for repeat customers with whom we have built great relationships,” says Rod Berens, treasurer and controller of Kingery, who has been in the industry for nearly 15 years.

The family-owned company was founded in 1924 by the father-son duo of William Harrison Kingery and Everett Kingery. The pair began with just a few shovels, a wheelbarrow and an old touring car they converted into a flat bed truck.

“Chris Kingery is our third-generation president,” notes Berens. “Rick Wintermute, who has been with the company since 1984, and I recently purchased the company in January 2013 from Chris. Chris will continue to support the company and mentor Rick and me for a few years.”

Committed to the Community

Kingery is one of Lincoln’s top commercial contractors specializing in health care, education, religion, financial institutions and office buildings. “We mainly do commercial construction and we focus on tough remodel or historic renovation work,” adds Berens. “We do a lot of banks, churches, schools, parking garages; pretty much anything in the public and commercial sectors.”

Today, Kingery remains based in Lincoln with approximately 35 employees. “We’ve made our living in this community by treating our customers right,” shares Berens. “We’re well-known for our reputation in and around this community and it brings us great pride.”

Over the past 89 years, Kingery has focused on providing quality service and exceptional people on each and every job. “We won’t go out and bid work if we don’t have quality people to complete the project,” explains Berens. “We think there should be a project manager and the necessary team there to run the job properly.”

This philosophy also translates to the company’s use of subcontractors. “We self-perform footings, smaller slab work and finish carpentry,” he continues. “We subcontract drywall, electrical installations, flooring and painting and it’s important to maintain these relationships every day.”

A Solid Backlog

While other contractors in the region struggled to weather the economic downturn, Kingery was ahead of the game with a steady backlog of work. “We stayed busy, even in 2008, when things really hit hard,” recalls Berens. “We were very fortunate to have some good jobs locked in prior to 2008. The Lincoln area in general had a big school bond issue and many district revitalization projects.”

Kingery recently completed another school revitalization project at York High School, approximately 45 miles west of Lincoln. “This job presented many unanticipated challenges,” shares Berens. “Because York High School is an older high school, we discovered problems with the original construction after really getting into the project that made it a challenge on a tight budget.”

Kingery’s team worked through these obstacles with the help of trusted subcontractor trades. “We added an art wing and a gymnasium to the complete rehab and it was a success overall, but it was more of a challenge than the usual school job,” adds Berens.

 Berens goes on to note that the team is also gearing up for a new Catholic Church in Lincoln. “We’ll be working on the industrial plant facility coming soon,” he details. “We don’t mind tough remodels and renovations, we actually prefer this tougher type of work; it’s our forte.”

Berens says Kingery judges the success of any project first and foremost on client satisfaction. “Fulfilling the client’s need is our No. 1 priority,” he says. “We also focus on fostering good, working relationships with sub trades and rating our own self performance. It’s all a part of maintaining our reputation, because that’s what keeps us going.”

The company continues to focus on longevity, quality and integrity; values that have resonated for 89 years. Kingery Construction has been building on a solid reputation and long-term relationships for nearly a century, supporting Lincoln as the community’s hometown contractor.