Case Studies

When, in 2010, Shane Hinson was asked to run Ed Wallace Construction (EWC), he saw an opportunity to help the small full-service pipeline construction company discover new markets in the Southeast. At the time, Hinson was the director of operations at a much larger general contracting company in North Carolina, “and the market was prime […]

Flying over Libby Dam in Montana, you see two things: 90 miles of slate blue water, winding below low, sloping mountains and an impressive span of concrete holding that water back. What you don’t see is all the activity that happens inside the dam, activity that allows the 43-year-old structure—that’s more than half a mile […]

While concrete is just one of many elements of a construction project, James Harmon, project executive of Buchanan Concrete of the Carolinas, points out that it forms the foundation of every other trade. “We provide the foundation for all other trades by performing critical path work that has to be accurate and completed in a […]

With three powerhouse women at its helm, Mid Atlantic Maintenance Inc. says it wouldn’t have achieved the success it has without its DBE, or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification. Mid Atlantic Maintenance Inc., or MAM, is a pavement maintenance, road striping and traffic control contractor serving West Virginia and Ohio. If you’ve driven in any part […]

When O&G Industries Inc., one of the Northeast’s largest construction companies, broke ground on Stamford, Connecticut’s, new police station in February 2017, it was the beginning of a welcome upgrade for the city’s public safety, and the public at large. The current 40,000-square-foot headquarters were built in 1971, and they weren’t big enough to house […]

The door to a better Buffalo seems to be opening, and brothers-in-law Kevin Dikeman and Tony Genovese have their hands on the knob—literally and figuratively. Respectively, president and vice president of Door Specialties Inc. in nearby Tonawanda, the two men have seen indications aplenty of an urban renaissance at Western New York’s largest city, with […]

For decades, if a truck passed under a concrete bridge with low clearance and hit one of the support beams, there was a standard fix. Depending on the severity of the damage, the struck section would be cut out and removed, a new beam lowered or hoisted in place and welded in. There’s a new […]

Looking at the marketing material, or the 326 homes closed last year, you wouldn’t guess that Dunhill Homes is just six years old. One might draw a similar conclusion from its aspirations. The Dallas, Texas-based home builder expects to close 450 homes in 2017, and it has made the list of fastest-growing companies in the […]

For 10 years, David Ward installed and maintained HVAC systems in commercial buildings throughout Portland, Oregon, but he was often frustrated by how frequently design engineers overlooked his recommendations for design improvements. “Working in the field, I knew when there was a better way to do something or else tell them that [the design] just […]

When big box stores, like Walmart or Menards, build a new location, erecting the steel framework is one of the most dangerous and time-consuming parts of the process. Entire construction crews have to work dozens of feet in the air, welding panels and structural steel. Even though this is how the industry has operated for […]