Schomburg & Schomburg Construction Inc.

Danville, Ill., is home to big industry, and for 35 years Schomburg & Schomburg Construction Inc. (Schomburg & Schomburg) has been supporting big names. From demolition, excavation and concrete work to metal building construction, carpentry, crane service, machinery rigging and moving, millwright service and all-around project management, Schomburg & Schomburg has the general contracting experience to handle any size and scope of work.

“Schomburg & Schomburg was originally Schomburg & Bailey; the result of a partnership between Richard Schomburg and John Bailey,” shares Butch Buesing, now vice president and chief operating officer of Schomburg & Schomburg. “It started out as a millwright-focused company, also doing machine repair and moving and rigging in 1979.”

After several years, the company entered the general construction market, performing more ironwork and metal building construction and eventually the plant maintenance side grew into a complete general contracting company.

“There was rapid growth over the next few years, but the two decided to part ways because Bailey was more interested in the residential market and Schomburg wanted to stay in the industrial and commercial markets,” recounts Buesing. “Barbara Schomburg bought out Bailey in 1981 and with her as majority owner Schomburg & Schomburg became a woman-owned business.”

Key connections

Buesing’s relationship with the Schomburgs dates back to 1985. “In the mid-1980s, I was working as a union ironworker on industrial projects and mid-size factory work,” he recalls. “I decided to leave construction all together and went to work for Lauhoff Grain – Bunge Milling Company, then went to Alcoa and ThyssenKrupp Crankshaft where I was plant manager.”

However, Buesing was drawn back as the Schomburgs neared retirement and the opportunity to purchase Schomburg & Schomburg became a reality. “In 2012 my wife Julie bought the company,” he tells. “She is majority owner, CEO and president.”

Serving companies, such as PepsiCo, Honeywell, Ameren, Cargill, FiberTeq, Marathon Petroleum, ThyssenKrupp and a range of other distinguishable firms, Schomburg & Schomburg has certainly made a name for itself. Today, the company remains based in Danville, operating from a 12,000-square-foot facility situated on sprawling acreage. “We currently have about 80 employees ranging from estimators to project managers, field personnel to superintendents,” details Buesing.

While Schomburg & Schomburg’s ownership has changed, the company’s focus is still big local industry. “We deliver water and wastewater plants and do a lot of sewer repair, excavation, concrete work, metal buildings and industrial maintenance, but our biggest focus is infrastructure,” notes Buesing. “We also do quite a bit of substation work and have completed deep foundations for transmission towers and substations. For the most part, our work touches the $4 million to $10 million range.”

Diverse delivery

From exterior renovations to underground water mains and deep excavations to maintenance, Schomburg & Schomburg’s crews self-perform upward of 75 percent of services in-house. “We do a fair amount of renovation work, including a full rehab of the newborn nursery and family retreat area at Presence United Samaritans Hospital in Danville,” details Buesing. “We’re doing two expansions for ThyssenKrupp Crankshaft, adding onto their facilities and doing new heater and furnace lines.”

For PepsiCo, one of Danville’s largest firms, Schomburg & Schomburg is completing full exterior façade facelifts on the massive headquarters. “We’re also working on a $550,000 project for the Vermillion Rise, Mega Park, delivering underground water and sanitary sewer mains with deep excavations and new pipes,” says Buesing.

Buesing adds that approximately 15 miles south of Danville, in Georgetown, Ill., the company is in the midst of a brand new $4.2 million wastewater treatment plant. “The facility will handle all of the city’s wastewater,” he details. “There’s a whole range of concrete work, carpentry, ironwork, millwright, pumps and controls and tasks for our operating engineers. This is one of our highlight projects over the last couple of years, because it’s allowing us to put all of our craftspeople to work and a good amount of our workforce actually lives in Georgetown.”

Buesing says the company’s reputation and ability to handle large-scale industrial projects, as well as its 20-year AGC safety award standing, has allowed Schomburg & Schomburg to pull through lean times. “We have a good backlog right now – about $12 million worth of work – we’re in a good position moving forward,” he assures. “We’ve also been able to grow our customer base, expanding into solar and wind turbines for further diversity.”

Buesing adds that Schomburg & Schomburg continues to land the lionshare of local projects based on a reliable reputation and community engagement. “We work with the local YMCA and hospitals,” he says. “We’re currently working to build a new technology wing for the Danville Area Community College.”

Building community and big industry, Schomburg & Schomburg Construction Inc. bridges the two as one of central Illinois most trusted general contractors.