Hunzinger Construction Company recently held its annual Q3 Awards recognition reception at Bayshore as we celebrated Hunzinger’s serving as GC and CM for the Town Center for over 15 years. Bayshore is currently undergoing major redevelopments and enhancements and we are proud to be involved so we decided to support Bayshore with an evening that featured “A Taste of Bayshore” (and Sendik’s Whitefish Bay)!
In keeping with Hunzinger’s high standard for quality craftsmanship, the company established a company-wide Total Quality Management Program called Q3 (Q-Cubed). Q3 simply reinforces our mission statement of “Do the Right Thing” when dealing with employees, subcontractors, suppliers and clients. This effort encourages employees to continually examine how Hunzinger delivers services and empowers them to make recommendations that improve the way we work. Employees are also encouraged to bring new quality control initiatives forth for evaluation, consideration and implementation. Successes are celebrated and become a regular part of the project delivery system for all future projects.
As part of our Q3 initiative, we solicit nominations from our employees of clients, subcontractors, and fellow employees who have demonstrated an exemplary dedication to excellence and illustrated the qualities outlined in our Total Quality Management program. This year recognized the following with Q3 Awards.
From Hunzinger –
Project Manager Brent Verheyen
and Superintendent Dan Parente
for their work at Sendik’s at The Brookfield Corners
Vice President of Preconstruction
Dan Cole for multiple projects including Komatsu South Harbor Campus Project.
For their work at Zund America Headquarters Project:
Vice President of Construction
Technical Services
Tim Verheyen
Assistant Project Manager
Michael Hunzinger
Vice President Project Executive
Scott Wendt
and Superintendent
Ken Skowronski
Sarah Sandkuhler
for her work on multiple projects including coordinator and leader of the Hunzinger Cares Troop Shipment Program.
Superintendent
Todd Norgel and
Project Manager
Matt Langreck for their work on the Toshiba Pump House Project.
Hunzinger’s in-house Accountant
Mitch Sperka for his quick responses to many of our constant requests. He is a real asset to Hunzinger.
Superintendent
Will Wright and Casey Trucksa
and Project Manager
Michael Jahns for their work on the Uline W5 Distribution Center
Vice President of Risk Management/Safety Director
Kevin Sandkuhler for multiple projects
And Joan Zepecki,
our Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator recognized as a Hunzinger trailblazer and innovator as it relates to minority and local workforce inclusion.
Our Summerfest team American Family Amphitheater Phase 1 Team – Vice President of Field Operations Joel Becker, Senior Project Manager Matt Horton, Superintendent Dan Von Rueden, and Project Manager Christina Sladky
This team completed Phase 1 which included raising the roof from 39 feet to 65 feet. The portion raised was approximately 24,100 square feet (1/2 acre), and weighed 607,000 pounds. Additionally, the “back of house” was rebuilt. This roof lift is unique in the world and was completed in the dead of winter without any injuries. The detailed planning that Joel Becker and Matt Horton undertook was a prime reason the execution went off without a hitch. Dan Von Rueden brings a technical knowledge and drive for excellence that sets the tone for the on sight field crews and Christina Sladky did a great job keeping everyone focused on the tasks at hand. Larry Palank provided key insights and accurate cost projections to allow the project to move forward. As a team, they have charted new territory and provided exceptional customer service – all done with no injuries and meeting diverse contracting goals. Great job team!!!
A Special Q3 Award was presented to Hunzinger employee for 42 years Vice President of Preconstruction Services Larry Palank.
Vice President and Project Executive Jon Jansen and Vice President of Field Operations Joel Becker for his work on the Bradley Center demolition.
The demolition of the Bradley Center was one of those projects that forces you reflect on your career – for Joel Becker and Jon Jansen this was because they both had worked to build the Bradley Center a little over 30 years ago. Their insight into the building allowed them to put together a cost effective plan to demo the building. The building demolition was completed under budget, on schedule and surpassed all of the diversity and inclusion goals. They efficiently managed the subcontractors and the job was completed without a single injury. The project completes our initial work for The Milwaukee Bucks and CAA ICON – we hope the success of these projects will lead to future projects as we have enjoyed the relationships we have built.
Next, our Master of Ceremonies, Executive Vice President Kevin O’Toole presented Q3 Awards to owners and subcontractors that exhibited high standards of excellence in pursuit of completing their projects and partnering with Hunzinger. The Q3’s went to:
Mike Abrams and Mark Farha of CAA ICON – We have completed a number of projects for CAA ICON, we began over 3 years ago with renovations to the Bradley Center to make way and allow for the construction of the Fiserv Forum, we built the Bucks Entertainment Plaza and Buildings and over the past year, we completed the demolition of The Bradley Center – a building we built just over 30 years ago. Throughout all these projects, we have had the pleasure of working with Mike Abrams of CAA ICON. Mike’s knowledge and understanding of construction and his attention to detail dovetailed very nicely with our Hunzinger project management process. Together, we have done incredible work and all the projects were completed on time, within budget and all surpassed the diversity and inclusion goals that were set. Working with Mike has made us better and our team stronger. We want to recognize and thank him for the trust he has shown us and for the successful partnership we forged over the past few years. It has been a privilege.
For Sendik’s at The Corners of Brookfield, awards were presented to Ben Long of Interstate Sawing, Austin Lucknow of Braun ThyssenKrupp Elevator, and Jim Clemens of Sendik’s who was the Owner’s Representative for The Corners of Brookfield project.
James Buck Toshiba Pump House because this job had many difficult stages to go through for completion. Without Jim’s cooperation and help, it would have been even harder. Not only did Hunzinger and our subs had to have many utility shut downs to do our work but in-house and other different companies in the building were able to keep going with Jim’s coordination and look ahead. He is truly a good guy to work with.
Gabe Rose, Scott Hobus, Tim Walczak of Roman Electric for their work on the Uline W5 building because we had the opportunity to work with Gabe & Scott & Tim on both the I6 and W5 ULINE projects. They have been valuable team members and one of our lead subcontractors. Not only do they also have a great relationship with the ULINE team, but they know their buildings better than anyone. Because they understand how ULINE’s facilities team operates the building, they’ve been able to provide valuable insight during construction. Some of those electrical needs aren’t completely known until the end of the project and they do a great job effectively adapting to those needs while still providing a quality installation. They play a key role in helping us deliver a quality project to ULINE. Tim Walczak has proven that he is a dedicated leader time and time again. He does a phenomenal job tasking a large crew of 20+ workers to keep the job on track. From pulling an all-nighter doing electrical systems commissioning to coming in at 3am on his birthday because the power went out on site, Tim has shown that he is willing to go above and beyond what it takes to get the job done. (Nominated by David Tengler, Casey Trucksa, Michael Jahns and Clayton Vaughn separately)
The Uline Team of Brad Folkert, Chad Braaksma, Mike McConnell, Linda Gauthier because working with the ULINE construction team has been a special and valuable experience. Our teams experienced some minor growing pains at times during the first I6 building project as we began to learn their expectations, understand how they operate, and build trusting relationships. With that foundation already in place, the second W5 building project has felt virtually seamless and the relationships we’ve experienced on this project have been a rare treat. Never in my construction career have I worked with a more construction savvy Owner who understands and can provide valuable insight into all aspects of their projects. They have established their own set of standards called the ULINE fit and finish, to help guide their projects. On the W5 project, they developed their own commissioning standards and checklists. Their knowledge of construction has them often educating engineers on how their buildings should be designed. They are especially good at making sure change orders are appropriately priced and validating their accuracy. Rarely do you work with an owner that you can learn from and partner with. Working with them has made me a better project manager and has made our team better builders.
John Dexter Arteaga Masonry for his work on the American Family AMP. The masonry work was a true challenge before it began. First the masonry started mid-December and their duration lasted through winter. Second this structure was very unique with the type of construction that had to be built with the steel. Typically, the masonry goes first then the structural steel follows, on this one the masonry started so high then steel went in. Then masonry continued then steel followed. They had to bounce back and forth as the building went up. John right from the gate understood the challenge and accepted. His crew worked through some very nasty weather and enclosing very big scaffolds down here at Summerfest with the high winds off the lake. We had a short window with everything on the schedule so John was also given the task to hold dimensions for windows, install embeds for the prebuilt stairs, installing anchor bolts and embeds for Structural steel and also erecting an elevator shaft. Everything fit well and like it should. John went the extra mile this project needed him too. Getting the masonry done for the steel to finish so we could continue on the Back of house build out was critical in the success of the project.
Bob Schumacher Larson Engineering Bob was the engineer for the Phase 1 of the MWF Amp project. The roof lift portion of the project was one of a kind. Not only was raising the roof challenging enough, the existing roof was a semi-circle that had a slight pitch to it. So with any steel that needed to be added it was very difficult because it was an existing structure. Bob worked through the process with us in a very timely manner and was available whenever we needed him to be. He was able to work through existing conditions on the spot to make sure we continued through not losing any time for our schedule. We set a date for the roof lift and we made it. Bob continued to help out as the new building was erected and areas that tied back into the existing structure. He was a true team player and played a big role to the success of the project!!
Bob Gosse & Jason Stuewe of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. We have worked on multiple projects with Bob Gosse and Jason Stuewe going back well over 20 years with Bob and we are proud of our working relationship with them. They have been advocates. They have been partners. This AM FAM AMP Phase 1 project was challenging because of the roof lift. They were with us every step of the way to way as our team engineered, planned and executed the roof lift flawlessly. Out strong working relationship continues through Phase 2.
Project Executive Scott Wendt nominated the Zund team for the Q3 Award because they were one of the most incredibly genuine, innovative and appreciative owners/clients we have worked for. Having the opportunity to build their new North American HQ ‘s has provided us the opportunity to better understand their business and truly appreciate what it means to be an innovator in your market as they are on the cutting edge with technology and how they implement it into their equipment. They have been great partners throughout the building process and also treat all project stakeholders and personnel with the upmost respect and regard. We cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to build your new North American HQ’s…we are proud to be your builder! Thank you!
It was a great night with over 150 in attendance including employees, partners, clients and Hunzinger retirees. Thanks to Bayshore for the great venue!
