FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
by Maureen WilkeyChicagoJoe and Jerry Krusinski are as alike as they are different. While they share the same warm smile and calm, friendly speaking style, Joe's "running and gunning" management technique seems to stand in contrast to Jerry's analytical approach. The founder and CEO of 35-year-old Krusinski Construction Co., Joe loves to talk about lessons learned, while the President and COO Jerry likes to talk about new trends in green building and healthcare construction.
"It's a great relationship. We come from a family of five siblings ands working with Joe has obviously been a wonderful opportunity something that has worked out well for the two of us," Jerry Krusinski says. "Much of that is because I clearly understand that Joe started the company 35 years ago so there is not that competition amongst us. I value his strengths and I think there's times when he appreciates my strengths, too."
Three of Joe's children work at the company, which was founded a few years after he finished school in 1973. The company started out with just three people working to build speculative industrial buildings for Podolsky and Associates. The first building, a 102,000 square foot distribution center, was considered pretty aggressive for that time.
But just as the company started to build up steam, the oil shortage of the 1970s hit. With limited amounts of petroleum-based materials available, Joe says he had to think of creative ways to get around issues that traditionally aren't challenges to construction workers.
"We could only get five therms of gas for a building. That's all the gas company would give us," Joe says. "You would have to figure out a way to use a combination of other fuels. One strategy was to use oil heat in the warehouses that was usually done with a unit heater and maybe you'd use your gas for your heating and air conditioning in your office rooftop units. You'd have to use a combination of fuels to have enough fuel to heat the building."
Everything from brick to cement to roofing paper was in short supply, and Joe and his crews spent a lot of time waiting for materials to become available. Coupled with rising interest rates, which went as high as 20 percent, materials and prices became a constant challenge.
"That had an affect on the level of risk that people wanted to take and it really stopped a lot of speculative construction," Joe says. "One of the things that that did for us as a company was it forced us to diversify into other things. It helped us diversify not only the kind of buildings that we were building but helped us expand our client base for build to suits with local and corporate clients."
And just as the company diversified and the recession start to subside, Jerry graduated from college and joined the company in 1984. Having worked at Krusinski during breaks from college, Jerry already understood parts of the business. The period of prosperity that followed helped bring the company an opportunity to grow and expand.
"Then there was that boom like everything that cycles, the boom of the early '80s where lenders would lend money if you could walk and chew gum at the same time," Joe says. "That cycle created a lot of opportunity because developers would do spec office buildings, spec industrial buildings and really had no problem getting money and it created kind of a cycle of a lot of construction activity and in general our local market."
Jerry gradually moved up the ranks of the company as it grew to become president and COO in 2004.One of Joe's daughter and two sons joined in the 1990s. Jerry's two children are currently in high school, and Joe has 11 grandchildren, all of whom will have the "opportunity, but the not the obligation" to work in the family business, Joe says. But the key to success is business first and family second.
"We first have to be a very successful business and then a successful family business," says Joe. "So you have to get the business stuff straight first and that's where Jerry's done such a terrific job."
While the family is important to the business, non-family employees don't feel like they're getting the short end of the stick. Superintendent Chuck Onik has worked at Krusinski for 21 years since he started as a carpenter.
"It's a very family-oriented company and they're very giving," Onik says. "(Joe's children) work there, but it's not like they've been given free rides. They treat people well and fairly."
CFO Gary DuPuis agrees. He has worked at Krusinski for more than 13 years and joined after quitting a job at another family-owned company that was having succession problems. DuPuis says that he likes that Jerry, a younger brother rather than a child of the company founder, will be taking over when Joe retires and is already controlling the day-to-day operation of the business.
"I got offered two jobs, and this one was a farther commute, but I felt so strongly that these were the kind of people that I wanted to work with, the kind of people that shared the same values as me, that I took this job," DuPuis says. "They have a strong reputation as stand-up people who strive to make the clients as happy as possible."
Gina Krusinski, director of marketing and administrative manager, has been working at her father's company for 13 years. After she graduated college, she spent four years working for a non-profit before feeling the draw of kinship she enjoyed while working at Krusinski during breaks in high school and college.
"I've always enjoyed helping out," she says. "And it's great that I get to see my dad in a different role than most daughters do. It's really inspiring."
Twice a year, members of the Krusinski family go on a family retreat. The outing includes family members who work at the company as well as those who don't. Spouses and older children who don't work for the company learn what is going on at Krusinski as well as provide insight into what they see in the market from an outsider perspective.
"The driving force behind it is communication," Jerry says. "Our goal is to communicate clear, communicate often, communicate openly. It really is so everyone clearly understands where we're at, where our goals are, where we'd like to move in the future."
The goals include career development not only of the family, but also of other employees. Krusinski values getting its associates additional education and certifications wherever possible, including recently having eight employees earn LEED-AP designations and three earn American Society of Healthcare Engineers certifications.
"Last year we made a commitment to expanding our opportunities and that was going to have to include getting some of our associates certified," Jerry says. "It's just another example of how we're trying to stay ahead of the curve."
Another way Krusinski has stayed ahead of the curve is through Joe's help in the creation of the Citadel Group. The nationwide group builds on the experiences of construction companies by allowing them to share information, lessons learned and instructions on how to replicated buildings and techniques that have worked well for specific clients. The group was formed about 12 years ago when Joe met a California contractor through a mutual friend to talk about building a high velocity distribution center in Woodridge. IT has since grown to include representatives in California, the northeast, southeast, northwest, Texas and Denver. Both contractors and architects can join the group to share ideas, and the group meets via teleconference once a month.
"There's a lot of communication and shared knowledge among the companies and that's fantastic," Joe says. "We do a lot of benchmarking and great educational things for our individual companies but it's a wonderful way to serve our clients on a national basis because we can take a project that we've done here in Chicago and replicate it nearly anywhere in the United States."
Some of Krusinski's national clients include Comcast, Lillibridge and AIG Development. Being able to utilize techniques from the Citadel Group, the company is able to build consistent and successful structures for their nationwide clients.
This nationwide capability should also help Krusinski along with new trends that are starting in construction. While the coasts have been big on LEED certification for a while now, the Midwest is starting to catch up, Joe says. Also, new technologies, like wireless internet and blackberries for superintendents and Building Information Modeling, is starting to take hold and become an important part of the construction industry.
"We are really always looking to utilize technology to improve the business. All of our people here are very well-trained with computers and software programs," Jerry says. "I think that we're ahead of the curve a little bit compared to some of our other competitors."
Another change from the past is the pre-construction process. While Joe reports that getting a bid used to be more of a one on one process between company owners, now it's a little "beauty pageant."
"Everyone has to comb their hair and put on a clean shirt and parade in and everything like that and they interview (the different contractors)," Joe jokes. "Now the process is a little more protracted and they're looking at your credentials a little more carefully. I think the best thing in the world is when they do check our references against our competition and that sort of thing. That what has helped us win a lot of jobs."
About half of Krusinski's business comes from repeat clients. The employees tend to stick around as well. The 45 active employees at the firm have about 350 years of combined experience between them. That doesn't include several former employees who worked for a decade or more before retiring or moving on from the company, the brothers say.
"We are not a hire and fire organization," Jerry says. "We have a lot of longevity with our staff and employees. We (think) about their security and the security of their families and their families' futures."
That thought doesn't go unnoticed by employees. Onik says part of the reason he stays with the company is that the benefits are great and he feels like he and his family will be taken care of.
"The have taken care of their people a lot over the years, including the laborers," he says. "They're very appreciative and generous people."
DuPuis also commended the Krusinskis for keeping their reputation solid and making sure clients were getting exactly what they wanted at every possible time.
"I've seen instances where they've sacrificed profits to make sure the client is happy," DuPuis says. "They have a long-term vision, so they understand that their values and integrity will help them do business."
By keeping both employees and clients happy, Joe and Jerry think they can keep the business growing and thriving for another 35 years. After all, first you have to be a successful business, then you can be a successful family business, Joe reminds us.
"We're a part of the team," Joe says. "We definitely invest in our people. And they enjoy it and they do a great job, too."
More Stories By Maureen Wilkey
