Company ranked nationally as top contractor

Poettker Construction, an award-winning family-owned construction company, closed out the 2021 calendar year with tremendous employee, financial and market sector growth across the company.

After a difficult year navigating through the pandemic, Poettker grew its employee base by 18% with new hires and promotions across every department and level – from leadership, preconstruction, and project management positions to field supervision, safety, and quality control roles.

Following the sudden passing of the company’s founder and CEO, Charles “Chuck” Poettker in July 2021, the company expedited its strategic succession plan and restructured its executive leadership team, naming Keith Poettker as Chairman and CEO, Ryan Poettker as President, Kimberly Luitjohan as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Jonathon Carroll as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. Six employees were also promoted to Vice President positions including: Philip Pingsterhaus, VP of Finance; Tracy Millard, VP of Human Resources; Eric Kraeger, VP of Information Technology; Kevin Poettker, VP of Business Development; Corey Noder, VP of Risk Management; and Walker Gusewelle, VP of Project Management.

“What a tremendous and challenging year to end on such a high note for our company,” said Keith Poettker, Chairman and CEO of Poettker Construction. “Heading into a new year, I’m humbled and privileged to continue my father’s legacy of building relationships on unparalleled service, quality of work, and safety for its people and business partners.”

Poettker continues to be a Best Place to Work, national best in class business, and a top contractor in the Midwest and Southeast. The company ranked as one of the top 10 construction firms in the St. Louis area and was recognized nationally as an ENR Top 400 Contractor for the first time by Engineering News-Record.

Committed to safety and quality, the Poettker team performed more than 346,000 manhours with zero lost-time or recordable incidents in 2021 and received safety awards from the Central Illinois Builders of AGC. Poettker also achieved a certified contractor status through the Coalition for Construction Safety (CSS). In November, the Pierce Terrace Elementary School design-build project in Fort Jackson, South Carolina received the Quality Concrete “Green Award” from the Concrete Council of St. Louis.

The company saw strong market growth in the federal, distribution/warehouse, and utility sectors. Poettker’s federal team was awarded over $140 million in new contracts including the multi-story Joint Operations and Mission Planning Complex at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and a new Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.

In the distribution and warehouse sector, Poettker expanded its relationship with R+L Carriers on new projects in Illinois and Pennsylvania. The team also entered a partnership with NorthPoint Development on two new distribution facilities: the 676,000 SF I-85 Commerce Center in Salisbury, North Carolina, and the 725,000 SF Riverport Trade Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.

The utility and infrastructure sector achieved tremendous growth and commendations in 2021. In addition to increasing its project capacity by 50%, this team received the Ameren-Contractor Eagle Award, and the Ameren-Contractor Best in Class-High Volume Award for outstanding safety performance.

Poettker also had a very strong year in the education, multi-family, and retail markets. The company completed a mixture of new construction, renovations, and additions for five schools; broke ground on the new 92-unit Revela Senior Living facility in O’Fallon, Ill.; and enhanced online shopping and grocery pickup services at 47 facilities for multiple major retail chains.

Invested in the communities where they live and work, Poettker supported over 35 non-profit organizations through philanthropic partnerships, advocacy, fundraising, and volunteering initiatives in 2021. Following a 2020 hiatus on its annual golf classic benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Southwestern Illinois, Poettker held the event in 2021 and raised a record-breaking $37,000 in donations. Since 2017, the Poettker golf classic has raised close to $175,000 for BBBS’ mission. To close out the event, BBBS awarded Poettker with a Big Defenders award for making a significant impact on the organization’s mission.

This article originally appeared in the January 2022 digital issue of The Charlotte Weekly.