Nothing works well without a solid foundation, and the members of the Associated Builders and Contractors are building them daily across America. The recent Excellence in Construction Awards were held and unsung winners heralded. –By Brian Hurlburt, Founder and Host, Magnifying Excellence Podcast.
Associated Builders and Contractors, founded in 1950, is a national construction industry trade association representing more than 21,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 69 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. ABC’s membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors.
ABC’s National Excellence in Construction program has become the premier competition within the construction industry that recognizes outstanding construction projects across the nation. In all, 87 projects collectively worth nearly $2.7 billion, were honored during the ABC Convention 2021 in Grapevine, Texas, on March 10.
One winner was Gaylor Electric, for work on the Amazon Project Rose.
“For more than 30 years, ABC has honored award-winning construction projects like these because the team’s work exemplifies Excellence in our industry,” said 2021 ABC National Chair of the Board of Directors Steve Klessig, vice president of architecture and engineering, Keller Inc., Kaukauna, Wisconsin. “From converting a convention center to a temporary hospital with 450 beds to constructing a 14-building addition to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the 2020 EIC honorees set the standard in safety, quality and innovation. These 87 world-class construction projects are a vital part of our economic engine, creating the spaces and places that we live, learn, work, worship and heal.”
The EIC awards honors every member of the construction team, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The winning projects, selected from entries across the nation, are judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost.
A panel of industry experts served as the competition’s judges. This year’s panel included representatives from Building Owners and Managers Association International, Smithsonian Facilities Construction Division, Construction Management Association of America, Engineering News-Record, Design-Build Institute of America and various construction-related firms nationwide.
Click for the FULL LIST of winners
Photo – Rob Griffith of Gaylor Electric accepts a national Excellence in Construction® Eagle Award (EIC) for the company’s work on Amazon Project Rose.