How Brinkmann Constructors Built a $5B Portfolio of Work
Date Posted: September 12, 2019
Posted In: Organizations,
From St. Louis Business Journal: Brinkmann Constructors is closing in on the $5 billion mark.
Now in its 35th year in business, the company completed 43% of its nearly $5 billion worth of construction in just the past five years.
The Chesterfield-based company says its philosophy of approaching each project from various viewpoints is paying off and overcoming challenges — from navigating the choppy waters of the 2008 recession, and even its early beginnings, when founder and CEO Bob Brinkmann sought a firm footing when his former business partner left him with about $1 million in debt.
Once known as a go-to retail builder, Brinkmann Constructors is digging into senior living, multifamily and industrial development to take the company to its next milestone.
“We’ve never said, ‘What are we going to do next?’ We’ve let things happen and we were ready to take advantage of it,” Brinkmann said.
The company is among the top five of St. Louis’ biggest general contractors at $495 million in revenue, but it’s in tight quarters with competitors such as PARIC Corp. at $518.9 million in revenue and Nooter Construction Co. at $460.8 million in revenue.
In 2008, as the recession began, Brinkmann Constructors built a $40 million assisted living facility in Denver. That project led to job after job in the senior living market, a life raft that kept the company afloat when others floundered.
“We were very proud to have that curve. Look what happened in ‘08. We went from $200 million to $100 million, and boy were we happy to have $100 million,” he said.
Since then, the employee-owned company has become a national design-builder with $1 billion worth of work completed in both senior living and multifamily/student housing segments and nearly $800 million in industrial warehouse and distribution.