Schemmer’s Steve Kathol, PE, SE, President and CEO; Charly Huddleston, PE, EVP of Engineering; and Jason Heinze, PE, SE, EVP of Architecture, were featured on the front cover of the October 4, 2019 Midlands Business Journal.
Steve Kathol, Charly Huddleston and Jason Heinze featured in Midlands Business Journal
The article titled, “Schemmer aims to boost commercial and industrial projects,” discussed the firm’s background, architecture and engineering projects, and additional programs and investments that have strengthened Schemmer’s services.
“We’re grounded in our past with a vision for the future,” said Kathol. The objective remains the same, “Design with Purpose. Build with Confidence.”
At one time or another, Schemmer has been involved in projects in at least 37 states. Schemmer is seeking to strengthen its portfolio of private sector projects – work that currently accounts for about 40% of its billings.
A few of Schemmer’s private sector markets include:
- Commercial – office, retail and corporate
- Industrial – manufacturing, warehousing and fleet maintenance facilities
- Senior Living – independent, assisted and skilled
- Multi-Family Housing
- Land Development
Huddleston and Heinze also explained Schemmer’s growth and being in business for 60 years. One of the factors that they attribute to the Company’s success is the development of talent within Schemmer’s intern program, as well as generating interest on the high school level.
Schemmer had a record 12 student interns this past summer. Of that group, three have been tapped to work during the school year.
“Such a program enables us to get to know students and when it comes to full-time work we can more easily identify who is a good fit,” Heinze said.
Huddleston mentioned participation in the Architecture Construction & Engineering (ACE) mentoring program as being instrumental in developing interest of high school students in the trades.
Younger workers are also attracted by Schemmer’s continued willingness to invest in the latest technology such as:
- 3D software,
- drones,
- virtual reality (VR) and
- scanning.
All of which the firm effectively utilizes to enable client’s to define and achieve their goals and allows employees to work smarter, and in some cases safer.
Recent projects that are employing this technology include:
- Iowa State University, Friley Residence Hall Roof Replacement | Ames, IA; utilized a drone to effectively and accurately assess roofs.
- Multi-family Project | Council Bluffs, IA; utilized VR to enable the client to experience various elevations on their building.
- L55 Reconstruction (Silver City to Highway 34) Survey | Mills County, IA; cutting edge scanning technology was used to survey a three-mile stretch for resurfacing. Traditional means would have put staff too close to traffic and other workplace hazards.
Huddleston said using these technologies allows owners to better visualize functionality of a design – an effective marketing tool to the public.
Huddleston also mentioned that more of the firm’s dollars are being invested in:
- employee recognition
- employee engagement
- young professional’s group
Schemmer’s Lincoln office has won Best Places to Work three years in a row and the firm recently received the 2019 BBB Integrity Award in the Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and southwest Iowa region.
To read the entire article, please see the October 4, 2019 issue of the Midlands Business Journal. The article, titled " Schemmer aims to boost commercial and industrial projects," can be found on pages 1 and 8.
