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Campos Construction Company
Linda L. Campos, President
1201 12th Street
Rockford, IL (Region 2, District 2)
Campos Construction, Inc. is a concrete construction company founded in l984
as a family owned business. That family feeling is still there today as they
have crew members who have been with the company for over 20 years. Their
employees have a combined total of over 200 years of construction experience.
This firm has its own in-house training and has focused on hiring and training
minorities. This is reflected by the fact their crews are 67% Hispanic and
African American. They had over $1M in IDOT work for District 2 committed to
their company during 2005.
Linda Campos is deeply involved in the community, advocating for the poor and
disadvantaged. She has extensive experience in workforce development and job
training, having been on the Boone and Winnebago County Workforce Development
Board since 1983. She has chaired this board three times, appearing in
Washington, DC to advocate for the economically and socially disadvantaged,
women and youth. She also received an award from the City of Rockford for being
a primary founder of the Northern IL Minority Contractors Association.
Ms. Campos has also worked with other DBE and potential DBE firms, making
plans available at her office and assisting in whatever capacity she can. She is
a shining example of giving back to the community.
B.E.G., Inc.
Belinda Henderson, President
6019 South Perry
Chicago, IL (Region 1)
B.E.G., Inc. has been in business for 7 years and strives to increase
trucking capacity by 50% and increase gross sales by 15% in the year 2006.
The owners believe in a team approach to doing business. They believe that it
takes a group effort to supply contractors with a high level of service. Their
motto is: We Roll with Your Rock.
They have found their path to success in hard work and long hours, a “never
say never” attitude, and not taking “no” for an answer. They have learned to be
strong in working in a male dominated field. They find strength in support
groups, both business and personal.
Three black women belonging to one family started this firm in 1998. The
business began working with the City of Chicago while also hauling garbage for
Waste Management, Inc. to various landfills in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
In 2001, they lost their work with Waste Management. Since that was the main
source of revenue for the firm, it sent the company in a tailspin. Equipment sat
parked for three months. They did whatever it took to keep their drivers
employed and the doors open. They did not have a business line of credit and
staying open for business meant depleting the personal funds of all three
partners.
That year, this firm refocused the direction of their work from transfer work
(garbage) to dump work as the main source of revenue. B.E.G. attended outreach
meetings, pre-qualified on-line with all major General Contractors, joined
several construction organizations, and took advantage of the IDOT Resource
Center.
Prepared and poised, they obtained a major piece of work on a special waste
project in Oak Park and Barry Park. This exposure led to the meeting with Walsh
Construction representatives that further led to more contracts in their heavy
highway and home divisions. Ultimately, this aggressive marketing effort has
successfully led B.E.G., Inc. in securing approximately $4 million of
contracting activity on the Dan Ryan and Kingery reconstruction projects.
Fred Weber, Inc.
Michael D. Harman, President and Chief Operating Officer, Construction Services
Division
2320 Creve Coeur Mill Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043 (Region 5, District 8)
Fred Weber, Inc. is the St. Louis area’s industry leader in heavy and highway
construction and one of the largest material suppliers. They specialize in
full-service concrete and asphalt-paving projects. Fred Weber, Inc. has been in
business for 75 years and employs over 800 people. In addition to the service
areas of construction and materials, they own 10 subsidiary companies.
Contract #76429 in St. Clair County was Fred Weber, Inc.’s first venture as a
prime contractor on an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) construction
project. This $55 million project consists of the addition of two lanes to
Interstate 64 as well as the replacement and repair of several bridges and the
reconstruction of Illinois Route 157.
In the midst of dealing with the myriad issues inherent for prime
contractors, Fred Weber, Inc. took the time to listen to the concerns of the
community. Fred Weber, Inc. joined with IDOT, local community groups and members
of the local clergy to begin addressing these concerns.
Although Fred Weber, Inc. had met the DBE goal established for this project,
they have voluntarily increased the level of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises
(DBE) participation on this project by more than $1.3 million dollars.
Additionally, Fred Weber, Inc. has worked diligently to exceed the contract
minority/female employment goals.
A key factor in these endeavors has been the dedicated efforts of Richard
Miller, Senior Project Manager. He has continued to make additional
opportunities available to DBE firms as they arise. Since the beginning of this
project, Mr. Miller has worked closely with the District Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) Office, keeping them informed on DBE and minority/female
employment issues. He continues to be willing to meet with community groups to
discuss their concerns. Mr. Miller and Jaclyn O’Leary, Vice President of Human
Resources for Fred Weber, Inc. aggressively monitored the company’s minority &
female employment on this project. Additionally, they have been proactive in
holding their subcontractors’ accountable for achieving the contract employment
goals as well. They quickly adapted to IDOT’s reporting requirements,
voluntarily providing more frequent updates than the contract requires.
Fred Weber, Inc. has been a willing partner with the Illinois Department of
Transportation with reference to our DBE commitment to greater workforce
diversity and increased DBE participation on the Department’s highway
construction projects. These efforts clearly reflect Fred Weber, Inc.’s
commitment to diversity in highway construction.
Epic Construction Company
Sam Hobson, III, President
Peoria, IL (Region 3, District 4)
Epic Construction Company (Epic Construction) has been in business for less
than two years after receiving Illinois Department of Transportation
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) certification in 2003. Sam Hobson, III
is the President of Epic Construction and Sam Hobson, Jr. is the General
Supervisor.
Epic progressed by initially working on small private projects and completed
them in timely fashion. Next, they moved to smaller municipal and Peoria Housing
Authority contracts which gave Epic a greater confidence to bid with contractors
who perform state work. United Contractors Midwest (UCM) mentored Sam Hobson,
III on I-74 Stage II construction. This mentoring relationship with UCM
increased his business skills as well; it was a personal advantageous learning
tool for Sam.
On I-74 Stage III construction, Epic Construction received $3.1 million worth
of subcontractor work from Walsh Construction. Sam, then hired his father, Sam
Hobson, Jr. as the Epic Construction Superintendent for additional assistance in
this new project. He also decide to utilized local minority truckers for all
hauling work, paving the way to provide smaller contracting opportunities for
additional DB participation on the project.
Epic Construction met with Resident Engineers to find out what challenges
they encountered on the Stages I and II and on the work items to improve any
performance deficiencies prior to working on Stage III. Seeking verification, he
then met with the Stage III Resident Engineers to discuss the way he was going
to perform the future work and shared his approach with Walsh Construction.
In conjunction with this proactive work plan, Epic Construction met with his
bank president and gave a presentation on how he was going to manage the job and
his cash flow. Using this information, Epic Construction was able to establish a
banking relationship for the firm to be used in future lines of credit.
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