Indy construction company marks 100-year milestone
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Francis A. Wilhem began his construction career in 1923 by building a porch for his neighbor. Since that time, Indianapolis-based F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc. has helped build many iconic buildings in Indiana and across the country, from the Indiana State Museum to the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati to the new Four Winds Casino in South Bend.
The company, which bills itself as the largest contractor in the state, has grown to more than 3,000 employees across its entire footprint.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Wilhelm Vice President of Business Development Doug Gebhardt said the company’s longevity is a testament to its family-owned leadership and the team they have created.
“It begins, I think, with the quality of our people, who have a real passion for the construction industry. They bring a strong work ethic along with diverse and distinctive skill sets, knowledge, and industry expertise that is really unmatched. That, I think, uniquely equips us to continuously embrace complexity and new challenges within the industry, and allows us to be successful in those endeavors.”
Gebhardt said Wilhelm is a $1.4 billion company with 90% of its work performed in Indiana, and adjusting to the needs of the company’s clients and the ever-changing construction industry has been another key to its success.
“By virtue of that fact, we have to be diversified in terms of our industry market sectors,” he said. “And that means evolving as new industries evolve and as our clients evolve.”
Among the many major projects Wilhelm has been involved with are the NCAA Headquarters in downtown Indianapolis, the IU Health Regional Academic Center in Bloomington, and the $290 million Terre Haute Casino Resort, which is slated for completion next year.
Gebhardt said over the last 100 years, the industry has brought a lot of uncertainty, particularly tied to the economy.
“Being able to survive those times, economic downturns or other worldwide events that impact our industry, that’s been the biggest challenge,” he said. “But with the the leadership that we’ve had, going back to looking at other services or other ways of reinventing ourselves or transforming ourselves in response to those events have really led to our success over the years and our ability to deal and manage with manage those challenges.”
Looking forward, Gebhardt said that adaptability will position the company for the next 100 years.
“Wilhelm quite often has been at the forefront of innovation and change in the industry, whether that is with technology, our service offerings, or whatever else. As the industry evolves, we invest in the development of our people; we invest in the resources to support them.”
As part of the 100th anniversary celebration, Wilhelm has launched a community giveback campaign, where it will make donations to 100 not-for-profits nominated by employees over the course of the year.
