Several years ago, Shook Construction Co. began a strategic planning effort to bring focus to types of work we perform and the way we service our clients.  The program we developed is called the Market Channel Concept.  Over the past few years, we have cultivated six market channels that have become part of our daily operations. 

One significant aspect of our strategic plan that needed to be completed was to align our organizational structure with our new Market Channel Concept. In January 2012, we announced a new organizational structure that allows us greater focus on the work we perform and a greater ability to leverage our expertise for our clients.  Most importantly, the new organizational structure provides for greater growth opportunities for our employees.

To support the new organizational structure, we assigned senior Shook veterans with proven expertise to lead each of the six new market channels:

1) Education

Shook has provided construction services on more than $450 million worth of PK-12 and higher education projects in the last five years alone.  From master planning to renovations to new construction, Shook has worked with a variety of educational clients including Dayton Public Schools, Willoughby-Eastlake City School District, Eastern Illinois University, University of Dayton, Miami University and The Ohio State University.  Additionally, our team's estimating accuracy has come in, on average, under 2.8% of the architect's estimate in the past several years.

Mike Eckley, Vice President - Education, leads our efforts in the Education Market Channel.  Mike has been heavily involved in PK-12 and higher education projects since joining Shook more than 25 years ago.  Mike can be reached at meckley@shookconstruction.com.

2) Federal

Shook's work with the federal government continues to grow.  In recent years, we completed more than $20 million in projects for the federal government including the Joint Lodging Facilities Project at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station completed in March 2012.  Other notable clients include the USACE Louisville District, Grissom Air Force Base and Federal Aviation Authority.

Shook recently developed a mentor-protégé relationship with Northstar Contracting, Inc., an 8(a) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) located in northern Ohio.  Together, the newly formed Northstar Shook JV will pursue a wider range of federal projects.

Chris Halapy, a 14-year veteran at Shook, has shown a high-interest and a tremendous aptitude for penetrating the federal market channel for us.  Chris served as the Project Manager for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station Project and earlier this year, he was promoted to Vice President - Federal.  Chris can be reached at chalapy@shookconstruction.com.
 

3) Healthcare

The construction or renovation of a hospital, medical office building or assisted living facility is distinct from any other type of work because of the sensitive nature of the building's environment.  Infection control, risk management and the challenges that come with working in an active facility are all major issues that our ASHE-certified professionals manage very well.

For decades, Shook has been involved in the construction of some of Ohio's most notable healthcare facilities, including the award-winning Miami Valley Hospital Southeast Tower Addition.  Our client list includes Premier Health Partners, Diamond Healthcare and the Dayton Children's Medical Center.

To lead our healthcare efforts, Andy Goetz, LEED AP was promoted to Vice President - Healthcare.  Andy has been involved in the construction management of our most complex healthcare facilities throughout his 13-year tenure at Shook and has been instrumental in the successful completion of nearly $200 million worth of healthcare construction projects.  Andy can be reached at agoetz@shookconstruction.com.

4) Industrial

Our industrial projects generally involve the demolition, construction, equipment placement and/or closeout of automotive, chemical, medical and general industrial facilities. Shook has provided construction services for more than $100 million of industrial facilities in the past 10 years alone.  Clients have included Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Carbon Motors, Dayton Power & Light, Crown Equipment, Smart Papers and Miller Brewing Company.  These projects are not limited solely to industrial-type clients, as we have recently completed industrial-type projects for the University of Cincinnati.

Chuck Peabody, P.E., LEED AP has been providing executive oversight for most of Shook's industrial projects for more than 25 years and currently leads this market channel as Vice President - Industrial.  Chuck can be reached at cpeabody@shookconstruction.com.

5) Mission Critical

We define mission critical as data centers and telecommunications buildings.  This type of work is extremely challenging because of the sensitive nature of the equipment operating inside. For 12 years, Shook has been involved in the construction and renovation of mission critical facilities in Ohio and Indiana valued at nearly $450 million.  Shook recently held a 10-year alliance partnership with AT&T, and it was through this relationship that our mission critical market channel was born.

Recently promoted to Vice President - Mission Critical, Mike Schmidlin has spent his entire 32-year career at Shook and provided oversight for the 10-year alliance partnership with AT&T.  Because of this experience, Mike was naturally the best fit to lead this market channel.  Mike can be reached at mschmidlin@shookconstruction.com.

6) Water Resources

Shook has expanded or modified more than 200 water and wastewater treatment facilities with a combined value in excess of $500 million in the last 20 years alone.  Water resource construction has been a pivotal part of Shook since our inception in 1926.  Shook also has the unique capability to self-perform certain elements of a project when it makes sense to do so, which gives us greater control over the schedule.  We currently are completing major projects in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia. 

Water Resources is by far the largest of our market channels and is divided into the Great Lakes, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions. 

Matt Bennett (recently promoted to Vice President - Water Resources - Great Lakes Region) has spent his entire 23-year career at Shook working primarily on our water resource projects in northeast Ohio.  Because of proven expertise and his solid relationships with our clients in that region, Matt was selected to lead this market channel.  Matt can be reached at mbennett@shookconstruction.com.

Joe Mellon (Vice President - Water Resources - Midwest Region) began his career at Shook 22 years ago. Since then, he has been involved in numerous large water and wastewater treatment plants and leads our Midwest region.  Joe can be reached at jmellon@shookconstruction.com.

Jon Powelson (Vice President - Water Resources - Mid-Atlantic Region) has been with Shook for 26 years and has specialized in the water resource projects.  He has been involved in countless projects in northeast Ohio and is responsible for our efforts within the Mid-Atlantic region. Jon can be reached at jpowelson@shookconstruction.com.

Making these changes was critical for Shook Construction to continue to build on the foundation we needed to reach our 100th birthday and beyond.  For more information about our capabilities, capacity, inclusion goals and successes in each of our six market channels, we invite you to visit our website at www.shookconstruction.com.