Foundation Builders, Inc. of Greeley, CO started out as a four-man company in 1972; however, it is far from a small concrete company now. There are currently 70 men and women employed at Foundation Builders, Inc. Owner Jack Renfroe and son Scott, are thankful for the quality of people working at Foundation Builders, Inc. and the repeat business from general contractors.

The secret to the success of Foundation Builders, Inc. is the employees. The supervisor and scheduler of foundation work. Tom Neumaler, has been with the company for 31 years. Car Joerschke, a Fassl Crane operator has 26 years of service; and Linn Rowe, the foundation field supervisor, has 20 years of service with Foundation Builders, Inc. The solid years of service continue on down to the office manager, who recently completed her 16th year. Jack and Scott are proud of their employees and the dedication they have provided to Foundation Builders, Inc. To the Renfroes, their service is invaluable.

Good equipment and capable employees provide high standards that distinguish Foundation Builders, Inc. from its competitors. They strive to provide consistency and accuracy in each and every project. “Our goal is to train versatile employees so if one crew leaves a site, another crew can come in and pick up where the other left off with little questions asked,” states Scott Renfroe. “Our company is known for high quality and we’re given a lot of high end difficult jobs for that reason – we want to maintain that,” he further explains.

Other reasons for the company’s success are company habits and procedures. Foundation Builders found a solution to high turnover in establishing a safety program. Included in this program are post employment physicals, which determine each employee’s physical capabilities. Scott explains, “If a guy has had a knee injury, we know about it. Then we put them in the right jobs.” When placed in the right jobs, employees are less likely to hurt themselves because they are physically capable of doing the job correctly. Since incorporating this safety program, the company’s workman’s compensation insurance has substantially decreased. Scott explains, “Injuries are down from 10-15 per year to only two so far this year. It costs us money but saves us a lot more in the long run.” Foundation Builders, Inc. is now a company conscientious of their employee’s safety with dedicated employees.

With experienced employees, Foundation Builders, Inc. is able to focus on providing high quality services. Until recently, their main service was residential foundation work, pouring up to 300 foundations per year; however, in the past couple of years foundation work has faltered due to the economy. Fortunately, Foundation builders, Inc. was able to market other services, commercial work and flatwork, to pick up the slack. Jack states, “Commercial has become as important as housing in the past couple of years.”

Foundation Builders, Inc. contributes a lot of their success to their membership in the Concrete Foundation Association. As a member, they can communicate with other members about questions and problems they have in order to quickly reach a conclusion. “Being able to talk to members is huge,” Scott states, “Getting that kind of information is priceless.” The CFA membership is a place to go where they get answers from experience contractors. Scott explains, “It’s hard to go across the street, ask a competitor a question, and get an answer.”

The Renfroes also appreciate the educational opportunities that CFA provides, such as Foundation Fundamentals, which improve the employee’s knowledge in the industry. The more knowledgeable their staff is, the better prepared they are for high-end difficult jobs. The World of Concrete is another opportunity that Foundation Builders, Inc. takes full advantage of. Jack, Scott, Tom, and Brad attend the show every year and when schedules and budgets allow some crew foreman also attend. “We try to take a few men every year to the trade-show. We all look around and then report back to one another about what we saw.” Jack explains. “We have made a lot of purchases this way.”

Foundation Builders, Inc. is not always able to attend CFA events, but by networking with other members they are still informed of the latest information. “We’d like to go to a lot more meetings but it doesn’t always work out.” Jack Explains. “When we can’t attend, it’s great that we can talk to members who did go, and find out what went on.”

The Renfroes are thankful for the success of Foundation Builders, Inc. Their goals are to always do what is right, to treat people fairly, to have every employee and past employee to trust Foundation Builders, Inc. to do a job for their parents, and turn every contractor into a repeat customer. A future goal is to play a more active role in their community. With a company built on loyal employees, quality work, the best equipment, and the benefits of their CFA membership, Foundation Builders, Inc. is bound to achieve those goals.