Residential concrete foundations constructed in the state of Wisconsin will now be produced by Wisconsin’s newest CFA Certified Foundation Company, Hottmann Construction Co. Inc. The Certified Foundation Company program was established by the Concrete Foundations Association, headquartered in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The program offers third-party rating and quality assurance for professional concrete foundation companies.

The Concrete Foundations Association began in 2005 as a response to recognizing the need for a national program that establishes a consistent base of knowledge and quality assurance for the cast-in-place concrete foundation industry. The program recognizes certified companies in the states of Missouri, Maryland, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Ohio. 

“The Certified Foundation Company program was the ideal extension of the Certified Foundation Technician program,” said James Baty, Executive Director for the CFA. “Introduced in 2007, the technician program became a full-fledged certification for the American Concrete Institute in 2015. The program provides a rigorous examination of the knowledge base for understanding the codes and standards that are the minimum requirements for today’s residential concrete foundations. However, having people on staff, even multiple project managers, who know the important sections of code documents was just the start of the program’s vision. This industry needed a recognizable standard for the operation of a quality foundation company and therefore needed a third-party method for recognizing the highest level of professionalism, commitment to safety, and quality.”

Hottmann Construction is based in Dane, Wisconsin, and has been producing concrete foundations since 1948. As its name suggests, the company was founded by the Hottmann family. Today, the team owners, Ken Kurszewski and Brad Williamson, continue the legacy of maintaining the highest commitment to quality, safety and customer satisfaction. In 2018, they learned about the Certified Foundation Company program’s growing success and the adoption of the technician certification into the ACI, and so they set company sights on becoming a certified company.

“The challenge we made for ourselves then is already beginning to pay off,” said Mike Thole, vice president of estimating. “Not long after we determined that achieving this company status would be important to our future, the State of Wisconsin’s Dwelling Code transitioned away from the International Residential Code to direct reference to ACI 332. It has our state scrambling to learn, interpret and implement the new requirements. We are able to serve as leaders in these markets now, due to our ACI Certified Foundation Technician credentials, and we further support that in our commitment to the industry demonstrated by our newly achieved company rating.”

Certified companies must prove their safety programming standards, effectiveness in workforce safety and performance, financial stability, maintenance of training, and the quality of professional relationships, among many other factors.

“The company certification program is not a new concept in the construction industry,” Baty explained. “However, within the mature and often commoditized market that is concrete foundations, it is both unique and surprising. This program shows customers who look for the highest quality and commitment that the company represented has documented evidence of paying attention to details.”

“We found this process demonstrated a lot of what we already knew about our company, but it also isolated some key areas of growth,” Kurszewski said. “We had discussed the process with some of our colleagues that had already achieved the status of ‘certified company,’ and we relied on their advice for the impact it would have to our staff and our customers. Now we look forward to the ways it will further challenge and inspire us to maintain our position as a market leader in accordance with this certification.”

For more information on Hottmann Construction, please contact Ken Kurszewski at 608-849-1155, or visit their website, here: www.hottmannconstruction.com.

For more information on the CFA, this certification program, or the ACI 332 Residential Concrete Code, please contact James Baty, Executive Director, at 319-895-6940 or jbaty@cfaconcretepros.org. You can also visit the Association website at www.cfaconcretepros.org, where you can find information about certification in the “education” and “recognition” menus.

For more information on the American Concrete Institute and their certification programs, visit their website: www.concrete.org.