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Video:
Why Big-D Midwest
Date:
2022

Our Vision

WE ARE CREATING A CULTURE OF OUTSTANDING CAREERS AND WORLD-CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Our Vision in motion

  • 1

    Outstanding
    Careers

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    We seek and employ exceptional, hard-working, lifetime learners; we give them the tools to succeed when we find them.

  • 2

    Uncommon Outcomes

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    Detailed, disciplined, hard-won by listening and always sharpening our skills. Our Big-D University offers over 100 classes, and everything centers on our one goal.

  • 3

    Customer
    Loyalty

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    We are born of customer-focused, relationship-fostering practices. We’ve built 90% repeat customers and solid and lasting relationships.

  • 4

    Growth &
    Achievement

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    We have a culture of Growth & Achievement powered by innovation, supported by purpose, passion & joy.

  • 5

    Financial
    Strength

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    We’ve built trust with well-managed financial strength and superior risk management. This allows us to deliver on our promises consistently.

  • 6

    Community
    Engagement

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    Giving back builds strong, thriving communities where we live and work. By contributing donations, time, and pro-bono services, we help ensure lasting communities.

Our
Roots

Our Roots

Who we are

A Carpenter, A Volkswagen, A Big-Idea

On November 2, 1967, a 30-year-old carpenter named Dee Livingood sold his blue Volkswagen for $1,000 and risked everything he had to start his own business. His nickname “Big Dee” inspired the name for our company.

 

The Big Idea

Big Dee started with almost nothing – no business experience, no customers, and almost no money. What he did have was a BIG-IDEA about the way things ought to be done.

 

“Young Lions”

Dee assembled a team of the best people in the industry, and called his founding leaders his “young lions.” They refused to focus on money. Instead, they quietly focused on doing the right things – the business principles Dee felt would be crucial to success. And, lo and behold, success naturally followed.

 

The Vision Continues

Today, Big Dee’s founding culture continues to inspire us. We aren’t perfect, but we strive to do the right things. We now have “lions” of every age on our impressive team, and a lion’s share of repeat customers.

Big-d
History

We have come a long way since Dee Livingood sold his blue Volkswagen for $1,000 to start a company that has since grown to more than 1,000 employees. While our projects have defined us in the marketplace, our employees have always been our catalyst for success. We want to honor their achievements by celebrating our past as we prepare for the future.

  • Deejack
    Dee and Jack Livingood 1967

    1967

    The Big Idea

    On November 2, 1967, a thirty-year-old carpenter named Dee Livingood sold his blue Volkswagen for a thousand dollars and risked everything he had to start his own business. His nickname “Big-Dee” inspired the name for the company.

  • Four men, Dee Livingood and his young lions, standing in front of the Big-D office in 1976.
    Dee Livingood, Rob Moore, Dale Satterthwaite, Jack Livingood

    1976

    The Young Lions

    Rob Moore and Dale Satterthwaite join Dee as Big-D’s first Business Development Manager and Estimator respectively. Dee’s son, Jack, would join two years later.

  • Rob Moore

    1984

    Big-D opens FIRST OFFICE

    Salt Lake City, Utah office opened. The team there also purchased their first computer, a used Apple III.

  • Dee and Jack Livingood

    1988

    DEE PROMOTES SON TO PRESIDENT

    Jack Livingood is promoted to President and Dee Livingood devotes career to community service.

  • Iterative pencil drawings of the Ironman next to the finished color image.
    The Ironman

    1996

    COMMISSIONING THE IRONMAN

    During the early 90s, Big-D was searching for an identity to help separate it from the competition. “We were trying to be more corporate,” said Big-D Chief Executive Officer, Rob Moore. “We wanted something that could identify with Big-D Construction. So we tried to look for an identity.”

    The vision was to create something that represented both construction and the strength of Big-D. Working with Richter 7 and artist Scott Snow, that identity soon transformed into the Ironman. The initial drawings of the Ironman evolved to include the hard hat and steel beam. “All of a sudden, it stuck,” said Moore. “And we knew that when people look at that, they would identify with Big-D.”

    “Our guys in the field absolutely love this image,” adds Jack Livingood. “It represents how they feel about themselves as construction workers.”

  • Big-D Exterior East

    2004

    BIG-D HEADQUARTERS MOVE TO HISTORIC BUILDING

    The Fuller Paint Building has been a unique part of downtown Salt Lake City since it was first constructed it in 1922. In 2004, Jack Livingood purchased the building and embarked on a restoration project that would garner a LEED Gold certification and a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • 2013

    Big-D Midwest Office Opens

    When Cory Schubert, Chris Grzybowski, and Tom Driscoll approached the leaders at Big-D Construction in 2013, their plan was simple: bring the Big-D brand to Minnesota’s growing construction market.

    “At the end of the day, the goal is to provide a place for people to work, grow their careers, and do what they love,” said Cory Schubert.

  • 50th anniversary

    2017

    BIG-D CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

    On November 2, 2017, Big-D Construction celebrates its 50-year anniversary. As part of the celebration, Big-D released a book commemorating its 50-year tenure in the construction business.

  • 2018

    BIG-D MIDWEST MOVES TO ST. PAUL

    Big-D Midwest purchased the building and did a full renovation to make it an incredible space for the company to grow and showcase the Big-D brand.

  • 2022

    Respected Construction Veteran, Ken Braun, Retires from Big-D

    After 44 years in the construction industry, Project Development Vice President, Ken Braun, retires from Big-D Midwest.

    A well-respected and trusted construction industry professional, Braun, was significant in putting Big-D on the map in the Midwest market and building trust for the company after they entered the Twin Cities in 2013. Braun has been strategic in helping Big-D Midwest navigate relationships with clients, architects, consultants. “He didn’t just bring with him projects, but strong relationships and notoriety to Big-D,” said Cory Schubert President of Big-D Midwest.

    “I really do enjoy working with Big-D, I’m retiring, but I’m glad it’s Big-D I’m retiring from. The flavor of Big-D, the platform if you will, fits my approach to how I do business. Big-D Midwest is a solid player out here and a well-respected general contractor in the market,” said Ken Braun.

  • 2022

    Tim Callahan named Vice President of Project Development for Big-D Construction Midwest

    Callahan joined Big-D Midwest in 2021 as part of a long-term plan to replace retiring Vice President of Project Development, Ken Braun, and is responsible for operational duties with Cory Schubert.

  • 2024

    Cory Schubert promoted to President of Big-D Construction Midwest

    For the new President, the cohesion on their first project set the bar for all work in the Midwest office—they would work and win as a team. Since that time, Cory has guided Midwest to construct over 5,000 units and win $1 billion worth of work across a multitude of projects.

    Cory has been an integral part of the team-centric environment that continues to this day—one where success is shared by the entire Big-D Construction Midwest team. That mutual support is a defining feature, one that speaks to the new President’s best bit of advice as he and his team continue their great work across the Midwest.

    “Working within a team you can never be too proud to ask for help or ask for a fresh set of eyes,” he said. “We make decisions as a team and focus on each person’s strengths. It’s worked for us from day one and will continue to be the Big-D Midwest plan for success.”