Event Description:

On September 5, 2024 we facilitated an  in-person Q&A session with owners and representatives of firms that have experience in growing and maintaining successful businesses. With a combination of preplanned questions from our facilitators and questions from our audience, this was our chance to ask our panel guests their business philosophy, tips on growth in our future economies, and the secrets to their success. 

About our Panel Guests:

Henry Hurt; President of Hurt Electric Inc. Hurt Electric, Inc. began operations in 1996 by Henry Hurt. Hurt Electric has always operated as a union contractor providing Electrical service and repairs to its customers in Southeastern Wisconsin. Henry Hurt purchased Ardell Electric and merged Ardell Electric into Hurt Electric on May 1, 2006. Hurt Electric moved its office to the Menomonee Falls location from Northwest Milwaukee shortly thereafter.

Hurt Electric has completed an extensive and diversified list of projects such as Miller Park, Hospitals, Educational Institutions, Manufacturing Plants, Telecommunication Utility Facilities, etc…Hurt Electric is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise, Emerging Business Enterprise, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and is a graduate of the Federal Government 8A Business Program.

Mark Lalonde, President of LaLonde Contractors, Inc. Founded in 1984, LaLonde Contractors, Inc. is a diversified construction company with operations in concrete paving, curb and gutter, architectural concrete, and excavation. LaLonde Contractors, Inc. has distinguished itself as an industry leader through its vast experience in project management and performing projects on schedule and of the highest quality. LaLonde Contractors is a national paving award winning contractor. LaLonde Contractors, Inc. is committed to safety, quality, the community and its customers.

Ramesh Kapur, President of Kapur, Inc. Kapur is a full-service consulting engineering firm that believes collaboration, insight, and boldness are the keys to making great things happen. Since 1981, Kapur has worked with local, regional, and national clients to help define and overcome their engineering obstacles. Working as engineering partners rather than just providers, Kapur builds relationships with clients based on mutual respect, shared vision, and exceeded expectations.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is spearheading a long-term initiative to develop comprehensive digital representations of over 200 facilities and 19,000 assets within its Water Reclamation Facilities (WRF). This ambitious BIM (Building Information Modeling) project is key to transforming how MMSD manages and maintains its critical infrastructure.

To achieve this, MMSD is implementing a hybrid approach that combines the expertise of both external consultants and in-house staff, including a newly appointed BIM Coordinator. This collaborative effort is centered around a Scan-to-BIM process, which allows for the efficient capture of point cloud data from contract deliverables and rapid modeling of complex facilities.

During the first part of this seminar, MMSD representatives will provide an in-depth overview of their program, sharing insights on how a structured approach to documentation and process standardization is integral to the successful execution of a large-scale BIM project.

During the second part of this seminar, we have invited Virtual Design & Construction Institute (Vdci) to provide for us an overview of the technical knowledge and workflows required to create 3D models. Further, VDCI will demonstrate examples as to how the digital asset models can be used in the design phase, contractor bid phase, construction phase, and as-build phase of a project.

The consultant management series is led and/or hosted by Carrie Bristoll-Groll, PE, ENV SP, Executive Vice President, Engineering Services Division of AQUALIS.  Carrie has 30 years of experience in civil engineering, 21 of which was as the owner of Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC (SSE), a certified Small- and Woman-owned Business. SSE was acquired by AQUALIS in 2023, leading SSE into its next generation as the Engineering Services Division for the national stormwater maintenance and restoration company. In the early days of SSE, Carrie was also a student of the MMSD Business Capacity Development Program training sessions, completing the cycle of student to trainer.

For the 2024 Program, the curriculum will be geared to winning work with MMSD.  A new emphasis will be presented on the business use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where appropriate within each topic. Carrie will prepare sessions on topics that her company has focused on to advance the business and focus on core aspects. These topics will be held in 6 sessions that are consultant specific, but the beauty of combining the contractor/consultant program will allow more cross-marketing and connection.

On July 20, 2023 we hosted a contractor & consultant panel discussion network event with two previous or current SWMBE firms that have experience starting, growing, and maintaining successful businesses. With a combination of preplanned questions from our facilitators and questions from our audience, we asked our panel guests how they have done it as successful business owners. Topics of discussion included company structure, business development, software, staffing, accounting, past struggles, or anything pertinent to starting and growing a business. This course offers the recorded questions and answers of this event.

This track is geared toward contractors wishing to hone their skills in estimating, bidding, and project management.  This track includes training videos that follow the 6-part in-person construction management seminar series.  Each in-person seminar is broken down into smaller subtopics that allow participants to revisit seminar topics at their own pace.