Ben Bruns has more than two decades of experience in the construction industry. As executive vice president and general manager of The Boldt Company, he leads the Northern Operations team, building value for their customers and communities in Boldt’s home territory.
How did you become involved in the construction and design industry?
Growing up, I was always building…usually with Legos. I majored in Construction Engineering at Iowa State University and started my career in the industry right after graduating.
What is something that your company is doing that you consider innovative?
The Boldt Company was founded on innovating and working to elevate the construction process for everyone involved, but particularly for our people. Boldt is all about providing opportunity for our employees to do what they love – construction. The STAAT Mod™ project is an offshoot of that compulsion. We worked with a tremendous team at HGA Architects to create something both unique and useful, but more than that, it will change the way we build in the future. There is tremendous pride associated with being involved in doing something different and first.
What poses a challenge, risk or opportunity for your clients and what is your company doing to address it?
The world is upside down right now. Healthcare systems have uncontrollable costs and little to no normal revenue. Office users are not using their offices. Educators are trying to find a way to educate outside the classroom. Factories & service industries worlds have changed…some are running, some are not.
We are here to help however they might need it.
What is something you view as an emerging trend in the industry and what are your perspectives on it?
Construction continues to evolve, and it needs to. As an industry, we are one of the least productive and have higher safety incident rates than others. Prefabrication in a controlled environment takes numerous factors out of play.
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