One Year as EV Construction - Deeper Meaning to "Built Around People"

Contributed by Mike Novakoski, CEO & President

Over two years ago, our team decided to shorten the company name, update our logo and refresh our brand collateral in an effort to catch the brand up with the growth and accomplishments the company has achieved. In April 2020 we became EV Construction.

The tag line “Built Around People” was intentionally chosen to reflect our corporate vision and mission. First and foremost, EV Construction is more than a construction manager. We are builders. We have over 100 skilled craftspeople in seven high-performing trade divisions.

The tag line emphasizes the important role partners play in the company’s success. “People” not only refers to EV Construction employees but also the trade partners, project owners, businesses and community members that are tied to the company. The goal is that the processes and delivery of each project are built around the needs of the whole project team, not only our bottom line.

Never could we have known how truly timely our new tag line would be. “Built Around People” took on even greater meaning over the course of the past twelve months. Like every employer, we had to adjust our operational approach to fit varying needs and safety protocol during a worldwide event like we had never seen before; the pandemic. We worked with employees on setting up home offices, changing schedules to allow for online learning of school-aged children and did our best to alleviate tensions and fears. Our commitment to safety never changed. We implemented protocols to keep our team members, partners and clients safe on each project site and in our offices. We created new tools to support those protocols and shared them with the community. We found new ways to offer support and move business forward. Never was there a better time to ‘put our money where our mouth was’ and prove we put people first.

Last year, in our press release, we stated: “We have a ‘people first’ approach to running our business, and always have. We are eager to continue our success across Michigan and the U.S. and wouldn’t be where we are today without the employees and relationships that have allowed us to be successful in the industry.”  I would like to think that statement is even truer today than it was a year ago. We have always put people over profit, and 2020 was our year to prove it.

Now more than ever, we know a good brand is only as good as the team behind it, and we’re proud of the team that stands behind ours. Our team members came together to foster solutions to challenges nobody would or could have imagined. True to form, our team exceeded expectations. EV team members completed construction work on numerous successful projects, including the renovation of the Boven Birth Center at Holland Hospital, renovation work at Clark at Franklin and new construction on the Clark at Keller Lake campus. Upgrades were made to Calvin College’s Spoelhof Center, Mercy Health Hospital in Muskegon, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, multiple projects for the City of Grand Rapids and dozens of West Michigan manufacturing companies, to name a few.

The company also had another award-winning year. EV Construction earned two Associated Builders and Contractor’s Excellence in Construction Awards from the Western Michigan chapter and a Top Performer endorsement from ABC’s national office. For the 10^th consecutive year, the Best and Brightest National Organization recognized EV as a top employer and the West Michigan regional program granted the company an Elite award for community initiatives. EV Construction is an award-winning company because of its award-worthy employees.

In no way do we diminish the challenges of the past year. We realize the effects of the pandemic have been far greater for some than for others, as we have witnessed amongst our own team members and industry partners. We grieve with those who have lost or suffered due to the pandemic, as we also celebrate the resiliency of those around us. I am humbled by the EV team, proud of the work they have done for the last 76 years and what they continue to do daily. When we chose “Built Around People” for our new tagline, we knew it fit who we were at our core, but we thought about the cool photography that could accompany ads, the witty puniness of the term and its longevity. Over 365 days later, “Built Around People” still holds true, but with deeper roots than what we even knew we had.