Member Spotlight: Foundation Steel
Beam by beam, rebar by rebar, Foundation Steel builds enviable reputation
Everybody knows about the tortoise and the hare, and the reassuring moral of their race: Slow and steady wins. But replace the two competing animals with a more realistic model 鈥� dozens of canny businesses vying for a place in the winner鈥檚 circle 鈥� and slow/steady begins to sound quaint if not downright unprofitable.
Charlotte Dymarkowski, President of , is here to say otherwise. Her slow, steady and eyes-on-excellence approach built the Swanton-headquartered company into one of the region鈥檚 most respected structural steel fabricator and installers. With a staff numbering around 200, the company鈥檚 many projects include interstate bridges, the Henry Ford Cancer Center in Detroit, and the aerospace control alert shelter for the 180th Fighter Wing.
Not at all tortoise-like in personality, Charlotte impresses with her directness and determination. Her account of the company鈥檚 birth is as straightforward as she is: 鈥淚 said to my husband, 鈥楬ey, why don鈥檛 I start a company?鈥� My background was business, but not construction. He thought it was kind of a crazy idea, but he supported me.
鈥淪o I founded the company in 2008 from scratch, with no employees. I hired my first employee in 2011 鈥� it took that time to set up and to get to know the construction players in the area.鈥�
Initially Foundation Steel was run out of the family home, with workers using the garage to fabricate reinforced steel. Operations moved to Swanton some three years later, followed by an expansion into a larger building.
She keeps a special place in her heart for Maumee-based Mosser Construction Inc. 鈥淭hey were the first ones to give us a subcontract job,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淭hey asked if I was sure we鈥檇 be able to manage the job and I said Yes.鈥� It was the beginning of a long and fruitful business relationship. Among many testimonials are the words of a senior project manager with Mosser: 鈥淔oundation Steel is a trusted partner who consistently contributes to our shared success.鈥�
As for the challenge of being a woman president in a field dominated by men, she allows herself a short laugh. 鈥淵es, it鈥檚 been a challenge, especially because people 鈥� especially some competitors 鈥� thought we would fail. It鈥檚 been fun to prove them all wrong.鈥�
Strongly faith-based, she pulls back from any hint of boasting, adding, 鈥淎fter all, we鈥檙e all just one job away from failing! But I don鈥檛 focus on that possibility 鈥� I focus on doing the right thing. We鈥檙e going to run our business and leave all the noise behind.鈥�
As Foundation Steel moves forward. Charlotte puts her faith into the company鈥檚 daily realities 鈥� even into planning for the future. 鈥淚鈥檓 the kind of person who does some planning, but I have a very strong faith,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n the beginning I could never have hoped for what we are now, so I would have shot short in planning. I just want to be obedient in the moment and do what I do.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about getting the right people in the right places, treating people right. We have a great team.鈥�
Indeed, a crucial part of Foundation鈥檚 mission statement reads: 鈥淎t Foundation we regard our employees as the heartbeat of our organization and our most important asset. We cherish them and devote ourselves, time and money to ensure our employees are respected, trained, mentored, challenged, professional, equipped and appreciated.鈥�
Two years ago, the company was certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction 鈥� at that time the only construction company within 100 miles with the AISC designation. It鈥檚 part of the constant quest for improvement, Charlotte says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have the initials, but even better is how it鈥檚 helped us become better. Constant improvement is the only way to keep a market share.鈥�
Her vision of the company鈥檚 future is just as strongly cemented in betterment. 鈥淭he short-term future is just to keep getting better, then see if there鈥檚 another market to tackle, follow some natural progressions,鈥� she says. 鈥淐OVID-19 didn鈥檛 affect construction as much as it did other industries, but we still took a hit. What鈥檚 fortunate that even though some projects have been delayed, they鈥檙e still on the books.鈥�
Questions about the longer future she鈥檚 leaving to themselves, at least for the moment. Her son Danny serves both as vice president and as manager of the Reinforcing Division, and Charlotte at 53 isn鈥檛 thinking 鈥渆xactly鈥� about retirement, but she doesn鈥檛 reject the word. After all, there are still vistas to explore, improvements to make 鈥� one is more involvement in the Family Business Center, she says. 鈥淏oth my son and son-in-law belong to affinity groups, and I want to get back into one as well.鈥�
淫妻社, though, is never far from her thoughts, given another family connection. 鈥淢y father, John Stoepler, was dean of the College of Law, and I鈥檓 also very involved with the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute.
鈥淭he University is near and dear to my heart.鈥�
Then it鈥檚 time for this very successful tortoise to race off to another meeting. She leaves a strong impression that whatever the race, she intends to win.