Chamber winner Ivan Weaver Construction still helping people build dreams
Building people’s dreams: That is basically what Ivan Weaver Construction has been doing for many decades. Whether it is a couple’s first dream house or a new business’ ideal structure that allows them to fulfill their hopes of a thriving business, Ivan Weaver Construction has been helping fulfill those dreams for decades.
The 2017 Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau's annual meeting and awards banquet took place at Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek on Thursday, Nov. 9.
Ivan Weaver Construction’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality workmanship and structures have been integral to the tourism industry and paved the way for the company to be honored as the 2017 Large Business of the Year recipient.
Ivan Weaver Construction began in 1970 when Ivan Weaver went from working on a construction crew to owning and leading this company that has since those early days grown into an industry leader.
According to chamber presenter Rob Hovis of Edward Jones Investments, Ivan Weaver initially began small when he formed his own business, focusing on home renovation and additions. Not long after, a local asked Ivan Weaver to build a home for him.
The answer was a resounding yes. Not long after the completion of that project, the Citizens Bank of Fredericksburg asked if Ivan Weaver would consider building a new banking facility, and the company took on a new role.
By 1978 Ivan Weaver’s son Mark began his career in the company, and he soon became the owner and operator. As the company’s reputation grew, so too did the demand for their company to take on some very significant construction jobs in the area that included Guggisberg Cheese and Chalet in the Valley, Keim Lumber, Weaver Leather, Commercial & Savings Bank operation center, Carlisle Inn at Walnut Creek, Melway Paving, Holmes Supply, Berlin Mennonite Church, Grace Mennonite Church, Homestead Furniture, all three churches for NewPointe Church and many more.
Ivan Weaver Construction has its fingerprints all over Amish Country and beyond, and in their wake of work they have left incredible works that have proven to be sturdy, expertly crafted structures that have given an identity to so many area businesses, organizations and churches.
“All of this was done with never more than the current 42 employees,” Hovis said. “The most senior current employees started with the firm in 1976, 41 years ago. They have many employees with 20 years or more of service to the firm."
Mark Weaver assumed management of the business in 1992, and in 2010 he took over sole ownership. Since those early days, Ivan Weaver Construction has moved on from building homes, instead focusing on designing and crafting stunning commercial structures.
“The largest structures they have built in terms of scale are Keim Lumber and the Hartville Kitchen Hardware facility in Hartville, Ohio,” Hovis said. “Each of these buildings is more than 300,000 square feet, equal to nearly seven football fields.”
Mark Weaver said one of the most gratifying parts of owning the company has been the building, not of structures, but of the many relationships that have blossomed over the decades.
“I am humbled with the award,” Mark Weaver said. “There are so many things that have changed since Dad started in 1970, and that means we have changed the way we have done things. We have built a lot of structures over the past 47 years, but most importantly we are so thankful for the clients in Holmes County, which is probably way over 50 percent of our work. The relationships that we have built have been a blessing."
Hovis said technology has truly changed the way construction takes place today, and as that has taken place, Ivan Weaver Construction has seamlessly advanced along with technology. But what amazed Hovis the most is that the company still has every file of every structure it has ever built from day one.
“Think of this,” Hovis said in amazement. "They have every invoice from the thousands of projects they have built, going all the way back to that first project in 1970. Therefore they can easily tell any client the name of the color of stone or brick or siding that was used on a building.”
Most recently Ivan Weaver Construction designed and built the two large buildings at the new Holmes County Fairgrounds at Harvest Ridge in Millersburg.
Mark Weaver said tourism has played a key role in their success, and he noted that as Amish Country continues to blossom, it only helps all of the other businesses in the area.
“I’m always reminded, driving down the roads of Holmes County, that when you get behind a slow-moving vehicle that is not a buggy or a tractor and people are gazing in every direction, taking in the beautiful countryside, before I have some bad thoughts or say something I shouldn’t, I remind myself that these people are really a big part of where we are today and the success we have experienced over the years.”
Hovis said few companies have had the physical impact Ivan Weaver Construction has had on this area as the company continues to create stunning structures that bring people to visit Amish Country.
“Structures can be destroyed easily,” Hovis said, “without much skill or experience. A sledgehammer, a wrecking ball, and it’s all over. But to build one, that requires great skill, broad experience, expensive and sophisticated equipment and people who know how to operate it, large amounts of capital, and a high-functioning work force. Ivan Weaver has all of that, and they are ready to keep building Holmes County.”