Recent months have yielded prestigious awards in all aspects of KBE Building Corporation’s operations, from work on senior centers, federal government installations, and educational institutions, to safety record and philanthropic endeavors.
Chair of KBE’s 50 Ways to Make a Difference committee, Simon Etzel, who along with Mike Kolakowski and Eric Brown owns the Farmington-based commercial construction company,said “It’s one thing to raise money, but when employees bring their entire families out to support our charitable endeavors, it reminds me that we have the best people around.” The Connecticut Construction Industries Association, Inc. agreed with Etzel, awarding KBE its Community Service Award for its annual 50 Ways to Make a Difference initiative, which last year raised over $25,000 and donated more than 2,200 volunteer hours to support those in need.
Two recent KBE projects took the Associated Builders & Contractors, CT Chapter’s (ABC-CT’s) top awards. The Armed Forces Reserve Center in Middletown, a $54 million design-build project that encompasses a 164,000sf structural-steel-and-masonry clad training center, a 36,000sf vehicle maintenance center, and a 4,000sf field equipment storage facility won ABC-CT’s Best in Show Award. The project also won First Place from the Connecticut Building Congress and the Engineering Excellence Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies.
The Whitney Center, which is an existing Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Hamden, won ABC-CT’s Excellence in Construction Award, as well as the People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the 700 contractors in attendance. The awards were for KBE’s work on the $50 million, seven-story, 195,000sf addition to the Whitney Center.
KBE took top honors for its Beverly High School project in Beverly, MA. The New England Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America honored KBE and its joint-venture partner, CTA Construction Company, the Project of the Year Award for Renovation/Modernization Projects Greater than $60 million.
KBE also maintains a keen focus on safety. The company was again honored with the ABC National Platinum STEP (Safety Training & Evaluation Process) Award. ABC ranks KBE as one of the top three construction companies in the United States with exemplary safety records, and has honored KBE with either a Platinum or Gold STEP Award every year since 2003.