In an industry like construction where things seem to change and evolve every day, keeping your business current and relevant not to mention, welcoming to new clients can be tough. So, how do you do it? How do you distinguish yourself from the rest and make sure you can move with the times year to year?
A great example of achieving success when it comes to staying current is James McHugh Construction Co. of Chicago, Ill. Not only have they been in business for more than 122 years, but McHugh has also built its reputation on high-quality work and focused client care. It's these and many more attributes that help keep this sought-after construction company ahead of the curve and maybe even ahead of their time.
Longstanding history
McHugh is a family-owned business and has been ever since its inception in 1897 by founder James D. McHugh. From the very beginning, the company established itself as a leader in general contracting with, at the time, a reputation for specialized masonry work. These days, McHugh is known for their high-quality workmanship on high-rise buildings and condos as well as one-of-a-kind structures like Chicago Navy Pier's Centennial Wheel and the historic Blackstone Hotel. 
But you don't stay in business for over a century by doing business in only one city. 
Steve Wiley is a senior vice president at McHugh and leads the Civil Construction group. 
"We self-perform pile driving, which consists of H-pile, pipe pile and sheet pile on infrastructure projects such as deep foundations for bridges and retaining walls. We perform railroad bridge replacement and new railroad bridge construction; when we do bridge construction, we're typically doing 100 percent of the work ourselves. With respect to our building projects we self-perform our own concrete for high-rise structures, which is a specialty of ours. (But) we are a true general contractor."
While much of their work occurs within the city limits of Chicago, "we've constructed high-rise projects in a number of other cities around the country," said Wiley. "We generally follow our developer clients wherever they need us to go." 
Demonstrating such a commitment to their clients also demonstrates commitment to their staff, half of whom have been with the company for more than 10 years thanks to steady and interesting work. 
"McHugh is a family-owned business, there's a culture of it being more like a family. We value our employees, and everyone has exposure to some really cool projects," said Wiley.
Playing the long game
It's the interesting, one-of-a-kind projects that help maintain McHugh's success. If you consider their portfolio of work, it's easy to see why clients keep coming back and why new clients seek them out. 
"The Aqua tower in Chicago was built back in 2007," said Wiley. "It was designed by renowned architect Jeanne Gang and is a very unique building. Before taking over our Civil group, I was in charge of pre-construction for the company and worked on the Aqua project in a pre-construction capacity. It's a very interesting project. The most visually apparent features are the undulating balcony slabs that move in and out, creating a really unique shape to the building. Those balconies are all part of the concrete structure, which McHugh performed. They're formed edges and each one has a unique geometry. It wasn't randomly placed; it was all constructed to the specific design to achieve the stunning visual effect that it has."
It's projects like Aqua that set McHugh apart from their competitors but not just because of the way the finished product looks on the skyline. McHugh is dedicated to using innovative techniques and the latest technology to ensure their clients are informed and comfortable throughout the entire construction process. 
"On the civil side, going back about 10 years, 3D virtual construction was an emerging technology in the building world and it really got its foothold in construction on the building side. McHugh was at the forefront of keeping pace with that emerging technology; it's one of the things we brought to civil construction, I think, a lot earlier than expected. Because we are a large, diverse construction company, keeping pace with technology like that allows us to have a lot more experiences in construction than in just the civil and pile driving world. So, we can bring in those best practices from all around the industry and, where it makes sense, utilize it to benefit civil construction and pile driving."
The future is now
While McHugh has many longstanding accomplishments that form the basis of their business foundation, they really do have a steady eye on the future to ensure they remain at the top of their game for as long as possible. 
"The one thing we know for certain is that our industry changes," said Wiley. "As the years go by, changes in the industry occur in more frequent cycles than they used to. Having the flexibility to change with those cycles and to have the foresight of leadership to always have our eyes two, three or five years down the road to try and anticipate as best we can what those changes will be so that we can react to them is critical. It's also about managing the costs of each project and the finances of the company so we're always in a good capital position to be able to ride out the cycles in the economy. The downturns are always going to be there; whenever there's a prosperous time in an industry, you can count on it going back down at some point. So, you need to ride that out and be in a good position to capitalize on the market when it goes back up again."
Another aspect of longevity in business is knowing the importance of staying connected to the industry that supports you, as Wiley explains. 
"McHugh Construction isn't known anywhere as a piling contractor; I don't know that that's our intent. But we do think it's important to get exposure in the piling community and being a member of the PDCA helps us with that. Exposure in the piling community lets those interested in pile driving or in projects that involve pile driving know McHugh is out there and that pile driving is something we do. It allows us to collect opportunities we might not otherwise have had the opportunity to collect. [PileDriver] allows us to keep tabs on the pile driving world. It's always interesting to see what other contractors are doing, what projects are happening and what pile driving specialists are doing, and it's a good source for equipment and products, too."
Providing high-quality results and continuous care for clients, a steady work environment for employees, seeking out innovation and staying connected within the community are just a few of the things James McHugh Construction Co. has done to ensure success and, ultimately, stay ahead of the curve.