Citadel Contractors
The Citadel team assembling the rigging to lift the panel at the…
Contractor Information
Company: Citadel Contractors
Location: Apex, N.C.
Launched: 1997
No. branches: 1
No. employees: 105
In 1997, Glenn Doncaster saw an opportunity to increase market share in North Carolina via tilt-up concrete: slabs that are used as walls. The methodology saves project owners time and money because, unlike precast panels formed off-site at a concrete plant, the concrete contractor fabricates panels at the jobsite.
Citadel Contractors offered architecturally detailed panels before it was an industrywide practice, one reason the company became one of the most prominent tilt-up contractors on the East Coast. It’s also taken advantage of advances in tilt-up technologies and processes to expand its customer base from single-story buildings for big-box retailers and the like to multilevel buildings like offices and theaters. Like other design-build contractors, Citadel chose tilt-up construction because it’s cheaper, quicker, and safer.
While its primary market is the Carolinas and Virginia, the contractor has traveled to Alabama, Florida, Kansas, and Ohio. “You go where the good customers need you to,” says Doncaster. The Tilt-Up Concrete Association-certified contractor was quick to jump on building information modeling (BIM) and drones for construction photography to keep up with its competitors.
When OSHA’s silica dust compliance rule was enforced last September, Citadel was prepared. Compliance was easy because tilt-up construction doesn’t involve demolition and repair, which generate a lot of airborne dust. “Water and vacuums solved about 80% of our issues,” says Doncaster. “Then we conducted some training to break some bad habits.” The company spent about $60,000 on new tools and employee training.
Citadel promotes from within to combat the industrywide shortage of skilled labor. Carpenters and foremen are groomed for years to step into superintendent roles. Also, long-term employees train new employees. “I don’t do anything special; it’s all about what the employees do,” says Doncaster.
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