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Business Lessons from a Founder

I have worked with and learned from amazing people on my journey – let's build together.

latest business posts

Clayco breaks safety record for 2024-2025 with lowest EMR score in company history.

A Record-Breaking Moment for Safety at Clayco

Clayco just hit a historic low EMR of 0.39. Discover how a safety-first culture transformed the industry—one jobsite, one decision at a time.

A Culture of Excellence on Display at Hankook

Clayco’s Hankook Tire expansion in Tennessee is a powerful example of world-class execution driven by culture, teamwork, and a shared commitment to delivering on a tight timeline.

Thoughts and Guidance for Building a Business

Deanna Kuhlmann-Leavitt was a big part of shaping Clayco’s brand. She’s always been a designer—and now she’s starting something new with her husband, Rob Leavitt: Pershing Works, Inc. while continuing to lead Kuhlmann Leavitt, Inc., their design studio in St. Louis.

Tipping the Scales on Carbon: Concrete Strategies Building Smarter

At Clayco, we know the art and science of building is always evolving. We believe there’s always better way to build, you just have to challenge yourself to figure it out. That mindset doesn’t stop at the skyline—it runs all the way down to the concrete we stand on. In our latest field test, our teams at Clayco and Concrete Strategies set out to answer a simple but important question: Can we reimagine the materials we use every day without slowing down the work?

Arcadia Cold Storage

Cold storage is no-frills, but it’s one of the trickiest and most important things we build, and we love the challenge. Clayco, alongside our design partners at Lamar Johnson Collaborative, is proud to be delivering a 294,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Joliet for Saxum Development. This one’s going to be a game-changer.

220 N. Ada Progress

The skyline of Chicago is changing—and Clayco is right at the heart of it. 220 N. Ada has officially topped out at 29 stories and 314 feet, standing tall in the Fulton Market District as a new landmark for what’s possible when design, construction, and community come together.

BUSINESS

My Mock Death is Today

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Business

The concept of earning is an instinct of mine

My first job was stamping cans at a little grocery market in exchange for candy at about 10 years old. The concept of earning was an early instinct of mine.

During my teen years, I had a car wash on my home driveway, after which I started doing small painting and odd jobs at neighbors’ homes for extra money, but mainly to avoid mowing my own yard by paying the kid down the street to do it. I could make more money doing the other jobs, which allowed me to pay him very little to do something I didn’t want to do that was much more time-consuming. Looking back, that was an entrepreneurial experience.

ADVENTURE