7 minute read
EXPANDING FOOTPRINT TO OMAHA Groundworks Acquires Local Foundation Repair Company
ANDY HANSEN, GENERAL MANAGER, GROUNDWORKS
Expanding Footprint to Omaha
and water management solutions companies, has opened its first customer-facing location in Omaha.
The company was founded by Matt Malone in 2016 after seeing a need in the industry for quality workmanship in the area of foundation, basement waterproofing, crawl space, and concrete repair.
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Groundworks began when Malone noticed that the industry was fragmented, with far too many fly-by-night contractors and limiting business models that were not meeting the demands or expectations of homeowners. He also recognized that there were not enough meaningful career opportunities for employees and their families.
“Groundworks saw a better way,” he said.
So, he set out to do something different, and in the last five years, his efforts have proven successful.
Recently, Groundworks acquired CLS Foundation Repair, which has been in business in the Midwest for more than three decades. This was Groundworks’ 23rd acquisition since opening. With its new location in Omaha, the company now has 19 brands with 48 offices, offering a variety of services related to foundation and water management solutions.
Focused on People
The company has over 250 employee owners, with more than 4,000 total employees. Together, the team has served more than 1.5 million customers around the country since inception.
“Our employees benefit from our company’s merit-based bonus programs and profit-sharing program,” Malone said. “We have built an employee culture of owners who get up every day and act like owners. We have aggressive incentive programs that allow men and women who work at this company to earn a living that will change their lives to serve their families.”
Groundworks already has 50 employees in the Omaha office and will continue to build on the positive reputation that CLS has worked hard to build.
Andy Hansen, general manager of Groundworks Omaha, said CLS and its employees have been a part of the Omaha community
- MATT MALONE, FOUNDER, GROUNDWORKS
for many years now, delivering service to residents when they needed foundation repair and waterproofing services the most.
Focused on Omaha
Groundworks’ mission is simply to protect, repair and improve each customer’s greatest asset: their home. Malone is a strategic thinker and felt that servicing Omaha would be something that would not only benefit his company, but the residents in the area, too.
The company offers warranty-backed permanent solutions, service after each sale, quality products, and trusted local professionals that know the area and can tailor solutions to ensure homes are protected long into the future.
“Groundworks is challenging the status quo by providing better products and services to more customers, growing family businesses beyond what would have been otherwise possible,” Malone said.
In addition to the positive impact the company will have on local communities, buildings, and the workforce, Groundworks is also committed to giving back to the state in whatever ways possible.
Currently, the company is sponsoring the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and it has been named an Official Foundation Company of the Huskers.
Future Outlook
During the pandemic, the company saw the need for home services rise at an unprecedented rate. Groundworks wants to position itself as a leader, building one of the first national foundation solutions company in the United States.
Malone said Groundworks’ niche of foundation services is one of the most important and most complex service offerings a company can provide. That’s why Malone said he and his team work hard to showcase their expertise so customers will learn to trust them to do the job right, the first time.
Currently, there are plans to expand operations by opening additional Groundworks offices in Nebraska, and when this happens efforts will be concentrated on hiring local talent.
“We are relentlessly focused on delivering solutions our customers can trust, no matter where they live,” Malone said. “We know the Groundworks way of growth through investments, leadership development and bringing industry leading products and solutions to our customers will continue to make us successful in Nebraska and beyond.”
MBJ
402-925-9796 • 13831 CHALCO VALLEY PKWY SUITE 100, OMAHA 68138
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Positive Change
OFFICER MORISHA BROWN MAKES HISTORY DAILY
When Morisha Brown took her place as a U.S. probation and pretrial officer, she had no idea she was only the second – and now the only – Black person in that role in the entire state.
But nearly seven years into the role, she stands out for things much more important than race, bringing a mission mentality to her job helping the previously incarcerated re-engage as productive members of society.
“What helps me be good at my job is an awareness of who I am and an appreciation for who other people are in their intersectionality and what caused them to be who they are,” she said. “As I’m interacting with people, I’m being aware and appreciative of the lived experiences that created who they are. That’s what allows me to serve people where they are versus whoever I think they should be based on my lived experience or my journey, my demographics.”
Desire To Serve
Brown said working in criminal justice has been a longstanding goal dating back to her childhood where she’d watch Law & Order on television with her grandmother. But it wasn’t the “hook ‘em and book ‘em” that appealed to her; she saw criminal justice as a way to serve others who needed it.
“My main motivation was to truly be a helper and allow people to be seen and treated well, despite what they’ve done,” she said. “I grew up in north Omaha and a lot of people have been cheering me on. People have been excited to see someone in this role who gets it, who will stand up and say everybody from north Omaha isn’t bad. I get to be that advocate.”
In addition to her daily role, she also launched Career Emergence, a youth program that partners with community organizations to provide young people with hands-on experiences on the right side of the criminal justice system.
“It started with a conversation around diversity and what are we doing about it,” she said. “It boiled down to people not really knowing who we are and what we do. I had no idea what this job was until I was in grad school. There’s this whole other career that no one had ever talked to me about.
“One of the things I appreciate about my office is they embrace that I bring a different perspective and that I value diversity. I’ve been given a lot of opportunity to bring in projects and do outreach efforts and things that I think not only will increase diversity but to bring about more inclusivity and understanding what we bring into our position impacts the lives of the people we serve.”
Sharing The Credit
Brown has received numerous awards in her work but refused to talk about them because it goes against her belief that her role in parolees’ rehabilitation is merely as facilitator. She said any credit for the hard work goes to them.
“I always tell my clients, I will not take credit for your success, and I will not take credit for your failure,” she said. “It can be so easy to be like, ‘Oh, I helped them.’ But the truth of the matter is, while our job is important in how we show up and how we influence and what interventions we put in their path, I can’t want it enough for someone else. They have to do the work in their life.
“When that happens, it’s so beautiful to watch. It’s so beautiful to have a front row seat to that and be able to see positive longterm change. That’s part of our mission. That’s what we want.” PRESENTING SPONSOR
