Gray Construction Chairman Featured as Founding Father of the Design-Build Institute of America

“DBIA’s Founding Fathers were design-build ‘true believers’ at a time when many in the industry considered alternative delivery processes risky and a threat to the status quo,” said Lisa Washington, CAE, Executive Director/CEO, Design-Build Institute of America. “25 years ago, Gray Construction was already proving the naysayers wrong by delivering some of the nation’s best design-build projects, and Jim Gray was determined to expand those successes to all 50 states. It’s not often an individual can impact an entire industry; Jim Gray is one of those people. America has found a better way to build, thanks to his courage and insight.”

When these leaders came together 25 years ago, they had a mission – to expand design-build. The work has paid off since design-build is no longer an “alternative” project delivery method. The association is currently leading the industry to new heights.

“It’s so rewarding to see a 25-year-old vision develop to such an extraordinary level, proving that ideas are the DNA of everything that’s important,” said Jim Gray, chairman of Gray Construction.

Historically, more than 75 percent of Gray Construction’s projects utilize the design-build method with expectations of this number to increase.

The panel included a spirited discussion of the founders recalling fond memories of the early days as well as ideas for what the future could hold.

During the event, Jim Gray was also recognized as a DBIA fellow.

Picture (L to R): Lisa Washington, CAE, DBIA Executive Director/CEO, Founding Fathers: Jim Gray, Gray Construction, Richard M. Kunnath, P.E., Pankow Builders, Preston Haskell, P.E., The Haskell Company, Don Warren, McCrory Construction, and William Hasbrook, 2018 DBIA Board Chairman.

About DBIA

Twenty-five years ago, a handful of the nation’s architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry leaders got together because they knew there had to be a better way to bring a project from design to delivery. They didn’t invent the design-build process, but they set about to perfect it and to share it with a wider audience.

Today that novel, even “radical,” idea delivers nearly half of the nation’s construction projects — from airports to art museums, from burger joints to college dorms, from LEED-platinum police stations to billion-dollar tunnels carrying traffic beneath our waterways. Each of those projects and thousands more have provided greater value to Owners by bringing designers and builders to the table on day one.

For more information on DBIA, visit https://dbia.org.

About Gray Construction

Gray Construction is a nationally ranked engineering, architecture and construction firm with nearly 60 years of experience in manufacturing, automotive, food and beverage, distribution and retail facility construction. Currently, Gray has several large projects that are under way or recently completed including: a new global logistics parts consolidation center (PCC) for Mercedes-Benz in Woodstock, Ala.; custom-fitted NorthStar® Kitchens for Champion in Alberta, Canada; a new paint shop for Volvo Car US Operations Inc. in Ridgeville, S.C.; a fresh pork processing facility in Coldwater, Mich., for Clemens Food Group; and a state-of-the-art facility for Kraft Heinz in Davenport, Iowa, named Food Engineering Magazine’s 2018 Plant of the Year.

For more information on Gray, visit www.gray.com and follow us @grayconstructio.