Road to Recognition

The road to a lifetime achievement award doesn’t always come easy, and Chris Traylor says he didn’t walk it alone.

The co-president of Traylor Bros., Inc. — a heavy civil contracting business that specializes in building landmark bridges, tunnels, and marine infrastructures — attributes the recognition that comes with his 2016 Outstanding Projects and Leaders Lifetime Achievement Award for Construction to his family and his team at the company.

“Great things can’t be accomplished by individuals,” says Traylor. “It usually takes a lot of collaboration and teamwork to do really positive things.”

The third generation of Traylors to run the company, Chris says those positive things are the result of his predecessors’ hard work.

When his grandfather started the company 70 years ago, he looked at projects through a regional lens, taking on ventures like Ohio River bridge foundations and soft ground tunnels in Louisville, Kentucky.

His father had a broader vision for the company, shifting the business’ focus from regional to national with divisional offices around the country.

Since taking the reins as co-presidents, Chris and his brother Michael have focused on taking what the previous generations have done and doing it better in order to maximize profitability and increase the quality and safety of work — a feat they’ve achieved by institutionalizing strategic planning as a regular part of the company’s business and creating a roadmap for team members to follow.

The award, presented on behalf of the American Society of Civil Engineers in March 2016, isn’t a capstone on his career. It reaffirms the work his company has done and acts as motivation to keep doing what he’s doing, he says.

“We have a very collaborative culture here,” says Chris, who was pictured on the cover of the June/July 2009 issue of Evansville Business with his family. “In our organization, all the doors are open and we hope people work together to make the company the best it can be.”

For more information about Traylor Bros., Inc., call 812-477-1542 or visit traylor.com.

Previous article
Next article

Related Articles

Latest Articles