Celebrating 100 Years of integrity, innovation, and lasting relationships: valuing people, building dreams!
Celebrating a CENTURY of valuing people and building dreams!
This once-in-a-lifetime milestone is made possible by the commitment of our employee-owners and through relationships built over time with our clients and partners.
From its earliest days, W.E. O’Neil has embraced growth and change to meet the evolving needs of its clients and communities.
W.E. O’Neil’s expansion has always been rooted in opportunity and purpose. Whether entering new markets to secure vital projects during the Great Depression, responding to post-war infrastructure demands, or diversifying into emerging industries, the company has consistently adapted to serve its clients. This forward-thinking approach has allowed W.E. O’Neil to grow into a national leader while staying true to its values.
In the early days, W.E. O’Neil’s expansion wasn’t about growth—it was about survival. With the country in the throes of the Great Depression, the company pivoted, securing public works contracts in new markets like New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington D.C. These projects were essential to keeping the company intact and laid the groundwork for future geographic expansion.
The post-WWII era presented new opportunities in heavy and industrial construction. In 1935, W.E. O’Neil had built a heavy stamping plant in Indianapolis for General Motors. This major milestone laid the foundation for lasting relationships with industry giants like Ford, Caterpillar, and Chrysler, which flourished post-war and through the 60s and 70s.
In the 1950s W.E. O’Neil expanded its reach by tackling major infrastructure projects (mostly road building) and exploring new regions, including opening a Syracuse office to meet the growing demand for industrial development across New York and beyond.
By the 1980s, W.E. O’Neil was taking strategic steps to enter new geographical markets and industries. The Tucson and Phoenix offices were opened to take advantage of opportunities in the booming southwestern U.S. market, while the Los Angeles office (opened in 1985) became a gateway to the aerospace and defense industries in the 1990s.
This era of entrepreneurial risk-taking and innovation laid the groundwork for decades of growth and diversification, establishing W.E. O’Neil as a trusted partner in some of the nation’s most forward-thinking sectors.
The 2000s and beyond have been a period of sustained growth and diversification for W.E. O’Neil. With new offices in Denver, San Diego, Nashville, Austin, and Northern California, the company has continued to expand its national footprint, taking on increasingly larger and more complex projects. This momentum has solidified W.E. O’Neil’s position as a national player while staying focused on building lasting relationships in new markets.
Today, W.E. O’Neil operates as a national builder with regional expertise, delivering projects across diverse markets and sectors. The company continues to expand its reach while maintaining its commitment to quality, innovation, and lasting partnerships: valuing people and building dreams.
As we look ahead, W.E. O’Neil is focused on sustainable growth, developing our employee-owners, building great relationships, and embracing new technologies to build for the next century.
The company was honored for its work in preserving historic buildings throughout the City of Chicago, and Michael Faron, Chicago Chairman then, accepted the award on its behalf on March 7, 2016.
The early 2000s began boosting California's revenues to over a hundred million as the company opened expansion offices throughout Southern California and in the Bay Area.
Lane Tech High School was completed in the midst of the Great Depression. In lieu of payment, we received certificates of payment from the City of Chicago. Fun fact: Bill O’Neil joked we have enough of these to use them as wallpaper.
In 1930, W.E. O’Neil began construction on the Ford Rotunda building for the World’s Fair in Chicago. After the Fair, our team was commissioned by Ford to disassemble the building and reassemble it in Detroit in 1936. There, the Rotunda served as a visitor center, hosted soldier training during the war, held dealer presentations and business meetings, and underwent a major renovation in the ’50s before being tragically destroyed by fire in 1962.
W.E. O’Neil’s entry into road construction nearly sank the company after devastating floods in 1958. But the experience—and equipment—led to success in bridges and heavy industrial work, ultimately saving the company from bankruptcy. According to Art O’Neil, learning these skills the hard way turned a major setback into a defining opportunity that helped shape the company’s future in heavy construction.
In the early ‘80s, the company was awarded the City Place project in Hartford, Connecticut. A 38-story commercial office building, the project remains the tallest building in the state. That contract, combined with the strong presence of our insurance clients in Hartford, gave us good reason to open an office there, which remained in operation until the early ‘90s.
Todd Guthrie came to Brian Ramsay in the late ‘90s to open an office in Denver. After Todd worked with Brian and Rich Erickson on the plan for the office, the team presented the idea to Art O’Neil. Art looked at Rich and asked about Todd, “Do you trust him?” Rich replied in the affirmative, and the rest is history.
