The A List Mechanical Contractors

Employee loyalty grows with Ahern’s success

J.F. Ahern Co. is among the leaders in Wisconsin’s mechanical contracting industry.

Craig Jerabek, an Ahern superintendent who will start his 32nd year with the company at the end of February, has been with Ahern long enough to know what it takes to set such a pace.

Jerabek started as a plumber’s apprentice in 1977. His training and eventual qualification as a master plumber eight years later let him move between departments within the company.

He said he is “one of the few that flipped” departments, working first on large plumbing projects and then moving into the company’s wastewater division.

Now, his main responsibility is “keeping the owner happy. That’s how we get repeat business,” he said. He does a lot of public relations work, smoothing things out when there are delays and complications at a work site.

There must be a lot of happy owners. Ahern was doing about $3 million in business when Jerabek started on Feb. 28, 1977. In 2007, the company, now in eight states, put in place nearly $200 million of work overall and nearly $160 million in Wisconsin.

Ahern is committed to safety, Jerabek said. That, he said, is a source of Ahern’s growth as well as a reason he stayed loyal to the company for so many years.

“They care that the employees get home every night,” Jerabek said. “Employees who aren’t safe are gone quickly.”

Another advantage, Jerabek said, in working for a company that has grown as big as Ahern is that employees get to work on a variety of projects. Jerabek faced the challenge of laying a 7-foot-diameter pipe 26 feet underground. He completed a $75 million hospital project in 18 months with 126 tradesmen on the job. He installed utilities while life went on as usual at many different project sites.

Jerabek said he mainly works jobs in Wisconsin but has travelled to Indiana for projects. Right now, he’s working on a fish hatchery for the state and, he said, looking forward to the next big job.

— Lisa Loerzel