Q&A with Todd Sachse, CEO and Founder of Sachse Construction

A Chat with Todd Sachse, CEO and Founder of Sachse Construction

Relationship building and teamwork drives success

By Chris Maday Schmidt

A construction industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Todd Sachse has led Sachse Construction through the completion of millions of square feet of commercial, institutional, multi-family and industrial projects throughout North America since he started his company in 1991. He and his business partner also own and operate six other companies. Join Construction Superintendent as Sachse discusses his journey from superintendent to company owner, and what he believes the No. 1 quality an aspiring superintendent should possess.

(Q) You served as a superintendent before you started Sachse Construction more than 25 years ago. Describe one project you supervised that stands out from the others in terms of challenge and/or reward—and why.

The first project I worked on as a superintendent was in an office building in West Bloomfield, Michigan. We had to gut and rebuild a 2,000-square-foot office space. This was my first commercial office project, as all of my work beforehand was in the multi-family sector. I had to ask questions every single day in order to adapt and do my job effectively. Because everything on this project was completely new to me, it was a tremendous learning experience.

(Q) Describe your journey to become a superintendent and your progression to a company owner.

As a superintendent, I was making deals with various small builders in town. I cut deals to share profits on the projects we worked on together instead of having them pay me as a superintendent. Through this, I learned not just how to manage projects, but how to price them and more. During Sachse Construction’s beginning, I had to wear a lot of different hats, such as estimator, project manager and superintendent. I spent long hours on the jobsites running projects and completed operational work at night and through the weekends. The steady progression of doing multiple jobs at once led me to hire more superintendents to be on the jobsites so I could focus on growing the business.

(Q) While getting your business(es) off the ground and serving as a “one-man” shop, how did you juggle your superintendent responsibilities?

From the beginning, I was working long hours. My sole priority was the projects I was managing and running during the day. That left my nights and weekends for operating and growing my business. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see my team expand and business continue to prosper!

(Q) In your opinion, what do you feel was the key ingredient for a successful transition from the field to running your own company(ies)?

Frankly, there is no difference. Both jobs are all about relationship building and teamwork. On the job, you need to build relationships with your foremen, building inspectors, architects and subcontractors. The same goes for running a successful construction company. You cultivate a team through executive leadership and employee training. People, processes and culture need to be built for both a project and a company to succeed.

(Q) How has your participation in several nonprofit and community organizations in the city of Detroit (Michigan) and its metropolitan region been instrumental in your career?

Aside from my own personal interest and commitment to giving back to the community, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the more exposure I got to different organizations, the more I learned about the diverse types of people involved. It allowed me the opportunity to forge relationships and expand our network. Another positive result of being involved is education. I learned how these organizations and representatives run their businesses, whether structurally, mission-based or strategically. You learn how other people conduct themselves in meetings, problem solving and strategy, which allowed me to bring those skills and knowledge back to my own organization.

(Q) What type of safety program is in place at Sachse? What do you do to engage your team and subs in project safety?

Safety requires awareness and commitment. It’s a critical subject we discuss every single day. It’s the first item on every agenda, that way it is never buried or forgotten. As we’ve grown and evolved, we’ve gone from having a part-time safety person to a full-time safety director training our team and, most importantly, our superintendents. Our program is highly documented and is consistently ongoing to ensure updates. All Sachse superintendents and project managers are 30-hour OSHA trained.

(Q) Share any new or recent technologies you’ve implemented with your superintendents.

The technology I’ve found to be the best tool for our superintendents is a mobile application Sachse developed to help manage our company’s punchlists. The application allows seamless communication between our superintendents and subcontractors. A superintendent has the capability to take a photo of any part of a project that needs attention, email that photo to a subcontractor and then add a description of the photo via text or email to the recipient. This not only allows every detail on a project to be documented, but also ensures the subcontractor and superintendent are on the same page regarding any punchlist items.

(Q) How have you been affected by the skilled worker shortage? If not affected, how do you plan to tackle this industry challenge?

We are all affected tremendously. We’ve been fortunate to develop meaningful relationships with subcontractors over the past 25 years, which has helped our business during this shortage, but we know our partners are struggling to attract and retain talent. Sachse is dealing with this issue and supporting our subcontractors by being active in the awareness, education and training of young professionals. We hosted a Construction Academy event this year and brought in 500 metro Detroit high school students for a day of hands-on learning from over 35 skilled trades companies. The kids gained exposure to a successful career path after high school and insight into the opportunities that exist in the skilled construction trades.

(Q) What do you look for when hiring superintendents? Name the No. 1 quality you believe an aspiring superintendent should possess and why.

We look for the same key characteristics in all of our team members, and those are our company’s core values. Do whatever it takes, do the right thing, have passion and enthusiasm and pursue excellence by constantly raising the bar. Along with core skills and competencies, we look for organizational skills and follow-through skills, as well as leadership. Having the capacity to be trained is also important in our new hires. We are obsessed with training. Whether a veteran or beginner, all Sachse team members go through a custom and continuous training program that is implemented on their first day, and executed throughout their career at Sachse Construction.

(Q) Tell us something you like to do for fun.

When I am not working, you can find me skiing or snowboarding with my family, playing tennis or creating pottery in my art studio at home.