Message from the CEO

Achen-Gardner Construction, LLC is honored to be celebrating our 25th year providing construction services to the Valley and State of Arizona. From our humble beginnings with Doug Gardner (Founder), and Sanders Achen (Founder) to today with John Walstrom (VP), Dan Spitza (VP), Kevin Nunez (VP), and me, we have built hundreds of projects and developed countless relationships in both the public and private sectors and serve as an integral part of the growth of Arizona.

In February of 1989, Achen-Gardner shared an office with Farmers Insurance on Alma School Road in Chandler and another office in Casa Grande. Every morning I would call Doug Gardner on a cell phone that was as big as a boot and he would tell me what office we were going to work at for the day. At the end of each day, Roger Rawling (Achen-Gardner’s first Estimator) and I would load our computers into our vehicles to take them home, not knowing where we would have to go the next day. This went on for about six months until we moved into our own office on Alma School Road. I believe we did about $770k in our first year. It was a modest beginning but the trademark of building long-lasting relationships was created in our first year of doing business. Our long-term goal was to self perform as much work as we could. This goal was accelerated by the state law that required horizontal contractors to self perform at least 50% of their work. Since then, we have become a contractor known for self performance, controlling our destiny, and completing projects on time and under budget. We have also become a leader in Construction Manager at Risk, Design-Build, and Job Order Contracting projects.

For the past 25 years, Achen-Gardner has played a significant role in shaping our industry and the growth of infrastructure in the Valley and State. Whether it’s elaborate streetscapes, innovative ultraviolet light cured-in-place pipe rehabilitation, or very intricate and highly technical Design-Build projects, our success and long tenure would not have been possible without the hard working employees who have been part of the Achen-Gardner family over the last 25 years. Employees, past and present, have dedicated their efforts to building quality projects and long-lasting relationships. Achen-Gardner has been fortunate to have employees who have been with us for our entire history - a mark of a truly successful company. We are a company that also gives time and resources to benefit community organizations and students, including ICAN, St. Vincent DePaul, Sunshine Acres Children's Home, Habitat for Humanity, Chandler Rotary, American Red Cross, and the Mike Kolling Memorial Scholarship Fund.

I would like to say thank you to all of our employees, clients, and partners for all you have done in making our first 25 years so very successful. We look forward to many more years of working together as we continue to shape our community.

Sincerely,

Dennis Troggio

CEO of Achen-Gardner Construction, LLC

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Achen-Gardner Construction Featured in Arizona Builder's Exchange

The following article about Achen-Gardner Construction's 25th Anniversary was featured in the March 7 issue of Arizona Builder's Exchange.

Achen-Gardner Construction Celebrates 25 Years

Submitted by Scott Kirchhofer for Achen-Gardner Construction, LLC.

Anyone can be in business for years but it’s the backbone of the business and the impact on the industry it serves that makes it a lasting and valued partner to customers, employees and peers. In celebrating 25 years as an industry leader in Arizona, Achen-Gardner continues to live out the core values (the backbone) established by founders Doug Gardner and Sanders Achen – “Our customers deserve the best and our employees make it possible”.

In 1989, Dennis Troggio (President) accepted the opportunity to start and lead the General Engineering Construction Division of Achen-Gardner, Inc. and expanded the business into the heavy highway arena. Twenty-five years later, what once was a division to a parent company is now a successful standalone operation – Achen-Gardner Construction, LLC.

As a heavy highway general contractor, Achen-Gardner Construction specializes in underground wet utilities, pipeline rehabilitation, roadway improvements, heavy civil infrastructure, site development, and streetscapes. Achen-Gardner Construction is also the exclusive installer of Reline America Inc.’s Blue-Tek Ultraviolet Light Cured-In-Place Pipe liner system in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The company has two offices located in Chandler and Tucson with 110 employees combined.

Letter from the city of Chandler