Schramm Construction Corp. collaborated with TIGER Drylac to develop floor plans and manage site work for a total interior retrofit of the company’s new 65,000-square-foot North American headquarters. The project received the Community Development Award from the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce.

The Schramm Construction Corp. team poses for a lighthearted photo during a volunteer project at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, one of many charities supported by the St. Charles, Illinois-based company.

Fred Schramm has the ability and experience to look at a construction plan, foresee problems and suggest improvements—all to meet the goals and objectives of his clients. This foresight works to make his firm, Schramm Construction Corp., succeed.

For more than two decades, Schramm Construction, based in St. Charles, Illinois, has built schools, retail and medical buildings, churches, resorts and waterparks, manufacturing facilities and warehouses.

“Fred doesn’t just take a plan and run with it,” says wife and company co-owner, Annette Schramm. “He takes ownership of every plan he looks at.”

Fred began his construction career in central Illinois while in high school. During the summer, he worked alongside his uncle, learning the business from the ground up.

In 1985, the building industry was sluggish due to high interest rates and skeptical investors. Fred moved his family to the Chicago area in hopes of finding more opportunity. Taking a job as a carpenter with a general contractor in Naperville, Illinois, he quickly moved up to a superintendent position. When he was not supervising projects, he assisted with estimating and awarding contracts.

In 1993, Fred and Annette decided to start Schramm Construction. Initially working with a major home building developer, the company primarily built clubhouses and swimming pools for residential subdivisions being developed in the western suburbs of Chicago. It wasn’t long before the firm’s reputation grew, as did the business.

Today, Schramm is a diverse, premier commercial builder, with roots in all types of construction, including industrial and manufacturing, hospitality, medical, historical renovation, municipal, religious and recreation, to name a few.

“Our business is personal,” Fred says. “We’re not a huge company, and when clients hire Schramm, they work directly with the principals. We keep a close eye on all of our projects.”

Taking It Personally

Schramm Construction is known for its staff’s personal attention to detail. “Our goal has always been the same: to make sure the customer is treated fairly and with respect,” Fred says. “We try to make sure we bring value to the project by staying in tune with new products and processes. We look at a project and decide which subcontractors would be the best fit for the project type. Everyone we work with has a budget and deadline, and our job is to help clients meet or exceed their goals as it relates to quality, cost, schedule and safety.”

To do that, Schramm Construction embraces a team concept. “Everyone works together to offer their best for the client,” Annette says.

That means working with architects, engineers, subcontractors, suppliers and owners to develop a plan and budget. “We love the dreaming part of the project and then watching it develop as all the experts do what they do best—create beautiful and functional spaces and buildings,” Fred says. “We are problem solvers. One of my favorite things is when someone says it cannot be done. I love the challenge of finding a solution and seeing it through, then sharing the victory with everyone involved.”

Business Development Coordinator April Waldrop says several things make Schramm Construction a great place to work. “Besides working with extremely knowledgeable and professional people, the company, as a whole, has strong values and is committed to keeping our clients’ best interests at the forefront of every decision,” she says.

Success Rewarded

Schramm’s “dreaming and doing” delivery has not gone unnoticed. Two of its projects were honored recently by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce at the annual Charlemagne Awards Dinner.

The Civic Image Award was presented to the Henry Rockwell Baker Memorial Community Center. Schramm Construction renovated the historic Tudor-style community center, a meeting place for St. Charles residents for more than 90 years.

“Schramm Construction managed the project at a high professional level with a hands-on, team approach with the owner and Kluber design professionals,” says Project Manager Jeffrey Bruns with Kluber Architects + Engineers. “They were active in problem-solving and always available throughout the entire construction process.”

Schramm Construction also collaborated with its client TIGER Drylac to develop floor plans and manage site work for a total interior retrofit of the company’s new North American headquarters. The project—which includes a 65,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, a state-of-the art research and development lab and office building—received the chamber’s Community Development Award.

From Lodge to Luxury and a Whole Lot More

To understand the company is to recognize the diverse types of projects the firm takes on. An example of the firm’s hospitality work is its multimillion-dollar renovation of a lodge at Rich Harvest Farms, a premier golf destination in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Originally a large indoor riding arena, Schramm transformed the facility into a five-star luxury hotel.

Schramm Construction is also well-known for its religious facilities. One such project, St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Sugar Grove, features a 350-seat chapel, administrative wings, classrooms and a kitchen. The more than 30,000-square-foot facility has two very large steeples, the larger of the two measuring approximately 72 feet high and weighing more than 
40 tons. The smaller steeple is 58 feet tall and more than 30 tons. Both were custom-designed and constructed on the ground at the site.

A particular source of pride is several additions to Fred and Annette’s home church of 25 years, Christ Community Church in St. Charles. The firm has done multiple projects, including a 2,000-seat auditorium, a 10,000-square-foot education space and a 35,000-square-foot Kids World and office addition.

Big Hearts and Busy Hands

Since inception, giving back has been at the heart of Schramm Construction. It was while on a mission trip with their church that the company owners became involved in philanthropic work in Haiti. “It was the beginning of many trips. We fell in love with the country, the people and the Haitian leaders with whom we partnered,” Annette says. They were so impressed with their Haitian partners, Hubert and Junie Morquette, both doctors and pastors, that they formed a nonprofit, the Hearten Haiti Project. The organization gives financial and missions support to Haitian non-government organizations providing food, shelter, education and medical services to the desperately 
impoverished of Haiti.

The organization raised funds to build and maintain a new facility to house King’s Hospital in Port-au-Prince, one of the few medical centers still operational following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. The nonprofit also supports a local orphanage run by the Morquettes. Annette serves on the board of directors of King’s Organization, which operates the hospital, as well as an orphanage and school.

After raising their own four children, the Schramms adopted a brother and sister from Haiti in 2004, ages 3 and 4. They continue to support the hospital, inspiring others to visit Haiti to serve, whether for construction projects, teaching financial principles to community leaders, teaching children of the orphanage or obtaining sponsorships for the children.

Annette and Fred continue to stay in touch with children from the orphanage who have grown into young adults. One has graduated from hotel school and has a job at a high-end hotel. Another graduated from electrical school and still another is a civil engineer. “We go down and work with the orphanage three times a year and stay in touch with the children as they get older to help them become successful adults,” Annette says.

In the Chicago area, the Schramm team volunteers with local organizations, including the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Joliet, Illinois, where the company recently completed a build-out for the food bank. Fred serves on the board of CASA Kane County, a volunteer organization that advocates in the interests of abused and neglected children within the juvenile court system. An active board member of the organization, which serves 600 children annually in 26 communities, Fred helps educate community members about the organization and its work.

“They are an ‘all-in’ kind of couple when it comes to their commitment to community,” says Gloria Kelley, Executive Director of CASA Kane County. “They are very mission-driven, and anything that has a higher purpose, they are all in to help serve—from their church, to our CASA organization, to the nonprofit in Haiti they run to help better the lives of children.”

“We continue to receive many blessings and believe it is important to pass those blessings on to others,” Annette simply states in explaining the couple’s approach to philanthropy.

In fact, they named their efforts in Haiti, the Hearten Haiti Project, as hearten means “to uplift, inspire and encourage”—something the Schramms do each day, whether on the job or in their personal lives.