The Business Journal — Milwaukee
1/07/11
Former Jansen Group Exec Starts New Construction Firm
Gino Carini has become the second executive from now-defunct Jansen Group Inc. to return to the construction industry after he founded his own company this year.
Carini said his goal with the new company, called Marenzo Construction Group LLC, is to keep overhead costs low and ride out the current economic slump in construction that forced Jansen Group to fold this fall. Carini joined Jansen Group, Milwaukee, in early 2008 after working for J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison, and Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., two of Wisconsin's largest general contractors. Tom Miotke, former chairman of Jansen Group, in October became a vice president at Brookfield-based Briohn Building Corp.
Carini said his new company has a roster of carpenters, masons and other builders who work on projects, but right now Marenzo has two full-time employees: himself and project manager Steven Nikolas, owner of Zabest Commercial Group Inc., New Berlin.
"They're allowed to go out and do their own thing, but their priority is our company," Carini said.
The low insurance, office and salary costs make the company cost-competitive, Carini said. Marenzo Construction Group is a construction manager, but having Nikolas on staff means the company has a project manager supervising projects daily, he said.
Marenzo Construction has landed two projects — a dugout renovation at Miller Park and a building renovation and expansion project for Sun's Family Dry Cleaning in Milwaukee.
Carini said he is working with bonding companies to get Marenzo Construction the ability to issue project bonds. Project owners, especially on public jobs, require builders to post bonds as insurance that the company will complete contracts according to plans.
"We had to turn down a couple of bid opportunities because of our lack of bonding, but it won't be that way for long," Carini said.