After perfecting concrete construction in the Midwest, Lindblad Construction is setting its sights on America’s booming data center market
Since its inception over 75 years ago, Lindblad Construction has grown into a leading industrial construction contractor serving the Midwest, with particular expertise in heavy industrial concrete work. The company’s specific expertise sets it apart across a range of demanding sectors, from power generation and distribution to gas transmission and plant maintenance. We are joined by Vice President Dan Lind to learn more about the company’s recent projects and achievements.
“Lindblad was originally founded in the late 1940s as a masonry contractor in Joliet, Illinois, where we still have our headquarters today. There were several ownership changes between the 1940s and 1989, the year my father and my partner’s father purchased the business from Townsend and Bodum. Through the 1990s and 2000s, we shifted our focus from masonry towards civil underground concrete construction, general carpentry and general contracting. Both of our fathers expanded the business substantially, and around 2010 we became significantly more involved in the power and utility sectors, which are now a core part of what we do. We do a lot of work with a power supplier serving the Chicago area, including substation and transmission projects. Specifically, we provide civil underground services like excavation, equipment and building foundation installations, and erect some of their control buildings. While we do not touch the electrical side of things in any of these substations or transmission projects, civil underground work is very much our domain,” he opens.
The breadth of that capability is well illustrated by two of Lindblad’s most notable recent projects. The first is the 345 kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Building in Illinois, a $25 million project that involved the construction of a new 55,000-square-foot precast concrete gas-insulated substation building. Alongside the building itself, Lindblad installed four transformer containment pits and blast walls, 13 drilled piers for static poles, more than 30 additional foundations and an 18-foot retaining wall to reroute an existing creek. This project required a high level of coordination among all parties, with peak crew sizes of up to 87 personnel on site.
“By implementing a 345 kV GIS system rather than a traditional air-insulated configuration, we were able to significantly reduce the overall footprint of the substation, allowing for more efficient use of space and greater flexibility on site. Housing the equipment indoors also provides enhanced protection from weather and environmental conditions, thereby improving system reliability and reducing long-term maintenance requirements,” Dan explains.
Valued at $7.5 million, the second standout project is the Ventura XPress Compressor Station, a horsepower modernization initiative spanning several compressor stations in and around Indiana. Lindblad’s scope included the installation of three turbines within a new compressor building, along with construction of a new office and communications building, an auxiliary building and associated ancillary equipment. This scope covers everything from excavation and concrete foundations through to structural erection, office buildout and site restoration.
Investing in diversity
In addition to these established areas of work, Lindblad is now actively targeting the data center market across the US. Given that the company already carries out underground site work, concrete construction and larger building projects, and that most data center buildings are precast concrete, this move is a natural one and Lindblad has not had to add any new services to its portfolio to enter the market. Data centers also come with substations attached, meaning Lindblad can often perform both the civil underground work for the substation and the full site work, foundations and structural erection for the data center itself. As a general contractor with established connections across electrical and mechanical trades, the transition has required very little adjustment to Lindblad’s existing structure.
While these projects and contracts are a strong indicator of Lindblad’s growth, it does not stop there. The company’s commitment to equality and diversity was also recognized in recent years with Diversity Advocate Awards received in 2022 and 2023, followed by national certification as a Diverse Contractor. Dan explains what that journey has meant for the business. “Last year, we became a nationally certified diverse business enterprise through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, which has been a significant step forward for us. Before that, we were actively involved as a non-diverse company in ensuring that diverse contractors were included in our bids in order to support them. Now, we are able to directly contribute to many of our customers’ diversity spend requirements ourselves. That certification reflects the importance of diversity within our company and the work we have put in to get there.”
That same sense of responsibility extends to the communities in which Lindblad operates. For example, the company participates in the CONSTRUCT program, which provides people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the training and skills needed to join Chicago’s labor union and enter the trades. “We host job shadow days where students visit our offices and job sites, giving them a little firsthand experience of the industry. Furthermore, we attend career fairs where applicants can submit their resumes for hire, and over the past couple of years we have taken on two CONSTRUCT members who are still working with us today. We also participate in a lot of customer-driven philanthropy events. Last month, we did a bowling event for muscular dystrophy, and we even have a golf outing coming up with the same customer. We try to get involved with as many initiatives as we can to give back to the community, through the organizations our customers support and beyond,” Dan concludes.