Safety, quality, and accountability: the three pillars that define the story of Champion Specialty Services
From a bold South Florida start-up to a half-billion-dollar national powerhouse, Champion Specialty Services’ (Champion) rise has been anything but ordinary. Built on an uncompromising commitment to safety, quality, and accountability, the company has carved out a reputation for excellence across some of the most demanding sectors in construction. Champion stands as a true multi-disciplinary contractor, trusted to deliver complex, high-profile projects across markets where the standard must be nothing short of exceptional, and its continued success is powered not only by scale and capability, but by a deeply rooted culture that places people, performance, and purpose at the heart of everything it does.
To learn more about the drivers powering Champion’s perpetual strive for excellence, Construction Today sits down for an interview with Kyle Hough, Champion’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Gibbons, Chief Business Development Officer, and Katie Lecy, Marketing Manager, who share exclusive insight into the company’s current operations, successes, and core values. Kyle begins by sharing the history behind Champion and its journey thus far.
“Champion was founded in 2006 in South Florida by a world champion kickboxer and dear friend of mine. He and I got together and brought in our friend, Carlos Hernandez, and started to grow an industrial coatings business in the Southeast,” Kyle details. “Shortly after that, we looked to expand into other coatings-related services but in different industries. Jeff, who is another dear friend and mentor of mine, then brought his staff and craft over to the Champion brand and started up our nuclear operating group.
“After that, we just continued to grow the business. I moved to New York to open our locations there, and we quickly expanded into the specialty construction company that we are today, employing around 2500 people and turning over more than $450 million in annual revenue. We’re a true national contractor with offices in California, Washington, and on the East Coast, and are now opening another office in Houston, Texas.”
People, performance, and purpose
Today, Champion is a company synonymous with integrity, innovation, and, of course, exceptional standards. Over the years, it has delivered exceptional projects across a diverse scope of market sectors. From the industrial, commercial, and environmental markets to specialty nuclear and infrastructure, Champion’s broad service offering knows no bounds, spanning painting, coating, drywall, flooring, metalizing, demolition, remediation, roofing, and beyond.
In 2026, the business is proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary – a tremendous milestone marking two decades of safety, quality, accountability, and passion. When asked what factors have driven this growth and success, Kyle, Jeff, and Katie all home in on Champion’s most important asset: its skillful and dedicated team.
“We’re driven by our culture and our people. The truth of our success is the amazing people we have that call themselves Champions,” Kyle affirms.
Jeff continues: “When I came to work for Kyle, he told me that every time he interviews someone and makes an offer, they become a Champion, and that comes out of his passion. We’ve developed a friendship and mutual respect, and I have the utmost respect for him as a leader – as the visionary that set the operational cadence for our company’s success.
“As Kyle described, we’re now a full-service contractor and our broad offerings have given us the ability to be flexible and grow and prosper with the changing market. Our culture is critical to our success, and that’s something that Kyle set as standard right from the go. We’re not going to be affected by outside influences; it’s essential for us to keep maintaining our culture as we grow.”
“Our three value pillars are safety, quality, and accountability; those are at the core of our culture,” Katie adds. “A part of our overall brand statement is that ‘exceptional is our standard’, and this runs throughout every aspect of the company, from senior leadership all the way down to the crews executing the work on site.”
Safety, quality, and accountability
By virtue of these strong cultural foundations and commitment to its three value pillars, Champion’s commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and continuous improvement has awarded it a multitude of projects across some of United States’ most iconic structures. The company has worked on every major bridge in New York City, recently finishing five and a half million square feet of sandblasting and painting works on the Gowanus Parkway in Brooklyn. The company is currently working on the George Washington bridge – which Kyle describes as an amazing, large revenue project with one of Champion’s key partners. In addition, the company has just secured a major refurbishment contract on one of America’s greatest landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge.
Champion’s ability to take on these iconic, high-value construction projects is representative of its industry leadership and its sustained position at the forefront of innovation. However, the company also takes on a number of projects within the defense and energy sectors, particularly nuclear, through its dedicated specialty/nuclear team.
“We do a lot of work with the Department of Defense and Department of Energy,” Jeff says. “One project that we’re very proud of is out at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan doing our first ever restart. It’s an amazing first-time project and a big deal for us, a billion dollars under budget, and is tracking very well. Those are highly-regulated spaces, and one thing that separates Champion from other regular service providers is that we understand what is required to access those sites and perform work under regulatory stresses. We understand the safety, quality, and accountability required, and those core principles have allowed us to be successful in these markets.”
Strategic succession planning
Heading into 2026, Champion looks forward to the year ahead. By continuing to uphold and embody its values of safety, quality, and accountability, the company is well-positioned for a future filled with further growth, prosperity, and success.
“When you scale to the size that we have, you have to be really strategic with your business plan and able to pivot easily when things change, so that’s a major focus for us. Our strategic plan is very centered around collaboration and we’re ready to hit the ground running in 2026,” Jeff reveals.
“We have a very strong foundation; we’re going to remain growth-driven, but we want to make sure that we take the correct steps when it comes to moving some of our platforms over to AI. Historically, construction has been slow to embrace technology, but we take the opposite approach and that’s given us the competitive edge. We’re looking forward to partnering with the AI companies of the world as we continue to grow and empower more families to have a good income, healthcare, and a path to retirement,” Kyle explains, concluding our conversation.
“We understand how critical succession planning is in the future of a legacy organization like ours, and we’re proud to have some of the smartest and brightest young people out there, all with an amazing work ethic. This wasn’t by design; it’s just how our business is. Our company is filled with Champions.”