“Born to Build” with Steve Ludwig
Steve Ludwig, chief estimator, was “born to build” as the second generation of his family to work in the construction industry.
“I grew up with blueprints (remember actual blueprints?) rolling around in the back seat of my father’s car. Over time, I started to notice the projects he was involved with. When we were going around town together, he would introduce me to people from the industry.”
Steve’s father, Alfred “Al” Ludwig, wanted to be a teacher but took a job with Wilson Concrete, a precast concrete fabrication company in Belleview, Neb.
“My dad joined Wilson Concrete, and his first job was scheduling precast concrete deliveries. When a sales positon opened up, he asked the department to give him a chance. My dad told them he would sign a job every day for a month. There were a lot of loose jobs waiting to be signed. He kept his word and signed a job every day for that month, and his job became permanent,” Steve said.
During Al’s time at Wilson, he worked on some notable projects:
• Longo Apartment Building - Omaha, Neb. - Said to be the tallest precast concrete apartment building in the United States at the time (1965). A crew of 15 men were able to complete the erection of the 12-story structure at the rate of one floor per week.
• Busch Memorial Stadium - St. Louis - Wilson provided the precast concrete fabrication for the stadium that operated for 40 years, from 1966 - 2005.
Following a long and successful career at Wilson, Al accepted a job for Drake Williams Steel in Omaha and worked there until his retirement. Employment at Drake Williams became a family affair with Steve working in the rebar and structural steel departments during the summer.
According to Steve, Al’s most memorable project at Drake Williams was the structural steel for the First National Bank Tower, which is a 634 ft, 45-story skyscraper at 1601 Dodge Street in downtown Omaha. The tower was finished in 2002, and it is currently the tallest building in the state of Nebraska, overtaking the 478 ft, 30-story Woodmen Tower located nearby. (Fun fact – At 634 ft and 45 stories high, the First National Bank Tower’s height was chosen specifically to one-up the 801 Grand, the tallest building in Des Moines, Iowa.)
Due to his father’s career and his own experiences, Steve knew early on that he was meant to pursue a career in the construction industry. “I knew I wanted to work in a construction related field, but I only knew about engineering (civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical) or architectural positions. It wasn’t until I went to Iowa State to visit a friend in college that I learned about the Construction Engineering degree. Iowa State was the first one in the country to have a degree in Construction Engineering. When I returned home, I told my parents I wanted to pursue Construction Engineering, so I transferred to Iowa State,” Steve said.
As the saying goes, “the rest is history,” and Steve celebrated his 32nd year in construction this year.
“My father always reiterated this, ‘Always do the best you can. That’s all anybody can ask you to do. Someday, somebody who knows you or knows of you and the work you do will ask you to come work for them.’ He was right, and that’s how I ended up at O’Shea. I’m very blessed that the experiences with my father and events in my life led to a career in the construction industry. I’m even luckier to have found what I love to do, thanks in part to my dad,” Steve said.