Bruce Gohman (left) and his son Mike run W. Gohman Construction. The company has been behind some of the more visible building projects in the area, such as St. Cloud State University's Husky Stadium.

Building the business was a slow process -- it took about 10 years before W. Gohman Construction stabilized. Gohman started by taking small jobs here and there. He worked long days and did his bookkeeping in the evenings.

Although starting the business was scary, "it's the human nature of things. You do what you have to do to survive," said his son, Bruce Gohman, 60, who started to take over the business from his father in 1977.

W. Gohman Construction not only survived but has expanded from a one-man operation into the force behind St. Cloud landmarks such as the St. Cloud Civic Center, the Stearns County Law Enforcement Center and St. Cloud State University's Husky Stadium.

The construction industry has changed dramatically in five decades, and W. Gohman Construction adjusted to those changes. But it's still a family-owned business based in St. Joseph, where Willard Gohman started it in 1950.

His grandson, Bruce's son Mike Gohman, now runs the day-to-day operation as the executive vice president. Bruce Gohman, the company president, is still involved in the business but will likely retire soon. And like his father, Bruce Gohman insists he won't look back after he leaves.

Willard Gohman didn't see his business's 50th anniversary. He died the year before, in 1999, at 82 from an illness related to Parkinson's disease.

Starting early

Bruce Gohman joined the family business when he was a teen-ager.

"Whenever I wasn't in school, I was working," Bruce Gohman said.

"Sounds familiar," Mike Gohman, 34, said with a laugh.

"In our family, you didn't sit around," Bruce Gohman added.

The Gohman family ‹ which included Bruce and his five siblings ‹ lived modestly in St. Joseph when Willard Gohman started the business. They had a big garden that produced a lot of their food. A rare treat was the occasional stop at Dairy Queen.

Business picked up for W. Gohman Construction in the early 1950s, when a string of hailstorms wrecked many roofs in the St. Cloud area. The work kept Willard Gohman busy.

Bruce Gohman enjoyed working with his father, a "hands-on trainer." Bruce Gohman went to St. Cloud State University, and when he wasn't in school, he worked at the family business.

"That probably didn't help my schooling," he said.

Bruce Gohman opted to join the business full time. The move made sense for him.

But the business then was much different than it is today.

"A lot of work he did was on a handshake," Bruce Gohman said.

Steve Muggli of Cold Spring Electric has worked with W. Gohman Construction since the 1970s.

"His dad always had lots of tools that we could borrow, but Bruce charges us rent for them now," he said with a laugh.

Muggli said Bruce Gohman is probably a little more high energy than his father was, but their principles are the same.

"(Willard Gohman) always treated us fair and square, the same as the present management," Muggli said. "That's the type of people you like to work with."

But while W. Gohman Construction had built a solid customer base, it was obvious some things had to change.

The evolution

The business was started in 1950, and a year later Willard Gohman hired his first employee. In 1979, W. Gohman Construction had 15 to 20 employees and moved into a full-time office. It's still at the same location.

Bruce Gohman worked on how employees reported to each other to make the business run more efficiently. The idea was to streamline the process so there was a chain of command. The business also started juggling more projects at a time.

"The hardest thing I had to learn how to do was not to go to job sites every day," Bruce Gohman said.

Willard Gohman retired in 1982.

"He did that so easily, it wasn't even funny," Bruce Gohman said. "He just stepped aside."

His father kept busy doing woodworking and other hobbies. He once said he didn't feel like he was retired.

But before he stepped aside, he was again a hands-on trainer for his grandson. Like his father, Mike Gohman started spending time at the business while he was growing up.

"You never get in trouble for sweeping a floor," Mike Gohman said.

Mike Gohman went to college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he found he enjoyed business classes. It seemed natural for him to return to the family business in 1992, after graduation.

Bruce Gohman said neither he nor his father pressured Mike Gohman to stay at W. Gohman Construction.

"If that was not what he wanted to do, we weren't going to force it on him," Bruce Gohman said.

A lot of construction businesses, except for a few corporate giants, are family-owned, Bruce Gohman pointed out. It's easy to trust family.

Ted Schmid, who runs Lumber One with his sister, Barbara Brandes, said being a part of a family-owned business works well for him. His mother is still semi-active in the business.

"The St. Cloud area really does have a lot of successful family-owned businesses that have been multigenerational," Schmid said. He and his sister have different sets of skills, so they don't overlap.

"We have a pretty complementary partnership here," he said.

Family dynamic

Bruce and Mike Gohman say they have a good rapport at work.

"I've always got along easily with him," Mike Gohman said. "He's the boss, but he's my dad."

Mike Gohman said he knows when he brings a problem to his father, he has to have his research done and offer solutions.

Luckily for them, they say they're never far apart on decisions. And they're careful to keep work stuff at work and personal stuff at home.

Diane, Mike's mother and Bruce's wife, worked as an office manager for W. Gohman Construction for a while. Many of the Gohman employees have worked there at least 10 years, which creates an extended family.

"It's a thrill and a pleasure to work that closely to your family," Bruce Gohman said. "You have that opportunity to be on the same team."

Bruce Gohman may leave that team soon, though.

"I think it's time for Mike to be president," he said.

Bruce Gohman said he doesn't know exactly what he'll do when he's retired, but he'll find plenty to keep him busy. He said his son is ready for the top job and brings skills to it that he doesn't have, just like he brought skills to the business his father didn't have.

Business trends

W. Gohman Construction keeps jobs to within a 60-mile radius of St. Cloud. While that's easier on employees because they don't have to be away from home for extended periods of time, that also means the business has to be aggressive in this market.

In a fast-growing area such as St. Cloud, there's a lot of competition.

"We see a strong 2005," Bruce Gohman said. "2004 isn't a bad year, but it's not a dynamic year."

That's partially because it was an election year, and election years tend to be hard on business, Bruce Gohman said. The fact that the Legislature didn't pass a bonding bill last session didn't help, either. That bill would have funded a lot of construction projects.

However, Gohman called the company's growth from year to year steady. Revenue averages $12 million to $15 million a year.

Much of W. Gohman Construction's work is in industrial and commercial building, but the company added residential projects in the 1990s to help even out business.

It's the nature of the business to never feel completely comfortable, Bruce Gohman said.

"I don't think you ever get too big that you can't fall down," he said.

About W. Gohman Construction

Year founded: 1950, by Willard Gohman.

Location: 815 Stearns County Road 75 E.

What it does: Mostly industrial and commercial construction. Well-known projects include St. Cloud State University's Husky Stadium, Fire Station One, St. Cloud Civic Center, Talahi Community School and Discovery Community School.

Number of employees: 35 to 40.

Bruce Gohman's reaction when it became clear he would be running the business: "It seemed like at that point, it was the thing to do. It was the right time."

About the series

Movers & Shapers is an eight-day examination of the successes and challenges of some of the multi-generational family businesses in Central Minnesota.

Today: W. Gohman Construction.