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The Weitz Company company history timeline

1855

About The Weitz CompanyFounded in 1855, The Weitz Company is a national general contractor, design-builder and construction manager that serves all 50 United States states.

When Charles Weitz Contractors, the original name of the business, was started in 1855, Franklin Pierce was in the White House and slavery controversies were tearing the nation apart.

1878

In 1878 the founder branched out into coal mining for a short while as an adjunct to the construction business.

1906

Charles Weitz died in 1906, but his three sons continued under the name Charles Weitz' Sons General Contractors.

1929

1929: The business is incorporated as The Weitz Company, Inc.

1942

With the economy back on its feet during World War II, The Weitz Company grew by building defense facilities, such as the Ankeny Ordnance Plant finished in 1942.

1960

1960: Weitz builds grain storage in Pakistan and other developing countries.

1964

The company landed its first big project in 1964 with Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas.

1968

Weitz President and CEO Glenn DeStigter, a graduate of Iowa State University, began with The Weitz Company in 1968, continuing his own family's tradition in the construction business.

After the war ended in 1945, The Weitz Company diversified into the construction of different kinds of buildings, such as retail stores, retirement communities, educational buildings, apartments, and mixed-use structures. It also built the Des Moines Art Center in 1968.

1971

1971: Weitz starts Life Care Services, a developer and manager for continuing care retirement communities.

1986

1986: Company acquires Al Cohen Construction with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs and doubles in size.

1987

In 1987 The Weitz Company won the contract to build the Greenleaf Woods fitness center/office complex in Portsmouth, Massachusetts.

1988

When Bruce Willis starred in the 1988 Hollywood movie Die Hard, most viewers did not realize that the high-rise Fox Building in Los Angeles had been built by The Weitz Company.

1996

The Weitz Company in 1996 built the Principal Financial Group "Z" Building.

1999

McClain has been at Weitz for 18 years – first starting as a project engineer in 1999.

2000

2000: Weitz Iowa acquires Abell-Howe Construction Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a new division is launched: Weitz Kansas City in Overland Park, Kansas.

2001

Sales: $950 million (2001 pro forma est.)

2012

After holding nearly every operational position within the company, he gained his first executive leadership position in January 2012 as executive vice president overseeing Watts Constructors, which Weitz previously owned until being acquired by Orascom Construction Limited in 2012.

2017

Prior to being named COO on January 1, 2017, McClain served as the president of Weitz’s commercial business segment.

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The Weitz Company may also be known as or be related to The Weitz Company, The Weitz Company LLC and The Weitz Company, LLC.