The Build Up with Joe Luther

Crain's Conversations

Inside its 26th-floor offices at the Fisher Building, Christman Company has a special souvenir that hangs on the wall with ties to an iconic moment of political history.

Joe Luther, vice president and general manager of Southeast Michigan Operations, spilled the beans during this week’s podcast of how Christman ended up with a piece of the platform where then-president Barack Obama stood during his first inauguration in 2009.

“We’ve got one of the pieces of plywood actually in the Fisher Building… come down to the office and see where Obama stood,” he said. “Two little Sharpie half circles that say left and right. It’s just exciting to have that piece where he stood that day.”

It’s long been known that the Lansing-based general contracting firm builds the platform used by the incoming president at inaugurations in Washington D.C. – they did it for Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013, for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

And they plan to bid again in two years. The whole platform is wood, and several pieces get saved and reused for later years. But for that one piece, it has a place of honor on the wall in Luther’s boss’s office.

“That team out there really enjoys that project. It’s a smaller project for that region, but a really exciting, high-profile project. And I think they’ve got the method now pretty well licked,” he said. “There’s a short time to set it up and a short time to tear it down. And we’re certainly excited to be a part of it.”

Christman, which was founded in 1894 and has been doing business in Michigan for more than 100 years, has plenty of other projects closer to home. They include the renovation of the Michigan Central Station in Corktown, the Accident Fund national headquarters in Lansing, multiple Detroit Public Schools projects and the redevelopment of the GSA Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit.

Luther has been with the company since 2008 and said it has grown from 300 employees to almost a thousand across the country during that time. He spoke to Crain’s about:

1:25 - His career trajectory and how Christman Co. has changed over time

2:25 - How they are handling labor shortages

3:25 - What is being done to bring new people into the trades

7:30 – Overcoming rising building costs

9:30 – Delayed projects

10:40 – Handling union battles

11:50 – Other challenges in the industry

12:40 – How they choose their projects

14:25 – If preservation strategy in Detroit needs to change

16:15 – Christman’s tie to the presidential election and a very special souvenir

18:05 – Why going after clients is more important than projects

20:15 – How to promote diversity in the construction industry

22:25 – The importance of mentorship

23:35 – Life outside of work

24:25 – His biggest failure and how he overcame it