Full Circle: Dave Lucas's Path from the Jobsite to FCC's Leadership Team
Dave Lucas's recognition on Crain's Grand Rapids Business 40 Under 40 list traces back to a childhood on job sites and a recession-era bet on a small West Michigan contractor.
Dave Lucas grew up spending his free time on construction sites where his father was building custom homes. That early exposure to job sites and smaller projects throughout high school set him up for success when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in construction management, even at the height of the 2008 recession.
Photo credit: Justin Razmus
Many of Lucas's fellow graduates were getting their job offers rescinded because of the poor state of the economy. Lucas found a different path. He spent five years as a field superintendent at a construction company in Phoenix, Arizona. During that time, he kept in touch with FCC Construction's CEO, Byrne Harmon, who eventually recruited him back to help grow the firm headquartered just north of Lucas's hometown of Caledonia.
"I've gotten to see everything come full circle in terms of the college experience, becoming a field superintendent in Arizona, moving back to FCC which at that time was a much smaller company, but has just evolved over the last 12 to 13 years," Lucas said.
Today, Lucas oversees FCC's general contracting division, where he also handles business development and preconstruction on projects. Ask him what drives him and the answer has nothing to do with steel tonnage or square footage. It's the people.
"I'm a huge believer in building a team and watching the team succeed, and letting that team reap the benefits and enjoy the success," Lucas said. "The other part of the industry that excites me is building new relationships, whether it's trade partners, owners or clients that you're constantly getting the ability to meet and learn from."
That focus on people extends to how Lucas thinks about the industry's future. Though he took the university route himself, he sees a growing need in the skilled trades that isn't necessarily degree driven.
"I think there is going to be a huge demand for hardworking, proactive people that enjoy the trade and the craft," Lucas said. "When I graduated and came into the industry, that was associated with a degree, but I think that is achievable through the trades and it's going to continue that way into the future because there is going to be a demand."
Twelve years after Harmon first recruited him, Lucas has built a career on the same principle Harmon built FCC on: put the right people in place, then get out of their way and let them succeed.
This article was also published on Crain’s Grand Rapids and can be viewed here.