DAN VOS CONSTRUCTION - Key Persons
And Vos has been involved in a lot. He's worked at Dan Vos Construction - a company his grandfather started in 1951 - since he was 14. Vos worked summers and during vacations until he graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in construction management and joined the company full time in 1995.
Job Titles:
- Service Department Manager
What I like about Dan Vos Construction: I love the flexible schedule I can have, very fortunate to be able to work part time and feel valued at work. And the great people I get to work with at DVCC.
Favorite quote: "Creative accountants go to jail" as told to me by a good colleague
Daniel R. Vos, 93, passed away on Saturday, May 26 after a long life as the patriarch of Dan Vos Construction Company. During his life, Daniel developed a reputation as an honest, hard worker who believed in doing business on the basis of a trusted handshake. Vos was tapped by Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel in 1979 to lead the reconstruction of Ada's historic covered bridge after the structure burned in an arson fire on Sept. 9, 1979.
He recalled the story last summer during an interview with The Press for a weekly history series called West Michiagn Place of the Week. Vos was called by Van Andel the morning after the bridge was destroyed. "(Jay) said, ‘Dan, start getting things lined up. We're not going to fiddle around with this,'" said Vos. "I don't think the ashes were even cold yet."
Gordon DeYoung, President retired after 11 years of leadership at Dan Vos Construction Co. Dan T. Vos, grandson of company founder Daniel R. Vos, is stepping in to lead the company after serving as executive vice president. DeYoung spent 47 years with the company, first as a laborer then rising through the company ranks to take over as president in July of 2001. Not long after he started as president, DeYoung remembers leading the company through the tragedy of Sept. 11 that same year, then later through the economic downturn and recessions years. Throughout that challenges, the company remained profitable, DeYoung said. "I go back to 2008 and 2009 and a lot companies couldn't stay in the black," he said. "I can't take all the credit because there were a lot of great people behind me, but coming out of that, the company actually grew in 2009 and in 2010."
Keeping people gainfully employed and not cutting wagers or benefits is the biggest accomplishment that anybody could ask for, he said. "Gordy is one that you have learn by watching," said Dan T. Vos. "We've worked closely over the last two years, and I've picked up on things he does and doesn't and what he pays attention to." DeYoung comes from a more conservative school of doing business, while the younger Vos said he is a bit more aggressive when it comes to company leadership. "We've always balanced each other out," Vos said. "We always tended to meet in the middle."
Going forward, Vos said he wants to continue bolstering the company's core values, to pursue more work and to address areas in the company that need improvement. "When I look at the future of this company and the young team it has, I see a lot of great things and a lot of opportunity to increase revenue," DeYoung said. The company is nearing completion on a 15-month-long, 380,000-square-foot project for Gordon Food Service in Grand Rapids as well as a 92,000-square-foot renovation for longtime customer Michigan Turkey Producers, also in Grand Rapids.
Job Titles:
- Information Systems Manager