We provide fully integrated facility solutions that ensure the execution of capital projects across markets, offering local presence and global reach to the private and public sectors.
With broad-based expertise across disciplines, we are an unparalleled source for performance-driven facilities built to deliver, from concept to ribbon-cutting.
With a broad range of in-house engineering expertise, we can optimize your current operations or take your new project from concept to completion, providing unrivaled service and results.
Haskell is a global network of experts providing integrated design, engineering, construction and professional services to clients and communities.
Home / News & Insights / Veteran Superintendent Bryan Smith Sees Projects from All Angles
Bryan Smith considers himself a "double-hatter" with expertise in construction and safety management. Smith can see a project from multiple angles, having been an employee, a business owner, an owner's representative, a safety manager and a team manager.
"I believe this gives me the ability to build beneficial relationships, hear what they have to say and show and accept value to all parties during the construction process," Smith said.
During his three decades in the business, he's worked on a wide range of projects, including waste treatment plants, military facilities, food processing, and automotive.
And then there are the management skills he's learned raising 10 kids. Yes, 10 – four boys and six girls, including three adopted. They range in age from 11 to 33. Three are still at home. The others are scattered across the country in Michigan, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Arizona. So far, there's only one grandchild.
"My wife Rebecca is a saint," Smith said. "She manages the house and lets me do the fun stuff."
Smith's family is almost as big as Blanchard, Michigan, the town where he grew up and that he describes as “itty-bitty.” It's a farming country, and Smith grew up working on his uncle's dairy farm. "That's where I learned my work ethic."
Smith said he originally wanted to be a police officer but instead started working in residential construction. In 1996, he started a residential/commercial construction company, which he ran for 15 years.
When the Great Recession hit, he decided it was a good time to go to college, and he earned a bachelor's in construction management and industrial safety from Central Michigan University.
The new safety skills took him to Detroit, where he worked for an industrial contractor.
He worked as an owner's representative for General Motors during the construction and installation of its new GF9 Transmission Program in Toledo, Ohio.
In 2019, he signed on with Haskell in a safety role and wanted to get back into the role of superintendent. His first project was a significant expansion at Blue Origin, which manufactures orbital launch systems in Merritt Island, Florida.
From there, he came to Jacksonville to double-hat as superintendent and safety team member on the award-winning renovation of the NAVFAC Fleet Readiness Center Hangar 101 at Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The project modernized the hangar, which was built in 1940 when NAS Jax was established.
"NAS Jax was my favorite Haskell project. It was during the COVID mayhem and involved significant asbestos and lead abatement while keeping the surrounding areas safe and functional," Smith said.
More recently, he was in South Carolina at the Project ECO Wastewater Treatment Facility, designed to treat an average daily flow of 200,000 gallons per day to support a 1.3 million-square-foot spirits facility.
Smith worked for Project Manager Jon Fouty on the wastewater piece of the project.
“He has safety experience, so being able to rely on him to have a safety mindset was helpful because I wasn’t on site the whole time,” Fouty said. “And he has construction management experience, so he knows about budgets and schedules and used his past experiences to deliver the project successfully.”
Smith says he loves construction work because of the variety it offers. "You never build the same thing twice. They're different, with different challenges and different people. I love that."
He also loves the way he's treated at Haskell. "They understand my family needs. The people are all good. They treat you the way they want to be treated."
Haskell is hiring! Explore the many options available to join a growing, Field-Focused company committed to offering the BEST job of your life.
Haskell delivers $2± billion annually in Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) and Consulting solutions to assure certainty of outcome for complex capital projects worldwide. Haskell is a global, fully integrated, single-source design-build and EPC firm with over 2,400 highly specialized, in-house design, construction and administrative professionals across industrial and commercial markets. With 25+ office locations around the globe, Haskell is a trusted partner for global and emerging clients.
Terrell Woods grew up as an Air Force brat and followed his father into the service after graduating from high school in Sumter,...
A colleague describes Jack Templeton as a unicorn because he brings a unique blend of personal and professional skills...
Haskell Project Superintendent Nick Pontore was a Navy brat who was born in Italy and lived in Massachusetts before his...
Haskell Project Superintendent Darrell Jones brings three invaluable assets to every project he oversees: electrical...
Traves Lyons still lives in his hometown, Red Oak, Oklahoma (pop. 573), where he was a star pitcher and centerfielder on...
Haskell Project Superintendent Ron Walrath learned his work ethic from Disney World, where he worked during high school,...
Haskell Project Superintendent Andy Sonni grew up in the Dominican Republic. One day, when he was about 20, a friend called....
John Ackerman likes to build, and he’s built a lot of things – houses, warehouses, wastewater plants, schools and a man cave...
Project Superintendent Jeff Williams loves ancient history, traveling, the Georgia Bulldogs and golf. On the other hand,...
As Haskell Project Superintendents go, Brandon Holmes is the first of his kind. Some years back, the company’s construction...
Robby Dick is a Florida native who loves small towns. He grew up in Lecanto, an unincorporated town in Citrus County, and...
Haskell Project Superintendent Greg Powell grew up in Independence, Kentucky, a town without a stoplight, but he’s managed...
When he started college, Scott Carrick thought he wanted to be a police officer, but then he realized he didn’t want to fix...
Keith Hovey grew up in Red Oak, Oklahoma, where they don’t have a stoplight. His family didn’t have much money or, for that...
Haskell Project Superintendent Scott Cupicciotti has been in and around construction all his life. The son of a general...
Haskell Project Superintendent Shawn O’Brien learned carpentry in the Air Force, and that education has served him well...
Not everyone who enters Haskell’s Assistant Project Manager – Construction (APMC) program will emerge as a Project Superintendent...
Haskell Project Superintendent Jay Treon figures he has built just about everything but houses. He’s built intricate...
Haskell Project Superintendent Sean Plocich said he learned about hard work growing up on a ranch in Texas. “Hard work was...
Haskell Project Superintendent Joey Montano has a thing about islands. He grew up in Orange County, Calif., then moved...
Charlie Brazell remembers his father, Charles Brazell Sr., taking him and his brother, Skip, to job sites when they were...
Oni Ramirez has worked in construction since he came to the U.S. from Mexico at 18. He started in residential construction...
Like most kids entering high school, Cody Yax had no idea what career path he would follow. Then he decided to enroll in carpentry,...
Paula Jimeno is willing to go halfway around the world to do a job for Haskell, and that’s exactly what she did to serve as Project...
Haskell Project Superintendent Karl Kerr likes to take a vacation after finishing a project and before starting a new one....
Brandon Reynolds worked his way through the trades on his journey to becoming a superintendent. He believes the most crucial...
Sit back and relax for a minute. In the deep, easy southern drawl of a fellow from the country outside Lake City, Florida,...
Superintendent William “Skip” Brazell has seen it all during his 35 years with Haskell, and he’s earned a reputation...
As Haskell expands its scale and scope in Southeast Asia, it is continually proving itself against competitors with a 30-year...
A lucky few know at a very young age what they want to do when they grow up. Haskell Project Superintendent Mike Stroz knew...
It’s a dream of many to spend their retirement traveling the country. Haskell Project Superintendent Tim Payne and his...
Rick Craven has a unique retirement plan. He doesn’t plan to retire. Craven, 56, is as enthusiastic as ever about his job...
Here are some fun Frankie McGee facts. Frankie was a 15-year-old grocery store bag boy when he met his future wife, Ann. She...
Led by a strong sense of industriousness, Ron Sebastian launched a new phase of his long construction career two years ago...
Eusebio Arriaga was a young assistant superintendent working on a Frito Lay facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, when leaders...
Eric Wittmann joined Haskell as a temporary employee on a project in his native Chicago in 2013. That employment arrangement...
Brian Shaw never intended to follow in his father’s footsteps and work in the construction industry. Only after he served...
Jeff Akers brings the experience of a military education and playing middle linebacker in college to the job site, but he...
Michael Drawe’s resume tells the story of Haskell’s success in commercial and industrial construction. A Haskell veteran...
A 39-year employee who has performed nearly every job there is on a project, Harold Coleman is a seasoned and reliable superintendent...
Charles “CJ” Singleton joined Haskell in 2017 because he wanted “bigger and better things” for himself and his family....
Ken Yuille had worked as a concrete finisher for his entire career when he joined Haskell in 2006. He’s now a project superintendent...
As the coronavirus overwhelmed the New York metropolitan area in March and construction sites shut down en masse, Haskell’s...
During one of Bobby Bradley’s first days as a carpenter apprentice at Haskell, his superintendent sat him down and asked...
Five years ago, Nathan Faloon and his family sought relief from the harsh winters of New England. Hailing from Dover-Foxcroft,...
Growing up, Haskell Project Superintendent Terry DeMauro enjoyed repairing the mechanical equipment on his family’s...
These days, Sonny Carter is an experienced and accomplished project superintendent with Haskell, responsible for planning...
In the same way that it pioneered the Design-Build method of project delivery decades ago, Haskell is distinguishing itself...
Haskell Project Superintendent Steve Clifford was just finishing a challenging job for the United States Coast Guard...
Fresh out of the University of Alabama with a degree in civil engineering, Brad Meadows spent the first three years of his...
As a construction manager in Haskell’s Mexico City office, Waldo Salado delivers solutions. Salado helps to lead projects...
Aaron Ware joined Haskell in 2009 as a temporary laborer, a guy who, in need of a life change, had migrated from one corner...
111 Riverside Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32202
© 2024 Haskell. All rights reserved.
We collect basic analytics to improve your experience. No personal data is stored. By continuing to use this site, you acknowledge this. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.