Killian Construction marks golden anniversary Nov. 5

by Michele Skalicky

SBJ Contributing Writer

Bill Killian, owner of Killian Construction, credits his employees for making the company what it is today. The commercial construction contract manager is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and has several projects all over the country.

While Killian points to his employees for the company's success, the 44-year-old, who grew up in Springfield, can take much of the credit, too.

Bill's father Bob, his grandfather J.P. Killian and uncle Bill F. Killian started Killian Construction in 1948, right after World War II, when J.P. returned from the service, Bob Killian said. J.P. had built houses in Springfield before the war, and Bob and his brother used to work for their father in the summer when school was out.

Back then, Killian Construction was run from an office trailer, but a large part of the operation took place from the back of a pickup truck, Bob said. Springfield was smaller, with a population of about 67,000, and was a good city in which to start a business and raise a family, Bob Killian said.

He, his brother and father didn't have the electric tools used today in construction, nor did they have computers and the communication systems which make running a business easier today. Still, the business thrived, and Bob eventually began developing subdivisions, including Cambridge Terrace in southeast Springfield.

The trio stayed together until 1954, when Bob's brother, Bill F. Killian, decided to go into the excavation business. J. P. retired in 1959, and Bob Killian bought the company. Killian Construction built houses and subdivisions until 1970, when Bob decided to switch to commercial/industrial construction.

Meanwhile, Bob's sons, Bill, Roger and Joe, worked for their father in the summer, just as Bob had worked for his father. Bill Killian thought his brothers were more likely to go into the business than he was, but time would prove him wrong.

He worked as a carpenter his first year out of high school. One cold day on the job site, Bill was pouring concrete in a ditch. By the time he was finished and had his tools picked up, he was covered in the ice that had started to come down.

Then he decided to go to college.

After a semester at Southwest Missouri State University, Killian transferred to the University of Missouri-Columbia. He took several courses in art, business and diving, and still didn't have enough credit hours in his major to get a degree, but he decided to return to Springfield anyway to make money to go to the Cayman Islands and become a dive master.

Bill Killian's plans changed, however, when his brother Roger was killed in a car wash explosion on East Sunshine. Bill stayed in the family business after that and worked his way up from a carpenter/superintendent, to an estimating project manager, to vice president and finally to executive vice president.

He bought Killian Construction in 1993 from his brother, who was more interested in the investment field, and from his father, who had decided to retire.

Since then Bill Killian has put several large projects under his belt, including John Q. Hammons' projects such as Chateau on the Lake in Branson, Drury's John Q. Hammons School of Architecture, Highland Springs Country Club and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Other projects include several hotels around the country, Andy Williams' Moon River Theatre, Tony Orlando's Yellow Ribbon Theatre, the IMAX Theater and Ray Stevens' Theatre in Branson, SMSU's Plaster Sports Complex and the Falls Resort at Big Cedar Lodge. Killian Construction used to have many more employees than it does today. The company once hired its own laborers. Now, it focuses on construction management and relies heavily on subcontractors, Bill Killian said.

Technology is critical to the success of Killian Construction, he added, including computers, pagers, and estimating systems. Screen savers on computers in the office show pictures of various job sites around the country. The photos allow problems to be addressed from Springfield, although a company jet gets Killian to a job site quickly if necessary. The private plane also allows Bill to spend more time with wife Lisa, daughter Christina, 5, and son Nicholas, 3.

Killian said he won't pressure his children to go into the family business, and it won't be given to them if they choose that path "as it wasn't given to me," he said. "It would be nice to see it stay in the family, but I'm not real staunch on that."

As Killian Construction prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary with an open house Nov. 5, Bill reflected on what has made the company so successful.

One thing, he said, is his effort to make his employees feel like they're part of a family.

"I try to go the extra mile to make it comfortable, to make people want to stay here, which I think you have to do in business now, and try to be good to them because they're good to me. I couldn't do it without them," Killian said.

He also works hard to hire the best subcontractors because he feels "you're only as good as your worst subcontractor."

Killian Construction recently served as project manager for Tiffany Springs Golf Course in Kansas City, designed by Robert Trent Jones. Killian said more golf courses might be in the company's future.

"It put us in that segment of the construction industry squarely on third base to do more."

But Killian said he would mostly like to see continued steady growth and the continued ability to provide clients with the best possible service and quality building. He'll do that by taking advantage of the latest technology as it comes available, adapting to changes and constantly learning new things. "If you ever stop learning you'll wither away," he said.

Killian mentioned a statement by John Kennedy when talking about where Killian Construction is going in the future.

"When John Kennedy said we're going to the moon, he didn't know how we'd get there," he said.

"The technology that got us to the moon wasn't invented when he made that statement, so when people ask me where we're going, I always say to the moon."

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