Testimonials

Without hesitation I would like to submit this letter of recommendation for Northway Construction Services. For the past year I have had the pleasure of working with Northway Construction Services on the City's new $2.5m Public Library and City Hall. In addition, the City hired Northway to manage the 2008-09 Police Station renovation project. These new facilities were significant investments in our community, discussed and debated for nearly 10 years, and highly scrutinized by the public. We are now fully operating in our new facilities, and the public has proudly embraced them. Northway Construction Services performed at a very high level in delivering us our facilities, and continues to provide training and support to us in our buildings.

I believe Northway Construction Services is a premier construction firm for three major reasons:

1. A strong ability to listen to our interests and questions, and patiently address our concerns. From our earliest brainstorming sessions to the final move in, Northway led us to a successful project because they demonstrated a desire to listen to our needs, were quick on follow-through to our questions, and worked hard to ensure we were satisfied. Smaller cities in rural Minnesota do not build major facilities everyday, and our staff was quickly at ease during the design, construction, and post-construction phases because of the effective communication with Northway's Construction Manager and Project Manager. Northway developed a high level of trust with me, the City staff, and the contractors. This was a major reason why we had a successful project.
2. Commitment to the Best Value Procurement process. The City and Northway decided to utilize the State of Minnesota's new Best Value Procurement process, which measures price and performance when weighing bids. Our project was the first municipal Best Value facility construction project in the State of Minnesota. The front-end work of this process paid dividends by ensuring the contractors on the job were of the highest quality, were familiar with the plans, and were aware of potential risks in the construction scheduling. Northway quickly saw the merits of this procurement process, not only for their company, but for the entire construction industry. During our project Northway developed a new way to bid and manage construction projects, which we feel is positive for the entire construction industry, and State and Local governments.
3. Commitment to quality construction and sustainability. A main reason why we hired Northway Construction was their clear commitment to constructing quality buildings that are sustainable. Our City Council, in making this public investment, was not interested in constructing a cheap City Hall and Library, but wanted a facility that with proper maintenance would be a long-term solution to our needs. The State of Minnesota's B3 Sustainable Guidelines which we applied to this project will provide the City of Staples a facility that is built to last, utilizing sound facility construction practices and sustainable features which are important to our residents.

We are proud and pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Northway Construction. We recently built a new dental practice, Greenhaven Family Dental, with Northway Construction completing the project for us. We would highly recommend Northway Construction for any building project. We have experienced a number of building projects in the past and by far this has been the best experience we ever had.

Northway was meticulous in their planning of the project. They were unique in that they partnered with us before we started the project. This allowed us to control our costs and to help ensure the project came in on budget. Prior to commencing construction, they also became involved with the designer and the equipment supplier to ensure they had a complete understanding of all the specific mechanical and design requirements. This level of planning was also reflected in the planning done by the subcontractors with the preparation of bids prior to the start of construction. If questions arose regarding compliance with building codes, the city inspectors were consulted to ensure what the compliance requirements were before beginning construction.

Northway Construction has an excellent team with JJ Levenske heading up the construction, Wendy Jones working on the financial end, and of course, Steve Northway with his years of experience rounding out the team. Other outstanding team members include Renee in the office who always ensured messages were delivered to the appropriate staff, and handling any issues when they arose, and Scott who handled the onsite construction. The team members were always accessible at any time during the construction process. Communication was excellent on a day-to-day basis via email and phone calls, and we were constantly kept abreast of any developments if they occurred. Northway always answered any questions that came up and explained everything throughout the process. There was ample opportunity to address changes if they were needed during the construction process. The team was very courteous, and easy to work with. The subcontractors were also very professional and did a superb quality of work. We were provided with a construction schedule at the start of the project. It was amazing to see how well the timing for the schedule was coordinated. They stayed on task, the building finished on time and they partnered with us the entire way through the building project. We are so pleased with the quality of workmanship and craftsmanship. One of the highlights of the project was that when it was finished, it was done well and right the first time. We had only the most minor issues of a few touch up spots for painting on the final punch list. As a new business, when they said we could take possession of the project on a specific date, they meant it. We were able to be up and running as we expected. Along with their superb handling of the construction process from start tofinish, Northway Construction went above and beyond the call of duty by helping us with other bumps that came up along the way with the lease and landlord buildout allowance. Their knowledge and understanding of all aspects of commercial construction is of the utmost value to the client. We continually receive compliments on how wonderful the office looks. We also welcome tours of our office for anyone interested in seeing the finished quality of workmanship. We would highly recommend Northway Construction for any building needs. We look forward to working with them again on our next building project.

This letter is to endorse Northway Construction. It is very hard to run an office and build a building at the same time. The Northway team was very professional and goal orientated and made the process flawless. They were constantly on task and updating me on the progress. This was very important to me since time is money. They also allowed me to work with them to make little decisions, while in the progress of construction, that had an impact on the overall feel of the office. I am not easily impressed with too many people. Usually you get promises that are never met. Every promise made was met in a timely manner. Their work ethic and delivery on promises made the experience more enjoyable for my wife and myself. Therefore I would full heartedly endorse Norway Construction and I would not hesitate to use them on a project again.

My experience with Northway Construction was a good one. Ed Northway was the general contractor who built the building that I currently own in Baxter and right from the beginning Ed kept me informed of their timelines and had completed tasks on time. Ed was always available to discuss any matters that I had questions about. He gave his opinion when asked regarding the decisions I had to make such as the best potential layout of the office rooms, the style of doors and trim, the tile, hardware, etc. which was appreciated. Ed also asked several times how satisfied I was and if something wasn't quite right Ed addressed it right away. This showed me that he took pride in what he was doing and that customer satisfaction meant something to him. Ed was on the construction site often to overlook the work that was being done which gave me some piece of mind. It is sometimes difficult to get good friendly service and because of Ed's approach to business and appreciation for what he does I would recommend Ed to anyone.

I am writing to inform you how much we appreciated your construction company being in charge of our building project. Everyone we worked with from the top down was very helpful. I have heard of many horror stories of how a client has to be constantly on site to make sure that what you want done is done or you have to be on site to make sure no corners are cut. I have heard of many people share how they could not trust their contractor. This was not our experience from the beginning. Chad Karas did and excellent job in working with us. I always felt that Chad was about keeping us within our budget. He was constantly looking for the best deals for us while maintaining a high level of quality materials. He was quick to let us know if he was not happy in the workmanship of the product or in some cases the work of some sub-contractors. I have had many meetings and phone conversations with Chad covering every aspect of the job, materials, time tables, deadlines. I truly felt that Chad had as much invested into this project as I did. He was very personal, reliable, honest, and produced what he promised would. He is a man of integrity and he made this building project a real joy and not something that was a big headache. He continually had our best interest in mind. He was very prompt at returning phone calls and helped resolve every issue that we had. He was persistent in making sure that nothing fell through the cracks and that deadlines were met. He found things on our walk throughs that I never noticed and pointed them out. He took pride in the finish product. There were a number of times when we had to make a decisions or change a product. He was there to help us walk through the various options and give his opinion. He was very helpful. His choice of sub-contractors was great. Scott and Mike were also suburb, as well as Renee and Wendy. I can not say enough positive things about our experience with Northway Construction. Were we satisfied? Absolutely. Was everything done in a professional manner? Above and beyond. Would I work with them again or recommend them? Absolutely. I have already suggested that we use Northway Construction for any future building projects the Church does. I am also interested in using Northway Construction for our own residential building interest in the near future and I would not hesitate to recommend your services to others. In fact, I have already been signing your praises every chance I get. I thank you for a great job. Your customer service is one of the best I have ever encountered. Thank you for helping us achieve our dream.