Milwaukee-based The Jansen Group withstands loss of company

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Apr 13, 2009 by Dustin Block

Despite losing two top executives in the last month, business is strong at The Jansen Group Inc., a company official said.

Gino Carini, vice president of business development, said the Milwaukee-based company has 12 projects under construction and plans to hire in the near future.

"In a very difficult time, we're doing good," Carini said.

Jansen President Monique Charlier left the company this month to start the Milwaukee-based project management company Rivet LLC. She said she gave Jansen notice about the move and transitioned out of the job. Charlier worked at Jansen for 25 years.

She said Jansen took its lumps like all construction companies in the recession.

"I think, in general, this economy has been tough on all construction companies in town," Charlier said. "And I think that there were some adjustments made because of that."

Due to the slow economy, Carini said, Jansen employees were offered a voluntary four-day workweek to save the company money. Workers in the field also were laid off as work dried up, he said.

He classified the layoffs as part of the normal layoff-and- rehire cycle.

"It was nothing drastic," Carini said.

Jansen Executive Vice President Robert Schmitt, hired in 2007, also left the company this month. Carini, Charlier and Chief Financial Officer Brian Kraus declined to comment on Schmitt's departure.

Carini said despite a "semi-new" executive team, Jansen is still landing business. Among its jobs are a new apartment complex in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, a project for Lutheran Homes of Oconomowoc Inc. and a BMW-Mini Cooper dealership in Illinois.

"I'm not going to say it's an easy year," Carini said. "I've been chasing harder for more work than ever. Of course, we'd love to have our pipeline overflowing, but we have work and that's a good thing."

Charlier, who is Rivet's lone employee, said she is finalizing a contract with the nonprofit Menomonee Valley Partners Inc. and is in the early stages of a development in Milwaukee's Fifth Ward.

She said she plans to work with nonprofits and companies focused on sustainability on new construction projects and on applying for stimulus money.

Charlier said leaving Jansen was about making a career change.

"If I was ever going to do it, now was the time to do it," she said. "It's a bit of a leap of faith, but I'm confident I'm going to get back to doing what I love to do."