About G2 – Background/History
Established in 2004, G2 Inc. specializes in precast/prestressed concrete and steel erection for the commercial and industrial construction industry. Though a relatively new organization, each owner has over 25 years of experience in the industry. G2 Inc. has the heavy-duty equipment needed to produce a superior finished product and dedicated employees who provide excellent service and quality workmanship.
G2 Inc. also rents cranes for use on construction sites.
Timeline
1977 — Gilchrist Construction begins with owners Thomas & Glenda Gilchrist, parents of current G2 Inc. owners Gordon & Glen Gilchrist.
1980 — Gilchrist Construction purchases its first crane.
1981–1988 — With a crane, doors opened up to pre-engineered buildings and structural steelwork. The business expanded, and two (2) more cranes were purchased. Gilchrist completed many pre-engineered buildings, siding, roofing, and large structural projects.
1991 — Kent Companies wanted to expand its capabilities and purchased Gilchrist Construction. Gordon & Glen Gilchrist became steel division managers for Kent Companies and took several employees (and their Drott 30-ton crane) along with them.
1991–1997 — Gordon, Glen, and their field crews gain valuable knowledge, along with a long list of successful, larger projects. A few more cranes—including three (3) 55-ton Sumitomo crawlers and an 80-ton Hitachi—were purchased within this timeframe.
1998–1999 — Kent Companies, including Gordon & Glen, take on their largest project to date—the RiverTown Crossings Mall in Grandville, Michigan, which was constructed from over 2,400 tons of steel!
2000–2004 — Kent Companies takes on more precast panel and tilt-up wall panel jobs.
2003 — Glen Gilchrist leaves Kent Companies.
2004 — In July, Glen & Gordon decided to purchase the Steel Division of Kent Companies and name the company "G2 Inc." – dubbed G2 for "Gilchrist 2" or "Gordon/Glenn." The purchase included remaining contracts, equipment, and the field crew. Initially, G2 shared office space in Comstock Park with Taylor Made Metals.
2005 — G2 takes on the MID LINK building—a one-million-square-foot building – in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At the same time, G2 builds a new office building dubbed "The Jeep Shop" (named for Gordon's other hobby/business, RockSolid Performance).
2006 — G2 acquires the Old Sterk Ready Mix facility in Cedar Springs, Michigan. This is our current maintenance facility and yard.
2007–2009 — G2 erects more steel and takes on multiple customers for precast concrete installation. G2 purchases a few more cranes.
2010 — Early in 2010, G2 purchases a Link-Belt 250-ton crawler crane. G2 takes more market share, expanding steel and precast operations. G2 purchases Kerkstra Precast Field Division. Ed Carey (G2 Field Operations Manager), Dean Doornbos, and several erectors join the team. G2 also constructs the "cold storage" building at our maintenance facility using recycled double tee wall panels, roof tees, and leftover Spancrete panels.
2011 — G2 buys its largest crane to date—a 2007 Link-Belt 300-ton crawler.
2012 — G2 celebrates its largest precast projects to date. G2 begins erecting over 450 precast panels for Amazon in Jeffersonville, Indiana and also worked on its largest tilt-wall panel over 200,000 lbs. at Bradford White in Middleville, Michigan.
2012 also marks Glen Gilchrist's decision to retire and pursue other dreams. Glen has dedicated himself to G2 Inc. and is now resigned to his other aspirations, such as hunting and fishing. We wish Glen all the best as he begins this new phase of his life.
2013 — G2 Inc. welcomes Frank Hill as the shop supervisor at our White Creek location. Continued growth and additional equipment purchases necessitated a shop supervisor to maintain our fleet & equipment. We had to purchase new equipment.
With Glen Gilchrist retiring, G2 had some shoes to fill. Ed Carey was promoted from Field Operations Manager to Chief Operations Officer, and Joe Hook was promoted from Field Foreman to Field Operations Manager. Glen will be missed, but these moves help make his exit from the company a smoother transition.
G2 continues to gain and pursue new opportunities.
2014 — G2 welcomes Greg Gilchrist as Field Foreman. G2 begins working with Pratt Paper in Valparaiso, Indiana. Pratt Paper is a paper recycling facility offering sustainable packaging and display solutions. This project will take G2 into 2015 along with other ventures such as Villa Mari Winery, YMCA, Carmike Cinemas, Hillsdale College Western Michigan University, and Kingman Lofts.
2015 — G2 begins plans for building our new office on White Creek Avenue to support our growth. While the office on 17 Mile Road has held G2 and its employees for several years, our management team has decided we have outgrown the facility. We also added a 200-ton Link-Belt crane to our already large crane fleet. In December, G2 moves into the recently completed office on White Creek Avenue.
2016 - G2 adds Travis Timmer, Project Manager. Travis brings onsite field experience and over 20 years of precast experience.
2018 - G2 purchases two more Link Belt 200ton cranes. G2 begins work on three Amazon Precast buildings including Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2019 - G2 plans to erect our largest precast project 811 wall panels in Ohio and second largest 587 stacking panels in Akron, Ohio.
G2 builds to it’s team and adds Lois Smith, administrative assistant.
G2 adds it's third 300-ton Link-Belt crane.
2020 - G2 buys 4 larger cranes 2-2018 Liebherr 1300 from one large precast contractor and immediately puts them to work and in rent.
2021 - Amanda (Gilchrist) Faber joins the team as Coordinator. She aids in tracking and costing out huge fleet of 500+ pieces of equipment. We added Tenna as a tracking and equipment software
G2 takes on Project Azores Joe Hook spends two years building a large precast facility-G2 erectors the steel as well. This job utilized one of the Liebherr 1300 crane for 2 years straight. G2 adds an additional Liebherr 1300 to our inventory.
2022 - Ed Carey becomes CEO, as Gordon takes on new projects and more aviation.
Builder's Iron and G2 partner to complete another Pratt Paper with Jim Stevens acting as Site Superintendent for G2.
2023 - G2 adds 8 RT's to our fleet. G2's overall crane fleet grows to 37.
Large jobs completed include Project switch a 364 tilt wall panels as well as Magna St. Clair and a Meijer Freezer building in Newport MI.
G2 strengthens it's shop and yard team, investing in new semi trucks and equipment and more capable support team. G2 takes over old embedded metals building adding a fabrication shop.