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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m N o v e m b e r 2 0 14 • I NSIGH T | 25 ONLINE: Boldt Co. CEO Tom Boldt discusses how lessons past and concerns for the future help shape Boldt's approach at projects all across the country. The Boldt Co. awards The company has received multiple awards the past several decades for its processes, safety records and commitment to sustainable buildings. Some of the more recent include: » Wisconsin Innovation Award for Integrated Lean Project Delivery » Gold Well Workplace Award from The Wellness Council of America » OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) recognition » Boldt achieves 4 million man-hours without a Lost Time Accident (LTA) » Oklahoma Certified Healthy Business - Excellence Level – Award » Daily Reporter - Top Projects of 2013 for the We Energies- Rothschild project. » 2006 Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award in the Environmental Stewardship category » 2011 John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club Torchbearer Award » 2012 Corporate Safety Award at the 71st Annual Wisconsin Safety & Health Conference and Exposition. This award was presented by the Wisconsin Safety Council and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development showing off what's been done on the Lawrence campus. A gate restricting vehicle access to the interior campus serves as a testament to the value of experience when confronted by obstacles. "I wonder if my code still works," O.C. says, stepping out of the car to punch numbers in the keypad. Moments later, he waves the car through and rejoins the tour. "OK. Now I'm just showing off." GAME CHANGER A t the opposite end of downtown Appleton stands one of the other buildings on O.C.'s top three list, and perhaps it is truly his favorite: the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Certainly, it has delivered value. e PAC has changed the very nature of downtown Appleton, bringing visitors and spending from all over the region and fostering a revitalization of the other businesses in the vicinity. It is estimated the PAC generates more than $17 million a year in economic activity for the region. Not everyone was convinced the project, seeded by an $8 million gi from Aid Association for Lutherans as it was merging into what is now rivent, would succeed. "It was high risk," O.C. says. "We worked really hard to keep it from failing, but we were pretty confident we would be successful." "We'd be a lot different community without Boldt," says Walter S. Rugland, the former COO of AAL who worked closely with Boldt Co. to build the PAC. "ey have built great partnerships with many people in this community." It's not just the buildings, Rugland says, [ c o n t i n u e d ] » MEMORY LANE A large portion of the lessons and knowledge Boldt Co. brings to each project were learned in Appleton during the company's formative years. A tour of Boldt- built projects is like a trip down an extended memory lane — there seems to be a building on every street where Boldt Co. played a role in its construction or renovation in some way. O.C. loves to show them off. In preparation for this aernoon tour of the city, his short list of sites to visit fills both sides of a notecard, just a few ideas he jotted down. And each one has a story, some as important milestones for the company, and some much more of a personal highlight. Sometimes the two come together, like they do for the Lawrence University campus. ere are the buildings, for sure, including one that makes O.C.'s personal top three list: the Warch Campus Center. e $35 million, 107,000-square-foot building is the largest in the school's history, has won multiple awards and was the first education building in Wisconsin to achieve LEED Gold certification. "We were shooting for silver, but with their help we were able to get gold," says Lynn Hagee, director of special projects at Lawrence. "ey did a great job of keeping us informed what was going on with the building all the time." e Warch project had its challenges. e university wanted student input included, and Boldt Co. made sure their opinions were accounted for, going as far as building a replica wall with different stone patterns and holding a pizza party so students could decide on the look they liked, she says. As construction was about to begin, it was learned the building next to where the Warch center is located was slipping down the hill toward the Fox River. Boldt Co. was able to develop and install a solution before the new construction aggravated the problem. e Warch Center is also very near the building in which his wife Pat lived as a student at Lawrence when the two began dating. e couple celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this year. O.C.'s zeal and passion for work nearly bubble over when