20 under 40 recognizes local business and professional leaders who have achieved success and excelled in their field before the age of 40. These individuals have demonstrated leadership, initiative, and dedication in pursuing their careers or growth of their business as well as the growth and development of our community. We were honored to nominate Jon Hansen P.E., Loven Contracting Vice President, for the Arizona Daily Sun / Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce 20 Under Forty.
Guiding Innovation in Healthcare Construction
Jon Hansen’s technical innovations are demonstrated on a daily basis through the systems and methodologies he and his team have developed and adapted for project planning and management in the complex world of healthcare construction. From the rapid implementation of COVID-19 construction protocols to delivering seamless projects that enable the daily operation of essential healthcare providers in the most remote places in Arizona, his engineering-minded approach to every aspect of these critical projects ensures success.
Jon’s true innovation, however, is in the identification and development of healthcare division team members, recruiting a diverse and talented group of professionals who all operate with the same guiding principles. “Jon expects accountability from his team, but also gives us the room to suggest solutions to project challenges,” said Project Manager Joe Anderson. “He trusts us to get the job done but is always there to ensure that every project meets Loven Contracting’s standards for quality and client service. Follow-through is the name of the game.” Project Engineer Shane Stahly said, “I have grown professionally through Jon’s leadership. It is great to be a part of a team that is constantly elevating everyone, and pushing each person to excel.”
Entrepreneurship and Professional Accomplishments
As a young leader at our firm, Jon has been integral in Loven Contracting’s growth from a respected local business into one of the largest general contracting firms in Northern Arizona. As a company headquartered in Flagstaff, this growth has enabled our firm to employ a growing number of local skilled workers and to foster relationships with valuable small business trade partners, all of which contribute to the economic health of our region.
Jon’s success is truly a product of Flagstaff. He’s a 2007 graduate of Northern Arizona University’s engineering program and a registered Civil Engineer in the State of Arizona. After beginning his career at local firm Plateau Engineering, he was hired as a project manager for Loven Contracting. In the intervening decade, his commitment to integrity, responsibility, and collaboration with team members and clients has enabled a steady career progression.
Today, Jon is the Vice President of Loven Contracting’s growing Healthcare Construction division. Jon spearheaded the formation and growth of this group, first as a project manager, and now as the division head, where he leads Loven Contracting’s project managers, superintendents, and craft in providing construction services and facilities support to multiple major healthcare systems across Arizona.
No event has tested Jon’s leadership capabilities more than the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Within hours of our clients identifying their needs, Jon led the healthcare team in partnership with facilities across Arizona to immediately organize and construct containments outside of patient treatment areas and patient rooms. These temporary facilities have been essential to providing healthcare personnel space to safely don and doff personal protection equipment. Since the initial emergency push for facility safety, Jon and his team have expanded their COVID response services to include the construction of triage and testing centers for higher education and medical offices.
Community Leadership in Northern Arizona
Jon’s leadership of the Healthcare Division has directly contributed to the economic wellbeing of the community through local partnerships with Northern Arizona trade partners and vendors. “A successfully delivered construction project may employ hundreds of people, and when those resources are sourced locally, the project budget goes right back into our schools, businesses, and local charitable groups,” said Mike Loven, president and founder of the 35-year-old company. “Jon and I agree on most things, including the need to ensure an economic future for our community.”
Civic Leadership Within the Community
Jon Hansen, P.E. is a Flagstaff Boys and Girls Club board member and is currently facilitating an expansion of the local club in partnership with key local trade partners Another Plumbing Company, Bronson Electric, and Highlands Floor Coverings. Through donations of time and materials from these Flagstaff businesses and project management support and labor also coming from Loven Contracting, the Boys and Girls Club will have significantly more room for programs in the coming year.
“This expansion will enable us to provide additional resources for 75% more kids in Flagstaff. Our capacity is currently fairly low because of COVID-19 restrictions, but this project will enable us to serve more kids than we did even prior to the pandemic,” said Flagstaff Boys and Girls Club CEO, Mark Cox. “Jon’s been an amazing board member and has volunteered to chair the safety committee as well. Safety for kids is the number one priority for the Boys and Girls Club, and he stepped up to serve in this complex role. In fact, Jon is always ready to help out in any way – he has a heart dedicated to serving the community.”
When Mike Loven founded Loven Contracting, he was the first person on the job site every morning and the last guy to leave every evening after personally inspecting the day’s work. No task was complete if it didn’t meet his requirements for durability, quality, and craftsmanship.
Mike’s drive to deliver the best possible project for every client is at the core of Loven Contracting’s 35 years of building relationships. Today, it forms the basis for our firm’s construction standards. These standards include the Loven Exclusives, a clearly defined and technologically advanced set of practical and regionally-relevant construction techniques, all of which have roots in decades of practical job site experience.
Why Hire a Self-Performing Contractor?
Directly related to this are Loven Contracting’s capabilities as a self-performing contractor. Loven Contracting offers in-house resources – including skilled craftsmen and various equipment – to self-perform a wide range of construction activities. When needed, this capability provides the following benefits to our clients:
1. Greater project efficiency and schedule adherence:
Self-performance offers Loven Contracting teams more control over the preconstruction and construction processes, particularly when complex construction activities must be completed simultaneously or to ensure that activities on the critical path are completed promptly.
2. Budget allocation and cost certainty:
During preconstruction, self-performing contractors work closely with design partners and stakeholders to determine best practices for budget maximization. Once the construction phase begins, self-performance services can be provided to avoid potential delays and cost escalation and ensure client satisfaction by delivering a best-in-class product.
3. Higher quality:
The Loven Contracting Exclusives are a set of construction processes and methods that result in the highest quality projects. We integrate the Loven Contracting Exclusives wherever possible on every Loven Contracting project. We provide mentorship and training in these techniques to every Loven Contracting employee, subcontractor, and consultant, enabling the successful integration of the Loven Exclusives into every aspect of your project. We stand behind our final product with the Loven Contracting Building Relationships Service Plan and are only satisfied when you are satisfied.
4. Improved job-site safety:
A safe project is an efficient project. As a self-performing contractor, we know which activities on a job site have elevated risk factors that, when not mitigated, have the potential to cause lengthy delays. Job-site safety is maintained through defined safety protocols and standards that all staff (Loven Contracting employees and subcontractor teams) must follow. As a VPP Star-certified firm, Loven Contracting has developed a company-wide safety culture through hazard prevention and control, Job Hazard Analysis, and training.
Any self-performance activity is accompanied by an itemized open book cost analysis – including competitive quotes – with each line item clearly defined. This ensures an apples-to-apples comparison for any proposed self-performance activity.
Ready To Work With A Self-Performing Contactor?
Are you interested in learning more about working with a self-performing construction company like Loven Contracting? If so, contact us today to learn how you can save time and money and better control your project quality.
Loven Contracting’s Veteran employees include (from left) Adam Kittle, U.S. Army; Jed Westover, U.S. Army; Mark Emmich, U.S. Marines; David Veschio, U.S. Navy.
Jed Westover (United States Army) knows what it means to work hard. While on active duty in Iraq, he worked 14-hour days monitoring the performance of tenant units to ensure overall safety and force protection of the forward operating base. When Jed returned from service overseas, he applied this same ethic to his work as a project manager at Loven Contracting, quickly becoming a valuable resource for planning projects with significant logistical components. Jed is now Loven Contracting’s Operations Manager and a key member of the leadership team.
“I definitely use the same skills we use in the army here at Loven Contracting. One of my favorite examples is a project we executed at the very remote Rainbow Bridge National Monument. The logistics involved moving all staff, equipment, and supplies via barge up 40 miles of river in the middle of winter. To successfully deliver this project within the client’s budget and preserve the natural integrity of the area where we were working, we needed to be incredibly precise with our planning. Even when Mother Nature threw a flash flood at us in the middle of construction, we were able to quickly respond with a contingency plan that actually improved the final project result.”
David Veschio (United States Navy) also brings his military skillset to Loven Contracting’s day-to-day operations. As the firm’s Safety Coordinator, he is responsible for implementing our VPP Star-rated safety program. “Consistency, trackability, and adherence apply equally well in the military and safety program. In both worlds, we require a great deal of awareness of your own actions and the activities of individuals around you to maintain a safe workspace. My job is to ensure that everyone knows the rules and gets home safe at the end of every workday.”
Ryan King (United States Marines) joined Loven Contracting as one of our valued interns. Now a project engineer, he’s utilized his military construction experience to rapidly advance his career. Learn more about Ryan’s journey in the video at the top of this page.
Superintendent Mark Emmich has utilized the skills he developed as a Marine throughout his 30+ year construction career. The clear and consistent approach to communication and the high level of personal integrity required in military service has enabled him to specialize in complex medical construction and energy infrastructure projects across the southwest. His most recent success was as Superintendent on a complete remodel of an active behavioral health facility. This project required significant security, safety, and COVID-19 protocols. “We must ensure safety and a high-quality healing environment for every patient and caregiver. We do this through the methodical implementation of our protocols with every trade partner and staff member, every time.”
How can we help? Healthcare and Essential Service Facility Assistance for COVID-19 Response
We will gladly share our experience and expertise to help you evaluate and prepare your facilities for the COVID-19 emergency. Call 928-774-9040.
As our communities prepare for the impact of COVID-19, construction firms across the country are pitching in to help healthcare and essential service facilities navigate new challenges. Here at Loven Contracting, we have spent the recent weeks working with local partners to provide additional containment in their facilities, helping them to accommodate the potential requirements of this emergency.
Our recent services have included the following:
Construction of negative pressure anterooms outside of patient treatment areas, including operating rooms, cath labs, interventional radiology, and patient rooms. These temporary facilities improve containment and provide healthcare personnel space to don and doff PPE.
Erection of emergency response/triage tents and associated temporary traffic control barriers and management outside of emergency rooms.
Installation of temporary facilities for emergency response personnel.
Our educated team is experienced in working in sensitive healthcare environments and maintains all necessary Infection Control Risk Assessment / Best Practices in Healthcare Construction certifications required to be a contributing resource for local response to COVID-19. Whether we provide services directly for you or not, please feel free to contact us. We will gladly help you to prepare a facility-specific strategy based on our company’s experience working in healthcare environments. It is our goal to be of as much help to the communities we serve as we are able.
