Our History & Milestones
Explore the journey of Tooz Construction as we grew, innovated, and built a legacy over the decades.
1964–1967 | Early Foundations
- 1964: At age 15, following his father's passing, Fred Tooz moved from a ranch west of Killdeer to Dickinson, ND.
- 1964: Joined Stark Ready Mix under Bill Badinger—taking first steps in construction through masonry and concrete.
- 1964: Gained field experience on a survey and concrete crew for the ND Department of Transportation.
1967–1970 | Launch & Rebranding
- 1967: Began performing residential foundation work for Pete’s Construction.
- 1967: Started a drywall business under the name Wallboard Construction.
- 1968: Began operating under the name Tooz Construction.
- 1970: Secured the company’s first shop south of Dickinson, ND.
1970s | Expansion & Residential Growth
- Rode the momentum of the North Dakota oil boom as construction demand surged.
- 1970s: Moved operations into the current headquarters.
- 1970s: Secured franchise partnerships with American Buildings Company, Behlen Manufacturing, Chief Industries, and Metallic.
- 1970s: Expanded residential foundation work to 70–100 homes per year.
- 1970s: Transitioned flatwork operations to Ernie and his partner under LTE Construction.
- Late 1970s: Welcomed Ernie Tooz as an official member of the company.
1982–1993 | Mobility & Government Work
- 1982: Pivoted to mobile contracting across ND, SD, MT, WY, and CO following the oil bust.
- 1982: Executed government and military projects including the Sturgis Armory, SD DOT in Buffalo, and Strategic Air Command sites.
- 1991: Added Doug Sarsland as Senior Project Manager.
- 1993: Saw the departure of Ernie Tooz.
1995–1998 | Environmental Division & Rebranding
- 1995: Launched an environmental services arm, later named Total Control, with Todd Tooz eventually taking over leadership.
- 1995: Earned the Concrete Excellence Award (2nd Place, Commercial Category) for the Glendive, MT project.
- 1996: Fred was named Builder of the Year by the National Association of Home Builders.
- 1998: Completed full remediation of the Bismarck Civic Center—largest environmental contract to date.
- 1998: Formalized the split between Tooz Construction and Total Control for operational clarity.
Late 1990s–Early 2000s | Growth & Transition
- Acquired Grizzly Concrete.
- 1990s: Expanded into heavy trucks, trucking, and craning in preparation for the oil boom.
- 1998: Welcomed Tracy Tooz to the company.
- 2004: Welcomed Mark Lefor as Project Manager (later Senior PM in 2016).
2004–2009 | Equipment Rental
- Launched equipment rental services to meet high demand.
2009–2011 | Concrete Excellence & Tool Contracting
- 2009: Tracy Tooz became the AGC (Associated General Contractors of North Dakota) President.
- 2009–2010: Won consecutive Concrete Excellence Awards.
- 2010: Appointed Chris Gietzen as Shop Foreman; later oversaw the launch of the Tool Contracting division in 2011 due to rental demands.
2012–2013 | Leadership & Recognition
- 2012: Mark Lefor became the AGC President.
- 2013: Mark Lefor was awarded Builder of the Year.
2014–2016 | Iron Works & Leadership Transition
- 2014: Added James Donivant as Project Manager.
- 2014: Added the Iron Works Facility, launching the Tooz Precast Division.
- 2016: Marked Fred’s retirement as Tracy Tooz became President.
2021–2024 | Awards, Expansion & Next Generation
- 2021: Awarded AGC First Place Safety Award.
- 2022: Won DABA Project of the Year for the T-Rex Plaza remodel.
- 2022: Tracy Tooz awarded Builder of the Year by DABA.
- 2023: Won DABA Project of the Year for Legacy Square Project.
- 2023: Welcomed Sawyer Tooz under Tracy’s mentorship.
- 2024: Won DABA Project of the Year for the Southwest Area CTE Academy.
- 2024: Tracy Tooz awarded Builder of the Year by DABA.
- 2024: Awarded the Metallic Top 25 award.
- 2024: Awarded Metallic’s Builder of the Year.
- 2024: Appointed Jason Kraft as CFO.