José Maldonado will be awarded the Negocios Now 2016 Business of the Year Award at the third annual Who’s Who in Hispanic Chicago gala event, to be held July 8 at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Maldonado is the owner and founder of Old Veteran Construction, a general contracting company that landed a spot on the $635 million megaproject next to McCormick Place’s Expo Center that will include construction of a 1200-room Marriott hotel as well as a sports complex for DePaul University.
“It is not only the biggest project I’ve ever had, but also one of the biggest in the City of Chicago today,” he says with amazement. “Sometimes I just sit down and ask myself if I’m awake or if I’m dreaming.”
OVC has earned a reputation as a minority-run general construction company delivering high-quality work on time through numerous projects for private and government industries. In 2014 alone OVC reported $135 million in sales with projects varying from construction design, remodeling, new construction and improvements to personal training contracts.
OVC started with a chimney construction job that paid $200 and has been guided by Maldonado, who learned from every setback. The company’s beginnings included a team of five people in a small room and a truck with a sign that read, “Hard work speaks for itself.” Today OVC employs 130 workers and it has a presence in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
“I can’t believe all that my company has done in 30 years,” Maldonado said. “I feel blessed for having the team I have. They are like my family.”
Click here to read Maldonado’s story published at Negocios Now last year.
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