History

In 1981, Joe Donnino, Donald Jones, and Thomas Thayer, with a vision of the future of construction, started Tri-North Builders in Madison, Wisconsin. The 10 employees of the company, many of whom are still with Tri-North today, worked out of a 700 square foot office and maintained a garage for a shop. Tri-North’s first projects included a drive-thru addition to the First Wisconsin (now known as U.S. Bank) Building in downtown Madison, and a Radio Shack store in Janesville, Wisconsin. Tri-North’s March through November sales volume in 1981 totaled $105,000. Its 1982 sales volume totaled over one million dollars.

Despite the economic recession, Tri-North flourished. In 1983, Tri-North began its first out-of-state project, which was a Sterling Optical store located in the Jamestown Mall in Florissant, Missouri. Following that project, the increasing demand for Tri-North’s services aided it in expanding into other states. In 1985, Tri-North built a new facility with 3,000 square feet of office space and 3,500 square feet of shop space.

During the next few years, Tri-North continued to expand, reaching a sales volume of over $25 million in 1990. That same year Tri-North remodeled and expanded its Cooperate Headquarters to 26,000 square feet. Tri-North’s growth continued throughout the 1990s, with 1996 bringing the opening of Tri-North’s Milwaukee office and the adoption of Tri-North’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), where eligible employees acquired a percentage ownership of the company. Another milestone was reached in 1999, when Tri-North’s sales volume surpassed $100 million.

Tri-North celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2001. That same year, one of the founding partners, Joe Donnino, retired. One year later, to keep up with its continued growth, Tri-North opened its third office in Dallas. At the same time, Tri-North was rapidly outgrowing is corporate headquarters in Madison. Conceptualization for a new headquarters building began in 2004, the same year in which Donald Jones, another of Tri-North’s founding partners, retired.

In 2006, while celebrating its 25th year in business, Tri-North completed the work on its new corporate headquarters located just outside of Madison in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The Gold LEED Certified 53,000 square foot facility incorporated the latest green building techniques and is a testament to the high quality work that has always characterized Tri-North. Tri-North’s shop operations also expanded with the completion in 2007 of a new, 40,000 square foot facility.When it first started, Tri-North succeeded because of the dedication of its 10 original employees. That dedication continues today, with all 300 of Tri-North’s employees continuing to strive for excellence. The future of construction was the vision when Tri-North began in 1981 and Tri-North continues today to reach for that vision as the Green Building Leader.