in business was hugely important to him, says Jennejohn; his
approach was to “do it once and do it right,” and if any mistakes
occurred, he’d own them, blame no one else and ensure
the problems were properly fixed. Because the company has
always employed highly skilled tradesmen, says Jennejohn, “such
occurences were very rare.”
Personal relationships with business partners were also paramount
to Pitz. He knew the names of his vendors’ and bankers’ kids
and spouses, and would happily invest his time in long conversations
unrelated to the business purpose of his calls.
As a boss, Pitz was firm, but fair, says Jennejohn. He liked to
have fun at work, joking around, sometimes over a beer on Friday
afternoons. He was extremely loyal.
“If you let him down, but you had good intentions, he’d give you
a second chance… and a third chance,” said Jennejohn.
He didn’t panic in the face of problems, wouldn’t get riled up
and make knee-jerk decisions.
“He never wavered in the face of adversity,” added Jennejohn.
In his personal time, Pitz was an avid duck hunter, a music fan
– Coldplay was among his favorites – a photographer and a dog
owner. He was married to Linda Pitz – now president and 100%
owner of the company – and had four children, two sons and two
daughters, along with one grandson. His funeral was planned with
his interests in mind: His old Toyota Land Cruiser was camouflaged
for the funeral procession like a duck-hunting blind, and
Coldplay music featured in the service.
Old-school practices created preferred contractor
Pitz’s focus on relationship-building, trust and reputation enabled
him to maintain McMullen & Pitz as a preferred contractor,
according to Jennejohn.
“Erich stood behind his work and provided good value,” he said.
After Jennejohn joined the company in 2008, he encouraged
Pitz to adopt technologies for client communications, estimating
and so on. Pitz stuck to his preferred methods, however, and prided
himself on being “old school.” Most of his colleagues appreciated
that about him, says Jennejohn.
“Doing business with Erich was more simple than contracting
with larger construction companies.”
Photos courtesy of McMullen & Pitz
For his first large proposal after his father’s death, a project at
Sheboygan Harbor in Wisconsin, Pitz created the estimate with
pencil and paper. That process worked for him, and he continued
to use it for the rest of his career. He was not a computer and email
enthusiast; he sometimes checked his email messages just once a
week, says Jennejohn. Everyone who needed to reach Pitz knew to
call or stop by the office, in which case, he would drop everything
to have a face-to-face conversation.
McMullen & Pitz developed a niche in submarine-pipeline and
river-crossing projects, jobs that were relatively uncommon and
for which the company had an expertise that has led engineers
to call for design help. It also specializes in marine infrastructure,
environmental cleanup, earth retention and deep foundation
projects.
In the late years of his career, Pitz most enjoyed the company’s
“up-north projects” in Northern Wisconsin, largely stress-free jobs
building forest bridges, docks, seawalls and boat houses.
Jennejohn says he feels a “huge weight on his shoulders” in following
Pitz to run the business. While his business values are much
the same as Pitz’s, he admits that he’ll modernize some processes.
Pitz jested with Jennejohn, saying several times, “You’ll never
figure me out.” After working together for 13 years, Jennejohn
agrees that he probably didn’t. But he and his colleagues certainly
miss Pitz’s leadership and his sense of fun. His presence will always
be felt in the halls of McMullen & Pitz Construction Company. t
IN MEMORIAM
“If you let him down, but
you had good intentions,
he’d give you a second
chance … and a third chance.”
– Ted Jennejohn
108 | ISSUE 1 2021 www.piledrivers.org
/www.piledrivers.org
