Over the course of 115 years, Charles C. Brandt Construction Co. has experienced 5 transitions of ownership. Not only is it notable that the company has successfully implemented these transitions, but it’s also incredibly rare. In fact, according to YPO.org, statistics show that about 75% of businesses fail after the first generation of owners. In addition, more than 85% fail by the third generation, and over 95% fail beyond that, so we take a lot of pride in the fact that we’re still here – building our clients visions into reality.
In honor of our upcoming 115-year milestone next year, we thought we’d take this time to offer our audience a glimpse into our history. After all, it was their perseverance and expertise that poured the foundations for what CCB is today.
CCB was started by none other than Charles C. Brandt back in 1907. As his business grew over time, he realized the company would outlive him and eventually transferred ownership of the company to his three sons – William C. Brandt Sr. (Bill), Ralph Brandt Sr., and Charlie E. Brandt.
With Bill, Ralph, and Charlie at the helm, CCB flourished as one of the premier general contractors in the state of Indiana – a trait that still holds true today. CCB continued to surpass the three brothers’ lifespan as it did to their father before them, and the company’s ownership was transferred to their sons, William C. Brandt Jr. (Chuck), David S. Brandt, and Ralph Brandt Jr. in the 1970s. During this period of ownership, Chuck, David, and Ralph Jr. formed another business entity called Construction Management Services Inc., or CMSI, which focused more on public entity work. In the 1980s, Charlie’s son Chris Brandt and son-in-law Bill Freeman joined CCB while both companies continued to prosper.
David Brandt, who by this time was running CMSI had dreams of running his own company. After having discussions with the other owners, they agreed to sell CMSI to David, who then rebranded CMSI as Brandt Construction – a respected decision by all parties. It should be noted that today Charles C. Brandt Construction and Brandt Construction are two separate companies with separate non-Brandt family ownership and continue to successfully operate in and around Indianapolis.
When the time came for Chuck Brandt to transition into retirement and transfer his shares in the early 1990’s, majority ownership of CCB was passed on to Bill Freeman, with Chris Brandt still in minority ownership (4th generation).
In 2002, Steve Lankton, Jack Lautenschlager, and Cathy Bickle joined Bill Freeman as owners (5th generation). Bill fully retired in 2013 and Cathy retired in 2014. Steve and Jack asked Lindsay Fernandez to join them as a shareholder in 2018, which began the transition into the 6th generation of ownership. Lindsay was named President of CCB in 2020 to solidify succession plans.
Even though none of the current owners carry the Brandt name, we are very proud to carry on the legacy started by Charles C. Brandt back in 1907 and will continue to carry that legacy into future generations of ownership. Thank you to all of you who have granted us the opportunities to succeed, and we can’t wait for what’s in store for the next 115 years!