HONORING OUR PAST, GROWING INTO THE FUTURE

1878

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The Austin Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1878 by Samuel Austin, a young carpenter from England. Austin had earned such a reputation for excellence in craftsmanship that he was soon able to set out on his own as an estimator and builder. Two years after establishing his own business, Samuel founded his first shop in Cleveland. Residential construction soon led to commercial work and in 1889, Samuel won the contract to construct a building for the Broadway Savings Bank.

Among the bank’s clientele were industrial executives who saw the quality of Samuel’s work and who soon called on him to undertake their factory projects. In 1895, the Western Mineral Wool Company of Cleveland decided to branch out and construct a factory in Chicago. The company asked Samuel to undertake the project. This marked the beginning of Samuel’s work beyond Cleveland.

In 1901, Samuel’s son, Wilbert joined his father’s company and conceived the groundbreaking idea of combining engineering and construction in one firm to offer a complete facility design and construction service. This concept, which became known as The Austin Method^®, broadened the traditional approach to construction by offering contracts that started with architecture and engineering, and ended with the finished building. The Austin Method would carry the company’s name throughout the United States and around the world.

2005

AUSTIN BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE KAJIMA FAMILY OF COMPANIES

In 2005, The Austin Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Kajima USA Group and is a proud member of the Kajima Corporation family of companies worldwide.

Founded in 1840, Kajima Corporation is the parent company of Kajima USA Group companies. Since its founding, Kajima quickly became an industry leader in construction, where it remains to this day. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Kajima maintains a workforce of more than 19,295 employees, located at numerous branch and project offices worldwide.

Kajima ranks as one of the largest and most admired construction firms in the world, with annual consolidated sales around $18.03 billion (U.S., 2022), and is a Top 250 Global Contractor as recognized by Engineering News Record.

Today, Kajima’s global operations network spans more than 20 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, the United States and Mexico. Kajima’s extensive experience in virtually every aspect of construction and real estate development, combined with innovative construction technologies, has led to the Kajima name being well-recognized worldwide. This experience includes all types of structures – from dams, bridges and tunnels, to skyscrapers, and resorts.

With the resources of Kajima USA Group and the worldwide Kajima organization, Austin continues to expand the breadth and depth of our solutions for the global market.

2020

CONTINUING THE LEGACY

We continue to uphold our founder’s core values and believe in providing, “Honest work, well done.” Our facility solutions are developed and implemented to improve your operations and make them more efficient – the results you receive are more than just shade and shelter for your business.

From aerospace and automotive to food processing and hospitality, Austin works as an extension of your organization, offering insight into the core markets we serve. Drawing upon our rich history and more than 145 years of experience, we remain committed to offering our proprietary design-build project delivery model—The Austin Method—and unparalleled service for every project.

In addition to services for the built environment, Austin offers value-added strategic planning services, such as location consulting, transportation and distribution consulting, facility and process audits. Our Results, Not Excuses^® approach provides you with expertise and innovative solutions for your facility challenges.