Andrew ‘Andy’ Geren provides high-level experience and excitement to the Chester Inc. family

Even though Chester Inc. Commercial Construction is based in Valparaiso, not every staff member has lifelong roots in the Region. However, no matter where each employee is from, their mission is to always satisfy the customers they serve in the local communities, a fact Andrew “Andy” Geren, who has been a part of the Chester team for just under a year as the field operations manager, proves everyday.

Geren went to school in Wisconsin, earning his degree in construction engineering and management at Marquette University. Shortly after graduating, he was presented with an opportunity to work in Chicago.

“I grew up always wanting to live in Chicago, and I eventually got hired out there as a general contractor,” Geren said. “I lived out there for five years, and I ended up meeting my wife, Caitie, who is from La Porte. We recently just celebrated our four-year anniversary.”

When they wanted to buy a house together, they ended up finding a place in Chesterton to settle down in a small town environment. Recently, Geren was offered a position at Chester. Following years of commuting from Chicago to Chesterton, he now gets to work closer to home and spend a lot of time with his family.

“When I would get home late from work from traffic, especially when we had our 2-year-old son, Declan, things became a little tougher,” Geren said. “I would always see signs for Chester in the area. I was interested in their product, so their recruiter reached out and talked to me about the company. I was super interested, and my first interview went well. When they called back for the second one, I felt like I killed it. One week later, I got an offer. I didn’t waste much time after that point because I was ready to accept the opportunity.”

While Geren is still in his first year with Chester, he’s been able to build plenty of strong relationships with his co-workers. He’s already seen more than a dozen projects go through in his time with the company.

“At my old company, I was doing one job every two years,” Geren said. “Being able to see a lot more projects of a different variety is a pretty cool feeling. These projects just keep growing with the people here at Chester. There is a high level of trust in the contractors and subcontractors to help out along the way.”

For Geren, being the field operations manager requires a lot of responsibility, an aspect of the job that greatly excites him. Having the opportunity to oversee the project managers at Chester to ensure high-quality projects are being developed on a consistent basis is the most enjoyable part of his position.

“A project manager probably has two or three jobs they’ll be working on, and I get to go to these jobs every day to see the progress go on,” Geren said. “For me, it’s all about helping the project managers develop. They lean on me for questions and little tidbits here and there, and it’s awesome to see how they use that to their advantage.”

Taking the position at Chester has been the ultimate blessing for not just Geren but his entire family. He has more free time while also making a positive impact at one of the biggest construction companies in the Region.

“I very much love the work/life balance that Chester provides for me!” Geren said. “Being a family owned company, they know that family comes first and very much treat us that way.”

When he’s not at work, Geren spends a lot of time with his wife, trying different restaurants and allowing their son to experience places he’s never been to before. They enjoy being active outside of the house whenever they can. He also likes to golf with his brothers-in-law and co-workers, as Chester includes a pretty big golf community for its team members. Geren is also a massive fan of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears.

For more information on Chester Inc. Commercial Construction, you can visit chesterinc.com.