Wolverine Building Group acquires Brighton construction company

Wolverine Building Group acquires Brighton construction company
Wolverine Building Group acquired the 21 team members of Contracting Resources Inc. <strong>Courtesy Wolverine Building Group</strong>

Wolverine Building Group announced it acquired Contracting Resources Inc., a construction firm based in Brighton.

Contracting Resources has 21 team members and offers construction management services to clients in health care, retail, religious, commercial and medical office markets. Founder Jim Barnas will continue to work at Contracting Resources until the end of 2021 to ensure a smooth transition before retiring from the company.

“Contracting Resources is a very impressive operation,” said Aaron Jonker, president and co-owner of Wolverine Building Group. “They have a solid team and a great reputation. As we continue to learn more about the organization, I am continually impressed with Jim’s leadership and the direction he took the business. We are very grateful that as a part of the sale, Jim has agreed to stay on the team to help with our transition.”

This isn’t Wolverine’s first acquisition. In 1995, the company acquired Fryling Construction, which at the time specialized in multiunit residential and shopping malls. In 2009, Wolverine acquired Houseman Construction, which led to work in the national restaurant and retail industry and has since managed projects in 38 states across the country.

“Over the past few years, we’ve had some significant projects in southeast Michigan and continue to see opportunities,” Jonker said. “We currently have a few team members that live on the east side of the state, and we have been contemplating what an expansion in southeast Michigan would look like. We got to the point where we had to decide if we wanted to build a team or buy a team. When we were introduced to Contracting Resources, it made our decision easy as we quickly identified a strong culture fit.”

Barnas founded Contracting Resources Inc. in 2001. Barnas, a 40-year veteran in the construction industry, started the firm after he spent time working for large construction corporations and recognized he was ready to control and manage his own commercial contracting company. Barnas also wanted to operate in his hometown of Brighton so he could be more involved in the community.

“We see a lot of opportunities for growth for not only for our team based in West Michigan but also for our new Contracting Resources team members,” Jonker said. “Our current portfolios are very complementary to each other. We look forward to learning more about the communities in which the Contracting Resources team lives and works.”

Founded in 1939, Grand Rapids-based Wolverine Building Group specializes in industrial, multiunit residential, health care, office, restaurant and retail construction.