When JE Dunn acquired Henry Carlson Construction earlier this year, it wasn’t the beginning of a new relationship. In many ways, it simply made official what had already existed for years.
For two decades, teams from JE Dunn and Henry Carlson have worked side by side across South Dakota. Over time, many came to see the partnership as something that felt less like two separate companies and more like one team.
“Whenever we did projects with them it was so seamless as though the JE Dunn employees were Henry Carlson employees and vice versa,” said Marc Mellmer, South Dakota Office Leader.
“There was never really any noticeable distinction between the two parties.”
That feeling wasn’t built overnight. It was earned through years of working together and delivering successful projects.
Since 2006, JE Dunn and Henry Carlson have partnered on some of South Dakota’s most notable projects, including Sanford Children’s Hospital (2009), SDSU Indoor Practice and Human Performance Facilities (2014), SDSU Dana J. Dykhouse Football Stadium (2016), and the Minnehaha County Jail Expansion (2020). Today, the team is working on the South Dakota State Penitentiary with an expected completion in 2029.
When leaders from both companies reflect on why the duo made sense, they rarely mention projects. Instead, they focus on people.
Henry Carlson has been building projects and relationships in Sioux Falls since 1919. JE Dunn has completed 20 projects in South Dakota, including 10 projects in Sioux Falls. Both organizations were founded by families. Both have employees who have built careers spanning decades. And both have long believed that strong relationships are the foundation for great work.
“The two companies are similar in age, and Henry Carlson was a multi-generational family-owned construction company similar to JE Dunn,” Mellmer said. “It’s a very similar culture.”
That shared culture showed up every time the teams worked together.
“It was all pretty seamless because we did a number of things the same way and the way we approach a project,” said Chad Nelson, Group Manager in Sioux Falls.
“JE Dunn’s approach, even when challenges arose, was similar to how we would approach it and work together as a team with trade partners rather than dictating to them. It was a good experience. We never had any issues and always enjoyed working with the team.”
For Josh Coyle, Project Director, the fit became clear through years of working alongside JE Dunn teams.
“We knew this was a great fit because we worked on multiple projects together, and every time we worked together, it was a success,” Coyle said.
“The culture is real. We treat our people the same way.”
That people-first focus came up repeatedly in conversations with leaders from both organizations.
“The first thing everybody told me about JE Dunn was, ‘It’s like a family of people,’” said Travis Hatlestad, Project Director.
“Having people mean something and living that, it really feels like this group does that.”
While the companies share many similarities, bringing them together creates new opportunities.
Henry Carlson brings more than a century of relationships across Sioux Falls and the surrounding region. JE Dunn brings national resources, technical expertise, and opportunities to support continued growth in the market.
“To have the ability to lean on JE Dunn’s horsepower allowed us to compete against larger firms in the area,” Nelson said.“JE Dunn does a lot of things the way we did, just on a bigger scale.”
At the same time, Nelson believes Henry Carlson’s deep roots in the community strengthen the combined organization.
“The way we help is through our people that we have in this community and our relationships,” he said. “Most of our customers we see outside of work. We are friends with them outside of work.”
Those relationships are what have made Henry Carlson a trusted name in South Dakota for more than a century and will continue to strengthen JE Dunn’s presence throughout the region.
From the start, leaders shared a common goal: build on what made Henry Carlson successful rather than change it.
“Don’t disrupt what they currently have going on in their market,” Mellmer said. “Enhance what they’re currently doing in the market wherever possible.”
That approach has been on full display throughout the transition.
“The patience they haver of walking us through everything to help us learn and to teach has been positive,” Nelson said. “Everyone has had a good attitude about it. We’ll figure it out.”
The support has been noticeable across teams, from field operations and project delivery to HR, IT, and other support functions. More importantly, employees say the values they see today are the same values that made working together successful long before the acquisition.
From two companies to one team, this partnership is about shared values, strong relationships, and a strong belief that putting people first matters as much as the projects themselves.
