Women In Construction Week 2025

We love to celebrate our employee-owners, and since March 2-8 is this years’ Women in Construction (WIC) Week, we are proud to recognize our many hardworking women. 

We devoted this week’s social media content to WIC Week 2025. Monday, we introduced the theme with photos of some of our amazing women who shape Achen-Gardner and our industry. On Tuesday, we brought in Nothing Bundt Cakes for the ladies in our Chandler office to enjoy. We shared some content of Achen-Gardner employee-owners Abi Goode, Project Manager, and Stacy Mcgeehon, Water Truck Driver, doing their jobs on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, we spotlighted Christie Hall, Pre-Construction Manager, for her many contributions across 34 years of service in the construction industry. 

We are proud to spotlight these employee-owners to encourage other women and girls to become construction professionals. At 15.6%, Arizona has the second highest percentage of women in the industry of any state. We choose to be part of that solution.

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and we are wrapping up WIC Week 2025 with a big thank you to all our women employee-owners for their contributions to our success. These talented members of our organization received pink Stanley cups as a unique token of our gratitude. Achen-Gardner Construction is immensely proud to support the growing presence of hardworking women in construction.

An Award-Winning Team

2025 Build Arizona Award

Our PVC-Lined Concrete Sewer Pipe and Manhole Rehabilitation – North CMAR project for the City of Phoenix won a Build Arizona Award from the Arizona Chapter Associated General Contractors of America. This project included the rehabilitation of more than 17,000 LF of pipe, varying from 30” to 48” in diameter. There were 20 unique bypass systems, including a double containment sewer system crossing the Central Arizona Project canal at the Cave Creek Bridge. Thank you to our partners at the City of Phoenix, Dibble, and our employee-owners who worked on this project.

Colors for a Cause

It’s the season of giving! Achen-Gardner partnered with the Arizona Chapter of Associated General Contractors of America’s (AGC) Young Professionals to help raise $11,973 for Save the Family , an organization that provides holiday gifts and meals for families in need. Achen-Gardner supported this effort by blasting employee-owners with chalk to fundraise for this organization. 🎁

Christmas in the Park

Achen-Gardner employee-owners and their families had a great time spreading holiday cheer in the City of Litchfield Park’s annual Christmas Parade on December 14. We walked along our North Pole-themed float while handing out candy to the parade attendees. This parade kicked off Litchfield Park’s Christmas in the Park celebration, and we were happy to be a part of this memorable event.

Holiday Fun at the Tempe Fantasy of Lights Parade

Achen-Gardner Construction celebrated the start of this holiday season at the Tempe Fantasy of Lights Street Parade on November 29, 2024. Our float won best special effects! Employee-owners enjoyed passing out candy and smiles along Mill Avenue, where we are working to refresh the downtown streetscape. We were a sponsor for the event. We decorated a company truck and 40-foot trailer with holiday spirit, featuring a snow machine! This Winter Wonderland theme was complete with an igloo, costumes, and a haul of sweet treats.

A Partnership For Safety

For the last several weeks, Arizona local fire departments have come to an Achen-Gardner job site for trench safety and rescue training. Our project site features a 16-foot-deep trench that is being used for this training.

Captain Tom McCracken with the Phoenix Fire Department Heavy Rescue 41 was also instrumental in the organization of these trainings. He said fire departments have a well-known saying: “Simple solutions for complex problems.” The competent person on the scene must communicate with the first emergency responder possible, and this person carries on the chain of information. That way, leaders at the site and the rescue crew will quickly decide how to rescue someone without putting others in danger.

We worked with Trench-Ade to host 11 fire departments across 12 training sessions. Every Special Operations Firefighter in the Phoenix Valley was trained on trench rescues at one of our Scottsdale job sites. Thank you to our employee-owners, Trench-Ade, and the following fire departments for participating in this collaborative education:

• Scottsdale Fire Department
• Phoenix Fire Department
• Tempe Fire Department
• Mesa Fire Department
• Daisy Mountain Fire Department
• Glendale Fire Department
• Peoria Fire Department
• Salt River Fire Department
• Chandler Fire Department
• Buckeye Fire Department
• Superstition Fire Department

Visit Fox 10 Phoenix News for their coverage of this firefighter safety training.

Chandler Water Festival

Achen-Gardner Employee-owners expressed their gratitude to the City of Chandler this season by volunteering at the annual Chandler Water Festival on November 21-22 at Tumbleweed Park, hosted by the University of Arizona and Arizona Project WET. They directed and presented to fourth graders from Chandler elementary schools for a field day of educational water games and experiments. We’re always happy to get involved in the communities we serve.

2024 Chandler 100

Achen-Gardner Construction is the 35th largest employer in the City of Chandler. The Chandler 100 celebrates the City’s top businesses every year by recognizing them through the Chandler Chamber of Commerce as influential to the community. We’re honored to have served Chandler for another successful year. Visit the Chandler Chamber magazine to see us on page 22.

Excellence runs in our family. We were also recently awarded with our partner brands as No. 49 on the Engineering News Record (ENR) Top Domestic and Heavy Contractors list, and No. 119 in the Top 400 Contractors list.

Touch-A-Truck at Litchfield Park

Achen-Gardner had loads of fun at the Litchfield Park Touch-A-Truck event on November 16th. Our employee-owners had a blast passing out swag and showing off some of our equipment. This free family event gave kids of all ages the unique opportunity to explore our equipment up close and learn about the world of construction. Thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors who helped make this event a huge success.

UV CIPP Award

Pictured left to right: Bridget Ball, Reline America Director of Operations, Sergio Leon, Area Superintendent, Tino Tarango, Project Manager, Tim Crook, Reline America Vice President and General Manger

Achen-Gardner recently won Project of the Year for a siphon repair job on our Pima County JOC. This award came from the Reline America Annual Installer Meeting in Virginia. We also won third place for Most Material Installed. Great job to our crews working in Pima County!

“Reline America only partners with contractors who have completed the comprehensive training and certification process, guaranteeing that all Alphaliner installations are performed to the highest standards. The Achen-Gardner team exemplifies the expertise, precision, and commitment to quality that Reline America looks for in its partners.” - Reline America

This project entailed a wide scope of challenging services for rehabilitating old pipes. Almost 90 percent of these pipes contained mud, dirt, rocks, sand, or other blockages that decreased functionality. The team fully cleaned and inspected all of these pipes with great care before applying Reline America’s Alphaliner 1800, a UV CIPP liner designed for tough conditions. Angles of the pipes required the team to adjust its curing process along the way.

To date, Achen-Gardner has self-performed the installation of more than 460,000 LF of UV CIPP liner. For more information about this process and other related projects, visit our UV CIPP Rehabilitation page.

Read more about the challenges and solutions on this project in Reline America’s article, “Setting the Standard in Pipeline Rehabilitation: Achen-Gardner Exceeds Expectations With Alphaliner Installation.”