A private, people-first investment firm in suburban Kansas City has spent two decades assembling a coast-to-coast family of specialty construction companies - and betting that patient ownership beats the quick flip.
California Drywall Co. is one of the largest wall-and-ceiling specialty contractors in the United States, building interiors and exteriors across Northern California since 1946. From its San Jose base it delivers drywall, lath and plaster, metal framing, cold-formed steel engineering, fireproofing, acoustical ceilings, rainscreens and prefabricated wall panels for landmark projects including Apple Park, Levi's Stadium, SFO Terminal 2 and major hospitals. In August 2023 it became a 100% employee-owned company through an ESOP, putting equity in the hands of its roughly 700 team members.
Canvas builds worker-operated robots that finish drywall on commercial construction sites. Its flagship machine, the 1200CX, sprays and sands joint compound to Level 4 and 5 finishes in roughly two days instead of five, has finished close to a million square feet to date, and was acquired in 2025 by JLG Industries (an Oshkosh Corporation company) to scale across interior construction.