// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did J.E. Dunn Construction go to therapy? It had a building issue.
| Industry | Construction |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri , United States |
Number of employees | 4,000[1] (2026) |
| Website | https://jedunn.com/ |
J. E. Dunn Construction Group is an American privately held construction company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri founded in 1924 by John Ernest Dunn.[2][3][4]
History
[edit]The company was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1924 by John Ernest Dunn as a residential contractor, and later moved into commercial, institutional, and public building work.[2] During World War II, the firm built the Quartermaster Depot, a wartime supply facility in Kansas City, at cost.[2] Leadership of the company remained within the Dunn family for three generations: Dunn's son William H. Dunn Sr. took over the business after the founder's death in the mid-1960s, and William's son Terrence P. Dunn was named chief executive officer in 1989.[2][5] Terrence Dunn served as president and chief executive officer of the holding company, incorporated as Dunn Industries, Inc. and later renamed J.E. Dunn Construction Group, Inc., until his retirement in 2015.[6]
Beginning in 1990, the company expanded beyond Kansas City through a series of acquisitions, purchasing a controlling interest in Witcher Construction of Minneapolis in 1990, Drake Construction Company of Portland, Oregon, in 1992, the Houston-based LTB Contractors and Hughes/Smith, Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the late 1990s, and R.J. Griffin & Company of Atlanta in January 2000.[2]
In 2010, the company established an employee stock ownership plan, transitioning from sole family ownership to combined family and employee ownership.[4]
Gordon Lansford III, who had served as chief financial officer for 15 years, became president and chief executive officer of JE Dunn Construction Company on January 1, 2014, the first person outside the Dunn family to hold the position.[4] In 2019, the Dunn family and the company were part of the investment group led by John Sherman that purchased the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball.[7] By 2024, it operated 26 offices in the United States and employed more than 4,000 people.[8]
In 2026, Kevin Grimm, a former foreman for J.E. Dunn pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge for stealing over $70,000 of medical equipment and construction equipment from his jobsite at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and selling them on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.[9][10][11] The medical equipment he stole were regulated by the Food and Drug Administration that were only meant to be owned by medical providers.[12] He used his access to facility as a contractor to loot the hospital that was being built.[13] The hospital security received a tip about stolen hospital items on eBay and personal information found in pictures and background photo that showed the jobsite linked the incident to Grimm.[9] Board of Regents has hired the company as the manager of North Liberty project at UIHC.[14]
Engineering News-Record listed J.E. Dunn as the 21st highest revenue contractor in 2026.[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ "JE Dunn Construction Group | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "A Storied Legacy". JE Dunn Construction. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "The Top 400 Contractors 2011". Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- 1 2 3 "JE Dunn Construction Company Names New President and CEO" (Press release). JE Dunn Construction Company. December 12, 2013. Retrieved 2026-07-23 – via Business Wire.
- ↑ "100 Years and Still Building On". JE Dunn Construction. May 28, 2024. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "MGP Ingredients, Inc. Definitive Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A), fiscal year 2019". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "Kansas City Royals Ownership Group" (PDF). KSHB-TV. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "JE Dunn Construction Reaches Centennial Milestone" (Press release). JE Dunn Construction. January 17, 2024. Retrieved 2026-07-23 – via PR Newswire.
- 1 2 Mehaffey, Trish (2026-06-01). "Former construction foreman gets deferred judgment in UIHC theft". The Gazette. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "Man who stole and resold thousands worth of construction and medical equipment given probation". The Mighty 1630 KCJJ. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "Contractor pleads guilty to stealing $60K in equipment from UI Health Care campus". KCRG. 2026-03-05. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Now, Iowa's News (2026-09-21). "Hupp Electric Motors plans $6 million expansion in Marion". KGAN. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ McMunn, Andrew (2025-06-05). "Contractor stole $60K worth of equipment from hospital to sell on eBay and Marketplace, officials say". WEAU. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Miller, Vanessa (2026-08-28). "Companies say they weren't paid $2.4M on UI hospital project". The Gazette. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "ENR 2026 Top 400 Contractors 1-100 | Engineering News-Record". www.enr.com. Retrieved 2026-09-22.