Craig (Charlie) Haveson was born in Pittsburgh, PA. Grandson of the
founder of Havco Construction in Trenton, New Jersey (known for
restoring historic landmarks at the time), Craig learned to swing a
hammer at a young age.
“As a kid, I’d visit my grandpa in the summer and watch him tear down
walls to find layers of history behind them,” he reflects. “I’d ride
around with his employees to see the different construction sites and
absolutely loved it.”
This experience sparked Craig’s interest in construction. Spending
three summers in high school volunteering to build homes for Habitat
for Humanity only solidified his desire to build. After two years at
University of Pittsburgh, a move out West, a semester at sea, Haveson
finished his degree at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business.
In 2000, two days after graduation, he started STS Construction with
one goal in mind: To set the standard (STS) by breaking stereotypes in
the construction industry.
“In general, people have a poor perception of construction
companies,” explains Haveson. “They believe contractors are
unreliable, inconsistent and often fall short of expectations. More
often than not they’re right! My goal was, and still is, to break
those stereotypes.”
Haveson runs his business on a self-performance model: to perform
what you promise, be there to get the job done on time, and get it
done right. Keeping this practice as the company’s North Star has
rocketed STS from its beginning as solely a remodeling and
waterproofing company in 2000 to a condominium envelope remediation,
new construction residential developments and apartments projects
company 20 years later. In 2014 STS also opened a branch in L.A. that
focuses on amenity space tenant Improvement, new construction
apartments and development services. Currently Haveson manages well
over $100 million worth of projects annually.
“I’m motivated by growth. I’m a high-energy person who gets excited
by what we do,” Haveson explains. “I love to see homes get transformed
from awful to great, and to build something from nothing.”
With 150 employees and very little turnover, STS is one of the
region’s leading construction companies today. Haveson attributes
STS’s accomplishments to the quality of his employees.
“The key to our success has been our people,” reflects Haveson.
“Building a team that can meet clients’ expectations is number one. I
leverage the experience of my peers, and a majority of what I’ve
learned over the years is simply from listening to clients and people
who work with or for me.”
A husband and father of two, Haveson is also an advocate for
families. In fact, he employs multiple members of the same family in
many cases. Creating a great place to work is one of the company’s
core values.
“We spend most of our lives at work, so we make sure our people laugh
and have a good time too. I know I don’t take myself too seriously,”
he smiles. “One of the favorite parts of my day is picking up my kids
from school. I’m just a big kid myself, so we have a great time.”
Haveson’s vision for the future of STS is to continue to scale the
company while holding tight to its values as a family-oriented company
that continues to break stereotypes at every turn.