Fast 25: Conexco Inc.

No. 2

Revenue growth FY 2021 to 2023: 363.9%
2023 revenue: $9.5 million

Conexco does site construction, primarily roadway drainage structures such as box culverts on public-works projects. The company prides itself on quality work that gets done on time. Because if it didn’t, Conexco would hear about it. Any setback can bring further traffic delays. Any repair can bring further traffic delays. In a way, Conexco is in the traffic management business. “So we need to get in there and do the project on time, do it correctly, so that we can … open the road back up because what we do affects everybody, and people know it,” company Vice President Ed Hamilton says.

The No. 1 investment: Hamilton and his business partner, company President Neil Goradia, bought Conexco two years ago and have been investing in their employees since. They’ve improved the benefits package, such as health care insurance, paid time off, 401(k)—“things that really, quite frankly, in our industry, you know, it’s really hit and miss,” Goradia says. They’ve invested in better equipment. They’ve developed a work culture that holds their employees as well as themselves accountable. “If we’re just barking at people and they hate coming into work and there isn’t a clear expectation of what they’re required to do, then that goes nowhere fast,” Goradia says.

The high-tech nature of the blue-collar job: Conexco embraces technology. Goradia and Hamilton know, for instance, how long equipment idles and how much productivity they get out of each piece of equipment. That insight helps them better bid on projects. Other technology helps their employees manage their workday. Geofencing around a job site can clock employees in when they arrive and out when they leave. A phone app helps them keep track of their hours and lets them know whether they can knock off a few hours early on
a Friday.

Let it Rip: Goradia and Hamilton tip their hat to their director of operations, Travis Hughes, for much of the company’s success. Hughes has 20 years of experience in the field. He helped draw some former employees back to the company. “I don’t know if you’ve ever watched ‘Yellowstone,’” Hamilton says. “There’s this character named Rip Wheeler. The guy is just so loyal and focused on keeping the ranch going. This guy [Hughes] is Wheeler.” Prospective employees take note: Hughes is not taking anyone to the “train station.”•

Check out more of IBJ’s ranking of Indy’s fastest-growing companies.