In 1963, while transferring to Platteville State College, Gary took a temporary job as a draftsman with Building Systems Inc., a builder of pre-engineered metal structures, located in Madison, Wisconsin. He discovered his true passion at this company and advanced quickly while working in all areas of the construction business. Gary became a minority shareholder in 1972. In 1979, Building Systems became J.H. Findorff & Son’s Pre-Engineered Metal Building Division, under Gary’s leadership as president. In 1983, the division spun off from Findorff and established itself as its own entity, called Building Systems General Corporation. Gary became sole owner of Building Systems General Corporation in 2007. In 2017 he spearheaded renaming the company FoxArneson and transferred ownership to the next generation, Jim and Carrie Arneson. Gary now serves as Chairman of the Board of FoxArneson.
Education:
Gary attended Oshkosh State University and Platteville State College to pursue an Engineering degree. Additionally, Gary has continued to develop professionally over the years through attendance at numerous business-related seminars.
Experience:
During the course of his career, Gary has been involved in all aspects of Design/Build construction. Since 1983, Gary’s primary responsibility has been to generate new business for the company and maintain customer relations. Gary has also served on both State and National Building Association boards, serving two terms as president on the State level and treasurer of the National Building Association. In reflection, Gary feels that the most rewarding part of his career has been his interactions with customers and fulfilling their building needs. From site selection and initial design concepts to seeing the finished product and meeting the customer’s expectations, Gary has built strong, lasting relationships with customers over the years.
When he’s not working you can find Gary:
Spending time with his family or golfing.
One thing you probably don’t know about Gary:
He spent one year in Long Binh, Vietnam with the 826th Ordinance Co. from 1968 to 1969.
After six months, construction for the Madison East Woodman’s Gas & Lube station is complete. Since Woodman’s wanted to keep the lube center open as long as possible, we built the new lube center alongside it. This is one example of coming up with solutions to meet our clients’ goals.