There From The Start: Daryl Stroman reflects on the first FABCON project and what kept him on board for 43 years
A Chance Encounter
When Daryl Stroman went to visit his brother Duane, a drafter at FABCON, he had no idea he would eventually go to work there and stay for more than 43 years.
“They needed help because they were already growing,” says Stroman, who had recently graduated from Bemidji State. “I started doing whatever they needed.”
That was in July of 1971. FABCON wasn’t even in production yet but they were about to be. The first beds were poured in August – and by then, Stroman had begun his job as a field operations coordinator. He has literally been with FABCON since the very first project began, doing whatever it took to get things done.
“Sometimes I ran back and forth to job sites with materials that they needed,” says Stroman. “If the president needed something, I’d deliver it. And whenever someone forgot something, they’d call me.”
Eventually Stroman’s role grew and he managed all of the shipping. By then, jobs had expanded beyond Minnesota and into the Chicago area. Stroman would coordinate with the yard, the trucks, the clients and anyone with a hand in delivering panels.
“That was intense,” says Stroman. “It would start at 7:00 a.m. and I scrambled all day to cover loads.”
Stroman speaks highly of his boss and mentor, Jim Hasse who he says, never got frazzled.
“If he was gone, everyone turned to me for an answer. I started making decisions based on what Jim had taught me.”
Long Standing Relationships
After a few years with FABCON, Stroman had become part of FABCON’s backbone and enjoyed his experiences so much that he didn’t want to leave.
It worked out well for Bruce Buxton, current president and Chairman of the Board at Widseth, Smith and Nolting. He began working with Stroman and former colleague Jeff Nadeau in 1983. Together, they worked on all of the Mills’ Fleet Farms around the state.
“Jeff was the sales engineer and Daryl was the project manager for all of the stores and dealerships we put up for Mills properties,” explains Buxton. “It’s been a very strong relationship.”
Buxton says the reason for the decades-long partnership that spanned roughly 35 projects was Stroman’s ability to sit down and talk through any issues.
“He and Jeff always tried to make things better and as long as you can keep talking about things, it’ll always get better,” says Buxton.
He recalls a store they built in Carver, Minnesota, very close to Stroman’s home. Buxton says he stopped by frequently since it was so close and knew that project better than anyone.
“We’re sad to see him go but we understand and wish him the best,” says Buxton.
Mike Fish, construction manager on the Mills Fleet Farm account echoes that sentiment. He and Stroman worked together on all the Mills projects for 21 years.
“I’m going to miss the guy, that’s for sure,” says Fish. “He was always responsive, personable and did what he could to meet the needs of the client. He knows our system, too, which made things run more efficiently.”
Fish says it made him feel a little better knowing that Stroman was handling getting him his panels on projects in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota.
“He would always rise to the occasion and gave us a straight answer which I appreciate because that’s how I operate,” says Fish. “I wish him well in retirement and hope he gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor.”
Paul Carlsted of Kraus Anderson Construction Company also worked with Stroman over the last 22 years. Their projects go from a 200,000 square foot Shell Warehouse to a 650,000 Uline warehouse.
“When Daryl said it was going to get there, we could take that to the bank,” says Carlsted. “He came to our site meetings and was involved through the whole process. He was always very responsive and timely. And when we were all screaming for our panels, he kept a cool head and gave us a straight answer.”
New Leadership, New Role
When Mike LeJeune became president in 1996, he launched a Project Management department. Stroman was a natural fit to lead it. He helped with the plant expansion into Ohio and Pennsylvania and getting project managers up to speed all over the company.
“I used to tell them that I had done a lot of things wrong so I could teach them what not to do,” laughs Stroman.
And with longevity comes wisdom. For Stroman, that included an intrinsic desire to help teach newcomers the ropes.
“A lot of them come to me for advice which is encouraging to me,” says Stroman. “I was working here before most of our drafting department was born.”
Bryan Fleck is one of Stroman’s many “students.” They’ve been working together since Fleck started in 1995.
“Daryl has been such a great resource because he’s been through so many situations,” explains Fleck. “He’s always calm, cool and collected. He thinks through ways to address situations. That rubs off on people. Anyone he’s worked with has learned to calmly figure out a solution or ask Daryl since he’s been through just about everything.”
Kathy Phenow, Manager of Project Management, agrees.
“Daryl has always been good about wanting to help new people,” she says. “He was one of the first people to take me out to job sites, introduce me to FABCON methods and details, and explain some things that I should be aware of that could cause problems with customers later.”
She calls the knowledge Stroman gained over four decades of work “unmatched.”
“He created long term customer relationships and conveyed a strong sense of integrity,” she says. “He always worked to balance what was right for the customer and the company.”
Both Fleck and Phenow discovered another side to Stroman by working with him: his sense of humor.
“Daryl secretly has a funny side to him,” says Fleck. “He likes old fashioned cartoon jokes.”
“And Sudoku puzzles,” says Phenow. “He used to photocopy them for me so we could work on them together to keep our minds sharp.”
Fleck and Stroman share a love of golf so they frequently talk courses, clubs and handicaps. Fleck says Stroman likes to share his personal experiences almost as much as he likes to hear about his colleagues’ lives.
“His friendly demeanor, positive attitude and wealth of experience will be missed,” says Fleck. “Hopefully we can continue those attributes here at FABCON.”
Retirement Plans
During his 43 years at FABCON, Stroman also managed to raise four children with his wife Sandra. They were introduced in September of 1979, engaged in November and married by April of 1980.
“I was 32 and she was 29. We both knew what we were looking for and found it in each other very quickly,” says Stroman.
Their children Elika, Tyrell, Caleb and Logan were born over the course of the 80’s and are now having children of their own.
“Visits to Michigan to see my grandson Dray will be a big part of my retirement,” says Stroman.
Stroman also has plans to golf, fish and work on remodeling his 30-year old multi-level earth home with one of his sons. The house is one of a small number of homes built with FABCON products.
“It’s tornado proof, fire proof, hail proof and if there’s a storm, we find out about it on TV,” laughs Stroman. “I spent about eight years researching earth homes to come up with the design. Luckily when I met Sandy she was on board with it right away.”
As far as leaving the fast pace of FABCON after nearly 44 years, Stroman says it’ll take some adjusting to learn to slow down.
“I’ll miss the people, not the stress,” he says. He suffered a stroke in 2012, which he said was one of the reasons he considered retiring. He remains nostalgic about his decades-long career.
“My biggest appreciation is the loyalty that they’ve shown me and I’ve tried to give back,” says Stroman. “There were times that things got slow and people got laid off but we kept going. I hope the reason I wasn’t let go was because of my hard work and dedication. I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”
67-year-old Stroman will take the memories of thousands of projects, four decades of work and countless friendships with him when he leaves in June.
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