A LOOK AT HOW FAR WE’VE COME
FIRST GENERATION: THE LEGACY BEGINS
When Sigurd Enebak started his construction company in the early 1900s, he could not have anticipated the family legacy he was about to launch. Sig learned about construction while working on railroads at a time when transportation was a growing necessity and became well positions to enter the industry as it was beginning to expand.
1900 – Sig starts Enebak Construction Company (ECC) to support the railroad industry
1911 – Sig married Clara Wilhelmina Roepke
1913 – Sig & Clara give birth to their only child, son Robert M. (Bob)
1916 – Sig moves his family to Warren, MN to follow road work opportunities
1928 – ECC begins supplementing horsepower with gas-powered equipment
1931 – Bob attends college in Nebraska for his math/coaching degree
1937 – Bob marries Doris (Doree) Edgar and they move to Nebraska
1938 – Bob and Doree move back ti MN to help Sig run ECC
SECOND GENERATION: FAMILY FOOTSTEPS
Two short years after Bob Enebak is handed the reins to the business, the tumultuous war years changed the dynamic of the construction industry and of the company. The Minnesota family left its home base and followed the work to airbases across the nation. It would be a post-war partnership that would bring them back home.
1941 – Bob & Doree give birth to their first son, Robert (Tip), and shortly after the move to Montana
1945 – Bob & Doree give birth to their second son, Thomas James (Tom)
1946 – Bob and family move back to MN
1955 – ECC joins Associated General Contractors (AGC) of MN
1958 – Sig passes away at the age of 71
1966 – Tip marries Diane Peterson
1968 – Tip and Diane give birth to their first child, Thomas Jacob (Jake)
THIRD GENERATION: RISK AND REWARD
The future of the company was dependent on identifying and pursuing additional opportunities. A shift in focus to “follow the dirt” to expanded markets and private projects elevated Enebak Construction to a new level of capability and visibility.
1970 – Tip & Diane give birth to their second child, Leah
1971 – ECC Milestone: First Residential Development Work (Cedar Knolls & New Horizon)
1974 – ECC Milestone: Minnesota Zoo
1978 – ECC Headquarters relocated to Northfield, MN
1983 – ECC Milestone: First $10M Project, 35E (Eagan, MN)
1987 – ECC Milestone: First Packaged Services Job
1989 – ECC Milestone: Mall of America
FOURTH GENERATION: A CENTURY OF COACHING BECOMES A TRADITION
From generation to generation, the Enebak family established a tradition of running the business with a coaching perspective, building on teamwork and saying “yes” to new opportunities. As the fourth generation of Enebaks stepped forward, past experiences had paved the way for exponential expansion into familiar territory.
1990 – ECC Milestone: First Landfill Job (Eau Claire, WI)
1991 – ECC Milestone: First Golf Course (Willinger’s Golf Club)
1993 – ECC began Bearpath Golf Course
1996 – ECC Milestone: Boulevard Gardens (re-development of housing to shopping center and townhomes)
1998 – ECC began Tournament Players Club of Blaine
1998-1999 – New Entity: Tradition Development + Jake leads Legends Golf Club project
1999 – New Entity: Tradition Mortgage + Cobblestone Lake Development
2001 – ECC began Tournament Players Club of Iowa
2002 – ECC began Lake Havasu Golf Course (The Refuge), ECC began the reclamation of an 800-acre historical gravel mining site in AV and Lakeville for mixed-use development (completed in 2017)
2003 – New Entity: Tradition Wealth Management + New Development: Spirit of Brandtjen Farm
2005 – New Entities: Homes by Tradition + Tradition Capital Bank
2008 – New Entity: Esquire Title
2009 – ECC began Washington County landfill
2013 – ECC began Flying Cloud landfill
2015 – RTH Milestone: Wins 2015 Builder of the Year by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, TC Milestone: Inaugural House that Hope Built for HopeKids MN
2016 – HBT Milestone: Wins 2016 Builder of the Year by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. Back to back wins for the TC family!
