Our History

George B. Walbridge and Albert H. Aldinger pooled their substantial resources to form Walbridge Aldinger in 1916.  These two founders brought different backgrounds and perspectives to their newly formed company. Walbridge, a colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, came to Detroit in 1914 as vice president of George F. Fuller Company, a large contracting firm based in New York City.  Aldinger, a German immigrant, was a banker who founded a construction company in Canada shortly before meeting George Walbridge.  Both men became widely respected industry leaders who were instrumental in founding the Associated General Contractors of America and the Detroit Chapter. Roy Pickett followed Walbridge as chairman in 1955, and two years later, G.K. Chapman became the fourth company leader in Walbridge Aldinger history.   
           
A major shift in leadership came when John Rakolta Sr., who began his career with Walbridge Aldinger as a timekeeper in 1946, purchased the company in 1963 with business partner Robert Robillard.  Rakolta Sr. assumed control of the company in 1971 as Chairman and CEO.  Rakolta served in the U.S. Air Force in World War II and was shot down in air strikes over Germany. Captured by the German Army, Rakolta Sr. was held as a prisoner of war until the war ended in 1945.  Walbridge Aldinger was his first civilian job, one that would prove to be a lifetime commitment for him.

In 1984, Walbridge Aldinger acquired commercial contractor Darin & Armstrong, which was pivotal to growth.  It catapulted Walbridge onto the national scene.  The mid-80s also proved profitable for international work as Walbridge began working in Canada and Mexico.  In 1993, John Rakolta Sr. stepped down as the Chairman and CEO of Walbridge Aldinger, passing the torch to his son, John Rakolta Jr., who started with the company as an estimator in 1970.  

With Rakolta Jr. at the helm, Walbridge expanded operations into new regions and grew its service offerings.   In 2008, the company began a historic and unprecedented journey to form a unified, one-company brand- Walbridge.  The abbreviated name and contemporary look preserve the company’s heritage while also conveying innovation, precision and flexibility.