Shawn Hoffman, chief estimator at Hoffman Construction, wins 2019 Daily Reporter Estimator of the Year Award

The Daily Reporter has named Shawn Hoffman of Hoffman Construction Co. in Black River Falls the Estimator of the Year at its 2019 Newsmakers of the Year event held October 24 at the Harley-Davidson Garage in Milwaukee.

The Daily Reporter is a Wisconsinbased construction, bidding and transportation newspaper. Shawn Hoffman has always been drawn to the outdoors.

As the chief estimator at Hoffman Construction, he grew up on a dairy farm in Medford, where his family encouraged him to explore all his options. That pursuit of a career involved less office time and more time outdoors, which led him to spend a few summers in construction, dabbling in commercial and highway projects.

Hoffman attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he graduated with a degree in construction management. During school, Hoffman was an intern at Hoffman Construction and was offered a full-time position after graduation. He’s been with the company just over 15 years.

Hoffman, who has no family relation to the namesake company he works for, doubles as the chief estimator and as a project manager. “Better estimators and better project managers can do both — all facets of the decision,” he said.

Estimating in a tough market with multiple bidders makes it all the more rewarding when Hoffman wins a bid. “No one can break apart a plan like Shawn and really understand in the estimating process what it will take to build the job in the field,” said Jim Hoffman, president of Hoffman Construction. “Like any estimator, Shawn knows the importance of a bid deadline, with more ‘all-nighters’ than in college. From his time in the field he understands the process and is a large part of the success of our company.”

Working on projects like the massive Foxconn plant, Shawn Hoffman said he enjoys the hard work required to estimate the spending needed for any particular project.

“In college, 92 percent is an A, but then when you’re estimating you need it to be 100 percent. One error will not get you a job. It’s very detail-oriented — double checking your work,” he said.

When he’s not estimating or on a job site, Hoffman enjoys the Midwest outdoors — hunting, boating or fishing. He also likes traveling to warmer places during the long Wisconsin winters. The construction industry’s day-to-day variety is what motivates Hoffman. “You can get work any day, but it’s getting the right work,” he said.