Our History
Like many great construction corporations, the Ecker success story is rooted in the vision and entrepreneurial spirit of a single individual. Our founder, Morris Ecker, came to America from Eastern Europe. He brought with him the belief that workers who were treated fairly brought quality to the job. He supported his family as a painter until a dispute over union issues with his employer led him to believe that he could manage things better. In 1923 he resigned from his employer and formed M. Ecker & Co.
 Sharing space in a friend’s downtown Chicago jewelry store, Morris grew his business by demanding quality for his customers, while demonstrating fairness and loyalty to the men and women who worked for him. Soon his son and two sons-in-law joined the business and expanded it to new trades and new locations.
After World War II the company added gypsum board, plaster, EIFS, stucco, acoustical tile, and carpentry to its painting business, the same multiple trade subcontracting services we provide to this very day. As our customers grew, we did too. Following them to places like New Orleans, Miami, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and Southern California.
In 1984 an Employee Stock Ownership Plan was created and the second generation of the Ecker family began sharing ownership with their employees. By the end of 1997, the ESOP owned 100% of the Ecker Enterprises stock.
 Today the enterprise that began in a shared office space now operates offices in two states. Nearly 35 employee owners in those offices plan and manage more than 100 active projects. More than 400 skilled men and women help build homes, office buildings, hotels, schools, and retail centers. More than 3,000 sheets of drywall will be delivered to job sites across the Greater Chicagoland Metropolitan area today, exterior stucco will be applied from swing stages to various high rises in South Florida.
We offer the experience, foresight, and resources of a national contractor, while managing each unique project at the local level. The general contractors and builders who hire an Ecker Enterprises company enjoy the time and cost savings of dealing with a single subcontractor for multiple trades. If we frame it, rock it, plaster it, and paint it, there is a single source of accountability. We ensure the quality from start to finish.
Our combined forces make us one of the largest specialty subcontractors in the country. Yet we still maintain supplier relationships on a personal level and hand every new employee a mission statement that reads, "We are dedicated to the principle that our customers and employees are crucial to our continued success."
That’s just the way Morris Ecker saw it more than 80 years ago.
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