Boom Increases Contractors Earth-Moving Business

With a name like Steele in Pennsylvania, you’d expect Steele Construction, Inc. owner Bill Steele to specialize in structural steel building or own a foundry. Instead, he’s one of the premier builders of timber-framed homes in the state. As things changed and housing starts dipped during the recession beginning in 2007, Steele expanded his business on the strength of the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom. “We were lucky enough to get into a gas contract, and now our company is pretty much evenly split between the building of heavy timber frame and moving dirt,” said Steele.