MaineWorks provides outstanding, immediate labor to clients across multiple industries in the states of Maine and New Hampshire including: construction, manufacturing, production, roadwork, and many more. MaineWorks is an innovative employment company with a social mission: to dignify the experience for people who face real barriers to workforce reentry, including people recovering from substance use disorder and people with felony convictions. Zachau has been working with MaineWorks since 2018 and has hired 11 full time employees from the organization over the course of working together. The commitment MaineWorks has to seeing their employees grow is what draws Zachau to work with them again and again. They show up, they work hard, and they are committed to their people–this resonates with Zachau.

Do good work. A Zachau value and a value Mariana lives her life by. She describes herself as a “Pragmatic Thinker” and appreciates that the company acknowledges what she is capable of how well she can do the work she does. It was the work that drew Mariana to Zachau in the first place. Born and raised in Mexico, Mariana and her husband moved to the United states in 2016, both in the commercial construction industry. Mariana saw Zachau’s portfolio and knew this is where she wanted to be–Do good work, for good people. She never questioned whether she would be a good fit, because she didn’t need to, she immediately felt welcomed. Zachau embraces each and every personality, allowing individuals to have autonomy in their role. Zachau is not a box that you fit into.

Kevin grew up doing construction, working with his father and uncle building houses and setting modular homes. Eventually, at the age the of 26, he was working as an iron worker before he got injured off the job and had to stop work. Later, when he moved to Maine, Kevin had worked on Zachau jobsites as a MaineWorks subcontractor for almost a year before being offered a full-time position. He was thrilled to join the team in summer of 2021 because he already knew he got along and worked really well with the people in the field. It felt like an exciting new chapter in his life. A chapter, as he says, he doesn’t plan on closing anytime soon. Kevin plans on retiring at Zachau with over 30 years to go! He appreciates that his superintendent gives him the guidance to grow but feels trusted to do the work that is given to him. Kevin truly loves working for this company and that some of our projects are building landmarks in Maine that people will be traveling from all over the country, and sometimes world, to see. To be a part of that is something Kevin is proud of.

A Maine native, Jen attended trade school for automotive technology. After working in that field, her natural curiosity, inclination to learn, and apply her experience in carpentry, she eventually found herself working for a construction company. She was able to move through the ranks as a working superintendent. It was her goal to be on the management side of construction. Despite her growth, she was concerned her lack of formal education might hold her back from her goals of the management side of the business. Jen was hired as a Project Engineer and is currently working through the Crestcom Leadership Development Program with Zachau. She describes her joining Zachau as it being a long time since she felt safe, a place where her differences were embraced and she was connected to people. It felt like family. She felt welcomed from the beginning and embraced for who she is. At Zachau, a core value is to grow, something that Jen has been able to see within her own career here at the company.

Originally from the California Bay Area, Derek is no stranger to travel. Fluent in Japanese, he spent 4 years living in Japan (close to where his mother was born and raised) when he was in middle school and spent the next 20+ years exploring many different parts of the United States before meeting his wife and settling down in Maine. In 2011, Derek took a year off to help take care of his third child who was just born. When the time came to return to work, Derek reached out to a few commercial construction companies, including Zachau–a company, he admits, he knew nothing about. He received a response within hours asking to meet for coffee (a story not unfamiliar to other Zachau team members). Derek came on board when there were only 7 people in the office and under 15 people in the field. Now, 12 years later, the company has seen tremendous growth, and Derek has enjoyed being a part of that growth. From the beginning Derek knew he was in the right place. The way Jeff runs the company–the values are aligned with his personal values; what Jeff says, matches what he does. It’s a relationship based approach to running a company. It’s what brought him here and what has kept him here all these years. Zachau takes care of its people.

Originally from Ecuador, Carlos moved to the US in 2019 at the age of 18 and started working in construction. He would work all day and then leave to go to the shop from 5pm to 1am, sleeping just a few hours before the day started again. After a few years, he decided to take steps to start his own company. Carlos founded Carlos Carpentry in 2021 and takes pride in being reliable and accountable to the owners and companies that he works with. He employs 12 and ramps up to 15 or 18 when needed specializing in wood framing, siding, shingles, drywall and finishing. Carlos put a lot of interest and effort into learning English, a language he didn’t know prior to moving to the US. Carlos has established a strong relationship with Zachau and attributes it to the team being kind and nice.

It’s not very often you have the same job since you were 18, but Maria found her home here at Zachau Construction at the end of her senior year in high school and has loved it ever since. Maria grew up just a few miles down the road from the Zachau family in New Gloucester, and started working after school until graduation and then worked full time while getting her Bachelor’s Degree at night. Maria had moved out of her own home at the age of 16 and found a surrogate family in the Zachau’s. Earle and Jeff believed in her in a way no one else had, they gave her confidence, which let her grow and eventually become the VP of Finance for the company. Maria has been with the company through all the growth, and thinks it’s been such an awesome opportunity to grow with the company and be a part of it. Maria fit in, so well, with the company because of her innate personal values of honesty in relationships and love for giving back. Maria never forgets a birthday, favorite treat, or what puts a smile on someone’s face.

In early 2020, Dave was working for MaineWorks as a subcontractor on one of the Zachau Construction jobsites. He had seen the logo around and was excited to be on a job. He was doing standard tasks, like sweeping floors, and would finish a task quickly and go an ask for another. He recalls one of the Zachau employees mentioning to the President of Zachau that Dave “really knew his stuff” and asked to give Dave more hands-on construction tasks. From there, it wasn’t long before Dave was hired on as a full time Field Personnel. To this day he is still in recovery, and he never thought he would get into the company, however since he joined the company full time he’s continued to grow, learning and taking a little bit from every super he works under. He’s felt supported and relates to everyone he works with–the positive attitudes (even through the cold Maine winters) and work ethic all make Dave feel like he is right where he wants to be.

“He’s the best project manager in Maine” coming from the owner of the company makes you feel pretty proud in a project interview. It’s what Bruce heard when he first started at Zachau in 2002. The fact is, it was true and Jeff knew it. When Bruce was brought on with Zachau, his role was to help the company grow through the relationships Jeff had already built, the relationships Bruce brought with him, and the relationships they were building together. Bruce is a team player and has loved seeing the company grow over the years while remaining true to all the values from when he started. He remembers signing his paperwork and bringing his son with him, who was 7 at the time, it’s always been a family place. Now that son is a project engineer for Zachau. Bruce came to Zachau because he wanted to work for a smaller company that cared about its people and relationships above all else. He found that at Zachau and he hasn’t looked back for a minute.

Bill has been in construction over 37 years. He had a friend that started with Zachau and after one month called him and said “Bill, you have to come work here.” Bill sat down with Drew, the President of Zachau, for his interview and recalls feeling like he was sitting with an old friend. The conversation flowed and he was hired on the spot. Since then, 2019, Bill has worked on a few jobs and has found that everyone he encounters truly cares about each other. It’s a genuine relationship-based company where family comes first. With relationships also comes respect and with Zachau, respect is something Bill feels he gets 10 fold of what he puts in.

Felix Jimenez founded J & Sons Construction, a family-owned company, in 2005. Born in Ecuador, Felix moved to the US in 1990 and built his life here with his wife and children. With 12 wonderful employees, J & Sons specializes in roofing, siding, and exterior carpentry. Their specialty has always been the commercial landscape and enjoy working on months long project with the general contractors. Their favorite thing about working with Zachau is the sense of community Zachau provides working in their projects. Everyone is there for the same thing, to provide a quality construction build no matter the scope. Community is something J+Sons values highly in their company as a small family-owned business, which is why they have enjoyed working with Zachau all these years.

When Mike joined the company in 1981, Zachau was a small residential company working on high end homes completing on average about one home a year. The focus was on the craftsmanship and quality of the house–giving a good product in the end. This is still Mike’s main focus today, over 40 years later. Over those 40 years, Mike has seen the company grow from one house a year to working for some of the most notable Maine companies in the state, but remaining true to doing good work. Having been with the company for such a long time, Mike is at home here and certainly feels like Zachau is family.