Keller, Inc.

Keller, Inc., which does business as Keller Builds, is a 100% employee-owned design-build firm founded in 1960 and headquartered in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The company keeps planning, architecture and construction under one roof, which is unusual at its scale, and works across industrial, commercial, agricultural, senior living and retail markets throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states. Keller is the general contractor on New Glarus Brewing Company’s $55 million Hilltop expansion, a 65,000-square-foot four-story addition carrying a new brewhouse and the Sugar River Distillery. The firm employs between 200 and 500 people and acquired Hoffman Planning in 2026. Services span site selection, planning, architecture, engineering, general contracting and design-build delivery.

Walter Keller started the company in 1960 with nine employees and no prior construction experience. What he had was a read on the market: farmers in the Fox Valley needed buildings to store equipment and feed. The first project was finished the same year, and the agricultural work has never been dropped, even as commercial and industrial jobs came to dominate.

The ownership change came in 1986, when Walter sold the business to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. By 1998 Keller was the largest employee-owned design-build firm in Wisconsin. It rebranded from Keller Structures to Keller, Inc. in 2003 and opened satellite offices in Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau. In 2026 it acquired Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction of Appleton, which now operates as A Keller Company. There are over 275 employee-owners today.

The design-build process runs in three named stages. Discovery brings project managers, architects and interior designers together to evaluate the space and balance design, function and budget. Architecture and interior design develops concept drawings through client feedback into a full architectural plan with specifications, timeline and cost estimate. Construction is carried out by more than 175 skilled team members handling site preparation through finishing, with project managers coordinating either your preferred subcontractors or trades Keller recommends.

Nineteen market sectors are served: agriculture, automotive and aviation, convenience store, education, financial, food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and industrial, municipal, office, recreation, religious, restaurant, retail, self-storage, senior living and warehouse. Recent announcements include builds for Triple E Machine, RenewAire LLC and Columbus Chemical Industries, and a remodel for McKinley Paper Packaging Company.

Four offices take work: N216 State Highway 55, Kaukauna (920-766-5795); W204 N11509 Goldendale Road, Germantown (262-250-9710); 711 Lois Drive, Sun Prairie (608-318-2336); and 224575 Lilac Ave, Wausau (715-849-3141).