About T. Steele Construction

Tom Steele got his start in telecom in the early 90’s. As a fence contractor, he found his work on a cell site compound delayed while another contractor installed the conduits and gravel, and asked the prime contractor if he could finish that portion as well so that he could get on with his own work. This soon ballooned into performing all necessary civil work on cell sites, and then into owning drill rigs and installing tower foundations under the name Steele Construction.

In 2003, after a change in corporate structure, Tom incorporated T. Steele Construction in Rock Island, Illinois. He built the company a brand based on honoring his word, showing loyalty to his employees, and getting the job done regardless of the obstacles.

T. Steele Construction is a member of the Illinois Wireless Association and the Communication Infrastructure Contractors Association (formerly NATE). We also participate in the NATE STAR Initiative by voluntarily committing to higher standards and verification of industry-relevant safety and training practices.

Continuing the Legacy

Sadly, Tom passed in Oct. 2020. The company remains in the hands of his wife and children, who already filled many of the management and foremen roles. The Steele family has endeavored to maintain the brand that Tom instilled and to provide the same standard of service to our clients.

What Separates Us from the Competition

First, we work to maintain good relations with our competitors. We happily swap favors, tips, recommendations, and occasionally equipment (within legal and ethical limits) because we believe such to be in everyone’s best interest. These relations are why so many of our competitors will subcontract us to install foundations or erect a tower, even while we are bidding against them for the General Contractor role on other jobs.

Still, there are three things that distinguish us from other general contractors in the telecom industry:

• We own our own heavy equipment and can perform every step of tower construction in-house. This means we are not beholden to subcontractors to complete jobs on-time and on-budget, and it means we are better able to adapt as the situation and site necessitates.
• Despite the boom & bust cycles of our industry, we have repeatedly sacrificed financial gain in order to avoid laying off employees as much as possible. This means we have crews of highly experienced and dedicated workers who are not simply waiting to jump to the next company.
• We delight in overcoming challenges. We have a reputation for taking on difficult jobs and pride ourselves in persevering through, or creating solutions to, the obstacles we meet in the field.