We Are Builders
It has been at the center of our family for 100 years. Starting with my Grandfather in the 1920’s in Cleveland Ohio. He started as a young man of immigrant parents working on crews that would build the infrastructures that would allow the early growth of the surrounding first tier suburbs. Ultimately, through hard work and pluck, he became a leader at the New York Central Railroad in Ashtabula, Ohio.
Grandpa at Ashtabula NYC R/R car shop - 1942
The deep sense of taking pride in one’s work, the importance of fairness and respect for all people was instilled in all of us through his life lessons, mentoring and love of family. My two younger brothers and I were taught very early that dedication to family along with hard work made for a life worth living. Our father, William Clemens started renovating multi-family houses in Ashtabula as a sideline business in 1965, dragging me and my younger brothers along as his laborers. Those experiences allowed us to make many mistakes which ultimately turned into knowledge and skills that we still honor today. Five years later, after a good many scrapes and bruises, Dad began to develop and build, (with his boys right along-side him), new family homes in Saybrook, Ohio. It was the early beginnings of W.J. Clemens & Sons.
Dad in Madison, Ohio 1990
W J Clemens Austinburg, Ohio 1985
Our team built a variety of projects during those early years. We built new homes, renovated commercial properties turning them into thriving business/retail structures and continued our involvement with multi-family projects throughout Northeast Ohio.
In 2020 – Jim Clemens, (the oldest son), returned home to take the helm of the family business and Clemens Building Company was reorganized to carry on the traditions that Dad had established.
Jim, along with brothers Steve and Jeff, had spent 25 years together working around the US in high impact national construction environments building sophisticated and technologically advanced projects in the healthcare and aviation sectors. It was their desire to bring this level of experience back to Northeast Ohio and to build upon their Father’s legacy of achievement in not only building buildings but in building lasting relationships
Dad and Jim Clemens
There have been tremendous changes in the building industry over those many years. Technology, building practices, material innovations and client trends have all influenced how projects are constructed. One thing that has not changed is our family’s dedication to respect, fairness and producing projects with high quality.