Gerald McCollam and William Tribble first incorporated the company in 1975 after decades of experience at a prominent general contractor in Chicago. Tribco’s first significant job was in Des Plaines, Illinois, followed by small projects in Chicago alongside two buildings in the Quad Cities. As this work completed, Tribco started its first significant project in Chicago at 303 East Wacker. This project was followed by several notable structures to Chicago’s skyline including 225 North Michigan, 205 North Michigan, Mercantile Exchange, River City and 190 S LaSalle.

While Tribco ventured beyond Chicago and built multiple projects in the Minneapolis; Arlington, Virginia; and Los Angeles Markets, by the late 1980s Tribco had returned to its Chicagoland roots exclusively. Continuing to build upon its now embedded experience, Tribco went on to build 175 North Harbor Drive, NBC Tower, 181 W Madison, GSA Federal Office Building, Harold Washington Library and many others. During this period, Tribco was on the leading edge of CAD and self-climbing core systems as well.

In the 1990s Gerald’s children Susan Yant and Bob McCollam took over to run day-to-day operations. Tribco’s project portfolio continued to grow with the Navy Pier Reconstruction, the Chicago Board of Trade Expansion, Park Newberry, Hammond Courthouse and the award-winning Rush-Ohio-Wabash Garage.

Tribco was no stranger to the boom in high-rise construction as the turn of the century hit Chicago. Alongside garnering institutional work at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Tribco built four high-rises on the Museum Park campus across from Solider Field, Hotel Sofitel, One East Fifteenth Place, 60 W Erie and The Bernardine Residences.

In 2005 the company was sold to Ceco Concrete Construction—the nation’s leading concrete contractor. Ceco’s 100-year history in concrete construction and vast portfolio of resources served as an excellent complement to Tribco’s deep Chicago roots. Following this acquisition, Tribco was able to leverage Ceco’s financial stability, equipment inventory and engineering capital to become the preferred concrete contractor in Chicago.

The Ceco-Tribco relationship was further strengthened in 2016 when both offices merged—bringing together deep experience across all elements of concrete building construction. In 2017, Tribco celebrated an expanded new office in the heart of downtown Chicago. With ample room for growth and convenient access to our clients and projects, Tribco is well-positioned to continue to service Chicago’s concrete needs for years to come.