Andy Scull carries on the family tradition of master craftsmanship
When most kids were playing with Tonka trucks and other toy machinery, Andy Scull was learning to operate the real thing. He studied the art of working with his hands by watching his grandfather in the woodshop and spent nights coloring on the building blueprints his dad brought home from work.
He was born to be a tradesman.
“I grew up in and around construction,” Andy said. “I have never thought of any other career path. I always loved it and didn’t think I would do anything else.”
Andy is president and the second generation of Scull Construction, a family business that started nearly 40 years ago but whose foundation goes back more than 100 years.
“My great grandfather, Josiah Scull, came to South Dakota from Lincoln, Nebraska, and homesteaded in White River.”
At the time, White River was a bustling community along the railroad needing a workforce to increase its infrastructure. Josiah, a master craftsman in Lincoln, took on the role of local builder and started the family’s legacy in construction.
Andy’s grandfather, Jim Scull, Sr., learning the skill from Josiah, moved to Rapid City in the 1950s and worked on schools and Ellsworth Air Force Base.
In 1985, Andy’s dad, Jim Scull, Jr., and his uncle Robert, both of whom were working for previous companies, started Scull Construction. In 1992, the brothers decided to go their separate ways, with Jim remaining with Scull and Robert starting R.C.S. Construction, another prominent local construction company.
“Construction is the family heritage,” Andy said.
Early Life and Career Path
Andy, who has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering technology and a master’s in construction engineering management, has worked in every aspect of the trade, from sweeping floors and hanging sheetrock to operating equipment and estimating projects. He is now president of Scull Construction and its two umbrella companies. “I have done it all, but there is still not a job that someone does that I am not willing to do myself.”
His love of the trades comes from helping improve the community. “We are taking something two-dimensional and creating a three-dimensional structure that betters the human experience. The satisfaction of making nothing into something has always given me joy. In some circumstances, you are making someone’s dream into a reality.”
Scull Construction: A Family Business
While Scull Construction does some higher-end residential work, its primary business is commercial, focusing on healthcare and educational institutions. Andy’s favorite projects include the SD Game Fish & Parks Outdoor Campus West, Monument Summit Arena and the Indian Health Service Oyate Health Care Center.
“I love that it is a people business. Every day, I interact and talk to various types of people from all walks of life. I have to know how the hospital operates and the sequence of a food service establishment. You are learning daily and getting to lend your expertise.”
And while their focus has been on education and healthcare facilities, Andy said they are willing to pivot to whatever the market demands. “In western South Dakota, you can’t specialize in anything aside from exceeding customers’ expectations. As the market changes, you have to adapt and be capable of doing all types and styles of projects.”
Andy Scull: Leading the Way
Being adaptable is key to being in the trades.
“The construction industry as a whole has really changed. We have an aging and shrinking workforce of tradesmen.”
That, coupled with an increase in population and a growing economy, has caused the construction industry, among other industries and trades, to face challenges throughout the region. “The labor problem really started to show itself at a high level across the country here in 2020 with Covid,” Andy said, adding that it was something industries were not completely prepared for.
While labor challenges existed, the pandemic accelerated the problem. “In Western South Dakota, we were open for business. We saw a lot of people moving out here on top of an already growing economy and then throwing in Ellsworth Air Force Base expansion, and it really put us in a tough situation.”
Since the pandemic, the local construction industry has come together to understand and address workforce development challenges. “Before everything was splintered. You had different trade organizations, companies, employers, educational institutions, all going in separate directions,” he said. “We are now pooling our thoughts and resources, time and money, and trying to have a collaborative voice as to where we are as a local economy and a local industry and seeing our needs going into the future.”
A big thing, Andy said, is getting the trade classes back in the high schools and developing the next generation of trade workers. “We are seeing the 1990s trend of shop classes, mechanics, welding programs, coming back.”
Scull Construction sponsors the construction and engineering pathway at the Rapid City Area School District. The Rapid City Pathways Approach, launched in 2018, brings career pathways into schools while building strong connections with employers, higher education institutions, and community-based organizations.
Andy said they also work closely with Western Dakota Technical College to boost its trade-level programs. “This really gives us a lot of hope for the future.”
The entire construction industry is also focused on the professional development and retention of current employees, Andy said. Working with the South Dakota Department of Labor, Scull Construction created Scull University, an internal training program that helps employees reach the next level. “You could be an 18-year-old who has never picked up a hammer or a 55-year-old working into the next position,” Andy said. “This profession is perfect for those who enjoy working with their hands and creating things. You can make a good living, have good job security, and move into leadership positions.”
Andy has high hopes for the future of the construction industry in the Black Hills. “I want to leave the trades and workforce in a better place from what I inherited. As a company, we are focusing on that, but I see it as a focus across the entire industry.”
It would be difficult to drive through the Black Hills region and spot a project that a Scull family member hasn’t touched. It is a legacy Andy is proud of.
“My grandpa always told me I needed to learn a trade. He said, ‘If you know how to be a carpenter and are good at it, wherever you are, you will always have a job.”
It’s advice that Andy now shares with others.
