Keller and Hoffman join forces in strategic acquisition

Heather Graves

Staff

February 23, 2026

KAUKAUNA – Keller, Inc. has acquired Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, Inc., a move Keller CEO Cory VandeWettering said expands the Kaukauna-headquartered business’s capabilities, while preserving each firm’s distinct strengths.

Describing the acquisition as a new chapter of growth for both firms, VandeWettering said the strategic alignment is rooted in synergy and shared values.

“Keller will continue to be Keller [and] focus on design, build, manufacturing, which is where [we] have [our] expertise, and we want to continue investing and growing that,” he said. “And Hoffman will continue being an architectural firm and a construction management company, and we want to help grow that as well.”

Behind the scenes, VandeWettering said, is where the combined organizations will look for opportunities and synergies to improve efficiency across both companies.

The road to acquisition

VandeWettering said the acquisition began taking shape in July 2025, when Sam Statz – former president and owner of Hoffman who will transition to a business development role – approached him.

“Sam approached me in regard to finding a home for his current employees and company,” he said. “It was very evident that he had tremendous passion and care about the people and the company and wanted to find a home that fit the culture he was looking for.”

Broadly speaking, VandeWettering said Keller operates as a true design-build general contractor, with architects and interior designers on staff and 180 field employees focused on design-build opportunities.

“We view Hoffman as an architectural and construction management firm that focuses on schools, senior living and religious work, and it complements us very well,” he said.

VandeWettering said the acquisition reflects a strategic alignment of distinct strengths, with each company focused on what it does best.

“There are certainly synergies within the marketplace that allow us to take advantage of each other’s strengths, whether it’s in the public sector, the school sector or on large manufacturing-type facilities,” he said.

Though the acquisition establishes Hoffman as A Keller Company and brings the firms together under a combined ESOP structure – “I’m looking forward to welcoming 50 new employee-owners to the company” – VandeWettering said each will continue operating in its strength wheelhouse.

“We still will operate independently out in the market, with some synergies behind the scenes to help support and offer some logistical coordination that should help our efficiency and keep us more cost-effective, or help us be more cost-effective,” he said.

Chad Ulman, executive vice president and COO of Hoffman, said the acquisition provides an opportunity for the company to expand its local portfolio.

“One of our strategic goals was to get more local, and that [opportunity to do so with Keller] was very appealing to us,” he said. “Yes, we do some local work, but our wheelhouse has been in those bigger markets, and they’ve brought us more national. We wanted to get closer to home, so partnering with Keller is just another opportunity, strategically, to achieve some of those goals.”

Though Hoffman aims to bolster its local presence, VandeWettering said the acquisition primarily expands both companies’ market opportunities rather than their geographic footprint.

Outside of the “obvious” opportunities for collaboration – “markets, geographies, project types, of which I see dozens” – Ulman said he sees several operational opportunities that will allow the companies to come together and strengthen their presence in the marketplace.

The acquisition, he said, is a logical step in Hoffman’s annual strategic planning process, which aims to expand markets, broaden service offerings and enhance the company’s processes and client deliverables.
“Throughout the discussions, we found we really don’t compete against each other,” he said. “We also found we’re very complimentary.”

Ulman said the areas Hoffman wanted to grow and the gaps it aimed to fill were areas where Keller already excels, and similarly, Keller’s growth objectives complemented Hoffman’s capabilities.

“We had some great discussions, and we started to notice all of these opportunities we could take advantage of moving forward,” he said. 

Ultimately, Ulman said the focus was on finding a company that appreciates and values Hoffman’s achievements.
“Keller’s alignment with our principles strengthens Hoffman’s legacy, upholds our commitment to quality and positions our team for a successful future,” he said.

The year of discovery

With the announcement made and the acquisition completed, VandeWettering said the remainder of 2026 will focus on getting to know each other.

“We have labeled 2026 as the year of discovery,” he said. 

An integration team, VandeWettering said, will begin work on Feb. 25, laying the groundwork to form specialized teams focused on different areas of each company. 

These teams, he said, will conduct a deep dive into each organization’s operations, identifying opportunities to learn from one another and improve processes.

“[Teams will look at] how they operate versus how we operate, and look for opportunities to learn from one another,” he said. “So, that is what we are going to be focusing on for all of 2026. We will look at starting to make some plans and implementations as we round out the end of the year and into 2027.”

Ulman said those within Hoffman who have been in acquisition discussions for the past five, six months are “ready to get at it.”

“We’re ready to get in there and start learning about each other,” he said. “We want to learn how Keller does what they do successfully, and Keller wants to learn how what we do successfully. Like Cory said, finding those synergies to make us a stronger entity out in the marketplace for our clients and our employees.”

VandeWettering said the teams have already identified “six, eight, 10 nuggets” to pursue over the next three to six months, which are expected to benefit both companies.

“But beyond that, we have a lot to learn,” he said. “We’ve only been on a couple of dates, so we have to get to know one another a little bit [more].”

Though employees at both organizations were informed of the acquisition only hours before the announcement was made public – through company-wide meetings at 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., respectively – VandeWettering and Ulman said excitement is already building.

“They haven’t had much time to think about this, but the buzz is [that] everyone’s excited,” Ulman said.

Concurring, VandeWettering said there was “a good buzz around the [Keller] offices for an hour or so, and then everybody went back to work.”

Describing Keller as a relationship-driven and people-driven business – “we lead with love here, we have a great culture” – VandeWettering said he’s eager to build on those strengths.

Before passing discussions over to him, Ulman said Statz “graciously” provided employees with a clear explanation of the reasoning and key details behind the acquisition.

“We talked about communication moving forward and the journey we’re about to have with Keller,” he said. “[We] had a lot of great questions from our employees. And then shortly after that, Cory and several other members of his team came over and introduced themselves to the group and opened it up for questions. And again, we got some good questions.”

Leadership

As previously mentioned, Statz will transition to a business development role, with Ulman taking the lead at Hoffman moving forward – decisions VandeWettering said were the result of numerous discussions.

“Sam’s strong suit is business development and the relationships he has in the market, [which he] has built over time in his years in the construction industry,” he said.

Prior to the acquisition, Ulman said he served as Hoffman’s vice president of architecture.
“I led our design group,” he said. “Then, about a year ago, I stepped into a COO position as well, to work on our internal operations – administration, construction management and our architectural groups.”

VandeWettering said Hoffman will continue to operate out of its downtown Appleton office location, while Keller will continue to operate out of its offices in Kaukauna, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau.

VandeWettering said the acquisition will not affect the services provided to Keller or Hoffman clients and all current projects for both companies will proceed as planned with no disruption to timelines, quality or relationships with project team members.  

“Keller customers shouldn’t be impacted,” he said. “Hoffman customers should not be impacted.”