St. Louis construction innovator Fred S. Kummer, founder of HBE Corp., dead at 92
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Fred S. Kummer, a Missouri University of Science and Technology graduate who grew his one-man general-contracting business into the world’s largest design-build firm for health care and financial facilities, died Friday, April 30, 2021, in St. Louis. He was 92.
Starting in the basement of his home, Mr. Kummer opened a nursing home construction business in 1960. But he quickly realized that clients would benefit from an innovative approach that would integrate all phases of building – from planning and cost estimating to architectural, engineering and construction services. That insight enabled him to grow his Hospital Building Equipment Co., later called HBE Corp., into the world’s leading design-build firm for medical and financial facilities, with a construction portfolio of more than 1,100 health care facilities.