Firari follows father’s road to success

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For Steve Firari, working for the Walbec Group is part of a family tradition.

Firari, a crew leader for Zenith Tech, grew up watching his father, Mike Firari, work for ZTI. Firari knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps.

The younger Firari began his career as a laborer nearly 25 years ago and, since that time, has taken on additional responsibilities with the Walbec team and joined the Pile Drivers union. He has overseen crews on several award-winning projects, a responsibility he received in part because of his attention to detail and commitment to quality and excellence.

Most recently, Firari managed Zenith Tech’s work on the Interstate-94 north/south project in Oak Creek. The team completed the project while working on a tight schedule.

Firari is also proud of the award-winning work he has been a part of with the Gateway Project in Milwaukee and Highway 67 over I-94 in Oconomowoc — both of which received the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Large Structure of the Year award.

“I love what I do,” Firari said. “It’s physical work, it’s rewarding, and I have been able to build a good quality life because of it.”

Firari said that what he likes most about working for the Walbec Group are “the people I get to work with, and the dedication to safety. I also enjoy the freedom we have to build our projects using our own judgments.

“… I will say though that here at Walbec, they will usually do whatever it takes to make their employees happy and create a great safe work culture. I have maintained a very prosperous lifestyle during my career at Walbec, and I can’t thank the company enough for that opportunity.”

Although he’s been with Walbec for nearly a quarter-century, Firari has a way to go yet to catch up with his dad, who is still working for the company. The elder Firari is a construction manager in the southwest region of Wisconsin and has now been on the job for 47 years.