Engineering News Record (ENR) Honors
Steven Uecke
Set Out on His Own at 26 and Now Runs Three Companies
37, CEO
REX Engineering/REX Construction
Naperville, Ill.
Just four years after graduating summa cum laude from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2007, Uecke founded his own company. In setting out on his own, Uecke drew from his structural engineering experience with Johnson Wilbur Adams, where he managed 75% of all connection and miscellaneous steel design projects. He also served as project engineer for numerous full-building structural design projects, tallying a combined 650-plus project portfolio.
In 2017, REX Engineering Group was officially formed when Uecke merged his structural engineering firm, Ntrive, with a Los Angeles-based MEP firm he acquired called Innovative Engineering Group. The 2019 acquisition of Florida-based Edwards Construction and the 2020 acquisition of Chicago-based Integrated Construction Services led to the birth of REX Construction Services. The services arm has offices in Chicago, Orlando, Charlotte, and Ocala, Fla.
In his second year in business, he acquired Descon, a steel connection design software and led its development through two major versions, including adding 3D visualization and editing. Recently, Uecke led the acquisition of SuperDroid Robots, a custom robot design and fabricating company based in Raleigh. The team is refining the current product line, aiming to create a line of robots for the construction industry.
As the chief executive officer of REX Engineering Group, REX Construction Services and REX Technology Solutions, Uecke provides overall leadership of operational, resource management and financial functions across all three companies. He is responsible for setting the firms’ strategic direction and growth and is a leading voice in supporting innovation and continuous improvement.
