Avinash Rachmale

Avinash Rachmale knows how to grow a successful business, as evidenced by his journey and numerous achievements over the years. He has now grown his current business, LGC Global, Inc., a multifaceted minority-owned general contracting company headquartered in Detroit, to a multi-billion dollar business. But unfortunately, growth can sometimes come with a price and he carries his lessons-learned from growing too fast. Avinash saw firsthand what happens when a business owner no longer oversees day-to-day operations – and now, he is more experienced because of it – and subsequently, LGC Global, Inc. is thriving because of his experiences to get “here”.

Never losing focus of his dreams, Avinash relocated from India to Detroit in the late 80’s and put himself through college to earn a master’s de­gree in civil engineering from Wayne State University in 1988. Taking another big step towards realizing his dreams, he founded Lakeshore Engineering Services in 1994, where his one-man company assessed, cleaned and replaced underground fuel storage tanks at roughly 200 service stations across the area. “I didn’t have a lot of money in those earlier days, but I had a burning desire to own a business”, said Avinash. “I leased a truck, rented the equipment, and to grow, I went back to my roots at Wayne State University and hired students. From there, I was eventually certified as a minority business in 1998, and that opened up new opportunities.” Those new opportunities eventually led to prestigious performance awards and recognitions, in which he received the Michigan District Office Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award in 2005, as well as being inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame at Wayne State University in 2006. He wrapped up 2009 with a shining tribute to his success when he was presented with the US Small Business Administrative Entrepreneur Success Award from President Barrack Obama. Lakeshore Engineering Services continued to grow rapidly, and in 2010, Avinash’s company reported $624M in annual revenue. In the same year, his company received several more local and national awards, to include:

1. Inc.com 5000’s Top Construction Companies
2. Inc.com 5000’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America
3. Inc.com 5000’s Top 100 Companies
4. Crain’s Detroit Business Top 10 Defense Contractors
5. Government Executive’s Top 200 Federal Contractors

To further compliment his company’s growth, in 2010, Lakeshore Engineering Services ac­quired TolTest, Inc. and became Lakeshore TolTest, which would presumably open even more doors and further expand the company’s capabilities. The company continued on its upward trajectory and received even more coveted awards in 2011, to include:

1. Federal Time’s Top Contractors Federal Government Top Providers
2. Crain’s Detroit Business Largest General Contractors
3. Federal Time’s Top Contractors for Federal Government Office Buildings

But then, the company began to move in the wrong direction and Avinash recognized this trend. Demonstrating his typical leadership, Avinash tried to stimulate positive movement and course-correct the situation by selling company stakes to private equity firms, which cleared a path for a new CEO to come on board. The company then moved their headquarters to Chicago, and Avinash became chairman emeritus while focusing his leadership primarily on the Detroit operations. The situation continued to decline the further Avinash was removed from the overall company’s control. Then the unthinkable occurred, “The new team performed poorly and they finally had to close the business.” Rachmale further said, “I’ve been through rags and riches, and what I’ve learned is that if you want to grow a company, you need to control it.”

Like a phoenix rising up from the ashes, in 2012, Avinash did just that – he started over and built his new company LGC Global, Inc. to become the successful and sustainable business it is today. “And now, we’re almost back to where we were (in terms of 2010 annual revenue), and the way we came back was by focusing on our core values, hiring great talent, fostering our subcontractor and vendor relationships, implementing innovation and supporting our clients,” said Avinash.

Even with his company’s current success and strong national presence, Avinash still remembers his roots and is always looking for opportunities to give back to Detroit. For example, Avinash said, “there’s a need for thousands of apartments in Detroit, so we’re developing residential and commercial projects and we’re re­building infrastructure locally.” Recently, Mr. Rachmale demonstrated additional community leadership by creating a $1M endowment to Wayne State University to support the education of disadvantaged students and also announced plans to build a new $4M (5,500 SF) Engineering Lab at the University as well.

With the realism of an aging infrastructure across America, coupled with the growing need for facility management, LGC Global Inc. has focused its business around these markets to support clients with value-added solutions. Possessing decades of experience and knowledge, LGC delivers world-class infrastructure and facility management projects with ensuing client-satisfaction. LGC concentrates on building sustainable and clean, while empowering and nurturing its employees to excel to become a best-in-class service provider in these markets.

In conclusion, Mr. Rachmale said, “we’re now focused on a future that’s under our control. It’s been a long road back, but we’re successful again.”