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Family-owned businesses are special. Often, they are steeped in tradition, respected for the high quality of their work and recognized for their customer service. With more than 97 years in business, Pepper Construction has now embraced its third and fourth generations of family leadership. It’s a milestone that comes with a sense of pride and a drive toward continuous improvement.
Family also tends to attract family in terms of loyalty and value. Over the years, Pepper has welcomed coworkers who are related through almost 200 different families and have worked on our jobsites and in our offices (see link to learn more about families at work at Pepper).
Pepper’s newest office in Madison, Wisconsin is no exception to this family rule. In fact, the McDaniel family played a significant role in putting the office together and are now focusing on its growth.
Meet Jared and Jordan McDaniel – brothers, coworkers and two guys who know the sky is the only limit to what they can build together.
It seems like Jared and Jordan were almost destined for a life in construction. They grew up in a small, rural community where their family owned the local hardware store that their older brother now runs. With the three boys evenly spaced four years apart, they spent some time working at the store – although never all of them at the same time – and getting familiar with the trades they served.
While he had an interest in engineering, middle brother Jared knew that he did not want to be chained to a desk. “Being in the hardware store and working with the trades always perked my interest,” said Jared. “I knew I wanted to go into engineering, but also wanted to be hands-on.”
Youngest brother Jordan is similar. “I’ve been active ever since I was a kid, so I knew I needed a fine line between a desk and the field,” Jordan said. “It was clear that I was going to college for construction.”
From there, the brother’s professional paths continued to cross and diverge in fortuitous ways:
- Jared helped Jordan get an internship at the GC where he worked after graduating.
- In time, both brothers were part of the full-time staff but worked on different projects and never saw each other on the job.
- Jared gained experience in large, multi-year projects in multifamily, high rises and healthcare, mixed use, parking and science and technology.
- Jordan’s early experience was in senior living and diversified from there, but he quickly came to specialize in tenant improvement with a variety of buildouts, including offices, daycares and car dealerships.
- Eventually, although not at the same time, the brothers decided to move their families to Wisconsin and ended up working together again at a company that introduced them to Pepper.
- Jared was the first to join the company in 2018 and is now a Project Director, and Jordan followed in April 2024 as a Senior Project Manager.
Part of the Pepper Family
Over the past six years, including the time prior to his involvement with the new Madison office, Jared played key roles in everything from the construction of a new movie theater to the Titletown multifamily community, and several projects at University of Wisconsin-Madison, including wet and dry labs. Currently, he is leading construction work for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and Health Center in Racine. The Center will create positive improvement for decades to come by providing classrooms, computer labs, a gymnasium and a federally qualified health center with affordable medical, dental and behavioral health services.
Along his way to joining his brother at Pepper, Jordan spent several years extending his tenant-improvement experience, specifically for clients within an hour radius of the Madison area. This hyper-local focus proved to be extremely beneficial once Jordan brought his expertise to Pepper. For example, he’s currently doing two elevator modernization projects, which involve replacing components, equipment and finishes through the local trades. In addition, in conjunction with Pepper Environmental Technologies’ abatement efforts, Jordan is tearing down the Wisconsin Historical Society, located across the street from the capital. On top of it all, he also provides estimating services in support of Pepper’s local preconstruction efforts.
Family Feedback
Whether it’s in Milwaukee, Madison or wherever Pepper works in Wisconsin, the team is a well-oiled machine. But for Jared and Jordan, there’s no denying that joining forces again has provided an undeniable momentum to their growth. They are working hard for each opportunity and using an appropriate mix of local and company-wide resources to provide the best value for our clients and in the communities where we work and live.
“It’s just good to work with your big brother,” says Jordan. “What we’ve already accomplished is extremely rewarding and this is the time to keep pushing. I’m excited to see what more we can do together.”
“Jordan has known me his entire life,” says Jared. “He can anticipate how I’m going to react to things and can say, ‘Are you sure you want to respond to that right now? Do you maybe want to take a lap?’ As a leader and a peer, it’s great to have someone who understands you on that level”
“I am the little brother,” Jordan says. “I know what buttons to push and not to push.”
“But that’s a good point,” Jared comments. “While we specifically set it up, so he reports to someone else, I have to be careful not to hold him to a higher standard. I know what he’s capable of and want to make sure that he gets opportunities to deliver in ways that are right and fair for him and for all our colleagues.”
Despite how well things are going for the McDaniel’s, it’s hard to believe that there isn’t some natural competitiveness from time to time. For example, who do they think is their mother’s favorite son?
“That’s easy,” Jared and Jordan agree. “The dogs.”