By Lindsay Hocker, lhocker@qconline.com

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Photo: Todd Welvaert Greg Lundgren, president of Ryan Companies US Inc., in the Quad-Cities, stands in front of the KONE Centre building n Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Ryan Companies is the general contractor for the KONE project.

Since Ryan Companies US Inc. moved to the Quad-Cities in 1991, when it bought Design-Build Associates in Davenport, it's built some very high-profile projects.

Ryan Companies was general contractor for Isle of Capri's two hotel buildings in Bettendorf, one of which was 12 stories. "Not everybody has the experience to build a building of that size," Quad-Cities Ryan president Greg Lundgren said.

Ryan also was construction manager for the Milan Municipal Building, Community Health Care Inc. in Rock Island, and is construction manager for the Community Health Care center in East Moline, which is almost completed.

Mr. Lundgren said the company just finished work at several Deere buildings, including remodeling the corporate headquarters in Moline.

Ryan also is general contractor for the eight-story, 125,000-square-feet KONE Centre being built on the Moline riverfront.

Mr. Lundgren said Ryan has about 45 full-time employees in the Quad-Cities, including architects, laborers, designers, project managers and superintendents.

In 2004, the name Design-Build Associates was changed to Ryan Companies, the same year Ryan built the Mississippi Plaza building at 201 N. Harrison St., Suite 400, Davenport, where it's now headquartered, Mr. Lundgren said.

Ryan Companies was founded in Minnesota in 1938, and now has offices in Chicago, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Florida, Arizona, California and the Quad-Cities, which can exchange resources.

Ryan Companies specializes in office, industrial, retail, health care, alternative energy, hospitality, higher education, data centers, public sector, and mixed-use projects.

It describes itself as "a leading national commercial real estate firm offering integrated design-build, development and real estate management services to customers."

Design-build is a construction system where the design and construction phases are contracted with a single entity known as the design-builder, according to ryancompanies.com/ryan-services/construction/what-is-design-build.

Mr. Lundgren said the company stands out because "we have our own architectural staff in-house." Of all the local buildings Ryan builds, he said 70 percent are designed in-house.

The company also helps clients put together financial packages needed to make a project possible.

He said sustainability is important to the company, which just put solar panels on the roof of the Mississippi Plaza building, and will put solar panels on the KONE Centre's parking ramp to help provide some of the building's energy.

Mr. Lundgren said he likes that Ryan Companies is family-owned, family-based and "family-first," as well as community-minded. Pat Ryan, president/CEO of Ryan Companies, is grandson of company founder James Henry Ryan.

In addition to employees being involved in a variety of nonprofits, Mr. Lundgren said the company is a corporate sponsor for the Student Food Drive.

Mr. Lundgren said he thinks it's important that "the businesses that live here and work here give here," and it's something he wants Ryan Companies to continue.

For more information about Ryan Companies, visit their website at ryancompanies.com.