Building Trust, Delivering Value
Our Mission, Values, and a 100-Year Commitment to the Customer
What we do: Carl A. Nelson & Company delivers design-build, construction management, and general contracting services for industrial, healthcare, education, and other clients.
Key facts
- Founded: 1913
- Employee-owned: since 1946
- Delivery roles: Design-Build, Construction Management, General Contracting
- Offices: Burlington and Cedar Falls, Iowa
- Service area: Iowa, Midwest and Beyond
- Specialized services: Nelson Plant Services (maintenance and rapid-response work in operating plants), Nelson Design, Inc. (design and design-assist, BIM coordination, code review)
- Core markets: Industrial, Healthcare, Education, Recreation
Our Mission is to focus on the customer as the most important aspect of our business by providing exceptional value while encouraging safety, leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit among all employees. We will accomplish this mission through a team commitment to:
Fairness and Honesty | Quality Workmanship | Service Second to None
Carl A. Nelson & Company operates with a long-term perspective shaped by employee ownership and direct accountability. Decisions are made by people responsible for outcomes — not just on individual projects, but for the continuity of the company and the relationships it serves.
That approach influences how work is planned, how risks are evaluated, and how teams are staffed and supported in the field. It also reinforces consistency in execution, from early coordination through closeout across industrial, healthcare, education, recreation and other project types.
Over time, this way of working has led to strong, repeat relationships with clients who rely on CANCO for disciplined project delivery and dependable follow-through. Representative work can be found in the project portfolio, and the company’s service footprint is outlined on Where We Work.
As a self-performing contractor, the company maintains hands-on involvement in critical scopes of work, helping keep safety, quality, and schedule aligned with project goals. Learn more about CANCO’s self-performed construction services and the teams who lead the work on the Leadership Team page.
More about CANCO
CANCO in Conversation
In May 2023, Carl A. Nelson & Company was featured in an installment of the All Things Greater Burlington podcast from the Greater Burlington Partnership.
Carl A. Nelson & Company was featured in July 2020 on the Iowa Business Report. Learn more about CANCO in this episode.
The Next Chapter is You
Now that you've read our history, and seen our emphasis on quality and integrity, we hope you can envision how Carl A. Nelson & Company will bring its pledge of Fairness and Honesty, Quality Workmanship and Service Second to None to bear for your organization.
Learn more by contacting us today.
It doesn't matter whether you're ready to get started, or still researching options. We would like to talk to you about how CANCO can be of service on your upcoming project, and work toward building a relationship that can carry on for many years to come.
We make it easy for you to get in touch. You'll find a contact form like the one below on just about every significant page of the site, or simply call (319) 754-8415 and ask for Dan Culp or Jamie Stanley. We look forward to hearing from you soon.