Naples, Fla. -  Kraft Construction Company, Inc. celebrated their 40th anniversary as a Southwest Florida leader in construction by hosting local community and industry officials at their corporate headquarters in Naples last evening. This was a time to look back and reflect on how the area grew and so did the firm which was ranked among the top 100 largest contractors in the U.S. Kraft Construction has helped to reshape their hometown with a diversified portfolio of projects including: k-12 and university schools, government and institutional buildings, churches, recreational parks, hospitals, mixed-use, assisted living facilities, hotels and luxury high rise condos, financial institutions and numerous projects on Fifth Avenue in downtown Naples. Projects include North Collier Hospital, Ave Maria University, Collier Emergency Services Complex, Allen Systems headquarters, Collier County Courthouse, Edison College, Naples Grande Resort and the Golden Door Spa, Moorings Park, and Waterside Mall parking garage. The firm did this by maintaining a reputation for getting the work done on time and on budget with the highest quality standards –this has long been a Kraft trademark.

Founded in 1968, by George Kraft, the company was purchased by Bob Carsello in 1970 and Fred Pezeshkan joined him as a business partner in 1979. When Carsello retired in late 2006, Pezeshkan continued as president and CEO of a thriving multi-million dollar company that had expanded their reach from Collier and Lee counties northward into Charlotte and Sarasota counties with work in the Florida Panhandle.

Kraft established a full service office in Ft. Myers in 2003 and worked on the downtown Ft. Myers Streetscape project, FGCU Engineering Building and South Village Housing; High Point and Jasmine Bay condominiums, Ortiz Jail, Marina South at Cape Harbour to name a few.
Kraft established a full service Sarasota office in 1998 and served as Construction Manager for 1350 Main Street; the Alinari at the Renaissance; Lamarque Elementary School, Woodland Middle School (the first LEED green certified school project in Sarasota County), Plaza at Five Points, Rivo at Ringling, 100 Central Avenue, Whole Foods Market Centre and North Sarasota Library (both LEED certified).

Kraft has won numerous awards and industry recognition awards in the past 40 years including the prestigious ABC 2008 Business of the Year Award for the General Contractor category of over 200 employees. The award acknowledges members who have made outstanding contributions to the industry, safety community and the ABC chapter.

In August of 2008 Manhattan Construction Group acquired Kraft Construction, a subsidiary of investment company Rooney Holdings, Inc. With that acquisition their Tampa office became part of Kraft Construction with more than 60 employees. Manhattan was founded in 1896 and has a portfolio of projects which includes the U.S. Visitor’s Center, the Bush Presidential Library and new Dallas Cowboy’s NFL stadium.