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Ruettiger & Tonelli's Twenty - Twenty Foresight: From Guts to Business Growth

January 2004 - At a recent "Celebration of Success" Award dinner, the company was honored as Business of the Year, 2003 by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. was recognized as a major community contributor and leading local expert in land development planning and engineering for its numerous Residential and Commercial projects in Will County and adjacent areas. Clients include major Midwest Regional and national land developers for significant residential, commercial and industrial use.

Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. have many testimonials to their credit. John Mezera, Joliet's City Manager, said, "Without Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc., we would never be able to keep pace with our partners in development. Their focus is timely; we turn to them as one of the highest quality planning and design firms. They are also a terrific social, educational, and economic supporter of the area." Russ Slinkard, President of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce, concurs: "Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. is outstanding business leader and services provider, with a true investment into, quite literally, the foundations of our community's infrastructure. We look forward to the future role they play in our business community here."

"We share a long history with each other, and as a business today. We've always been friends, and sharing the business is a logical extension of that friendship," says Tonelli. "We began this business in the basement of Terry's home after getting back together when Terry returned from Vietnam." While Ruettiger spent time in Vietnam, Tonelli worked at the Joliet arsenal. The pair corresponded during the war, and once Ruettiger returned, he began working for a local surveying company. It wasn't long before Tonelli joined him at the same company and the desire to start their own business developed. "We'd both always wanted to run our own business," Ruettiger and Tonelli note in unison. "It just seemed to be the natural next step for us," Ruettiger says. "So, about eight years later, we were on our own." Reflecting on that time, Ruettiger continues, "Owning my own business had always been my dream, and I knew that I wanted to control my own destiny. In high school I had worked at a local pharmacy, and I had even contemplated becoming a pharmacist. This really whetted my appetite for business ownership. I was fascinated with the whole chain of distribution, from manufacturer through buyer to consumer. I really enjoyed running different types of sales and promotions for all types of products. Marketing Strategy, with a Customer and Community focus, is still a priority for me to this day." Tonelli agrees, saying business ownership was also part of his background. "I come from a long line of business people," he said. "My grandfather ran a grocery business in downtown Joliet, and my father ran his own milk delivery business."

Service in the military allowed Ruettiger to concentrate on the business industry he eventually selected. A job which required him to remain indoors all the time had no appeal. "I had been outside, involved in many different activities, and I had decided on a career where I would not be tied m to a desk. The military was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life - it taught me discipline for the tough business cycles ahead of us." When Ruettiger and Tonelli formally started the business in 1979, it could be said it was not exactly the best of times; more appropriately, they were the very worst of times for entry of a new business. The economy was not good in Joliet, with unemployment at approximately 25 percent, and interest rates were also high. "I would like to say that we had a very focused, very targeted, Strategic Business Plan, states Ruettiger. "What we really had was a vision for the future, confidence in our own potential, and the rest was operating from our own natural "gut for business" instinct. That, and love for our families."

Tonelli also remembers the start of the business as tough, but says starting out at that time was really a benefit and opportunity for them: "From another perspective, it really was the right time to start the business," he explains. "We rapidly learned that we could deal with the difficult times. Then, when the economy shifted, it helped us to focus on the future, and format our plans for growth." The business has grown and evolved over the years, through the Strategic addition of additional services based upon client demand. Begun as a Surveying business, it was evident to the two partners that the business needed to include additional services. Civil engineering services were added to implement subdivision site design. In 1984, a branch office was opened in Naperville. GIS Consulting was another Practice Area addition. Within the last 8 years, Land Planning and Landscape Architecture were strategic additions that further enhanced services offered to the business community. Landscape Architecture, together with Natural and Environmental Resource Consulting, was a Practice Area addition in response to the demand for integration of open space in residential subdivision planning and design. The addition of Land Planning, under Rod Tonelli's leadership and direction, has become another major, integral part of the business. Rod is also a Land Planning consultant for several area municipalities, including Elwood, Shorewood, Manhattan, and Wilmington.

Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. offer clients in development the entire, integrated Portfolio of Services. Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. created an environment where each practice area interlocks with and informs the others. This has been a key factor in our outstanding and continuing business and community success. Some of our current projects include The Cloister, an upscale residential community of custom homes right in the heart of Joliet by local developer Bob Stephen. Also, the Autobahn Race Track and Country Club, a 3.5 race course in Joliet, indicate the variety and level of projects right here.

"Another part of our expertise is our ongoing, working relationships with local municipalities, familiarity with ordinances and the entitlement process. We understand and even anticipate the needs of our clients. This has stemmed from our twenty four years of integration with and history here in the business community," states Ruettiger. "We have now grown from two to fifty-two full time employees. We have ten Owner Shareholders. We adopted this business model to maintain the company for our clients and employees; and to foster and build opportunity for the company's growth."

As for Will County, both partners agree, the future will continue to be bright. "There is still a lot of land here, available for development. This translates into a lot of opportunity for business growth, both for our own company and for others. Will County will be on the cutting edge of development for a long time to come."

Best land use, that is, balancing development and blending open space, together with the infrastructure to support it, is a challenge, Ruettiger and Tonelli agree. "We also provide master and comprehensive plans, working together with the municipalities, Park Districts, providing wetland mitigation and delineation, and coordinating with the Army Corp of Engineers in land planning. We have done entire mapping projects for Will County, and we often say: No one knows Will County like we do! It has been our privilege to continue to grow with and the business community as both a business leader and services provider. We support, and are a very active part of the community's very infrastructure with our time, energy, and resources."

"Will County: From Corn Country to Major Midwest Crossroads"
Just how the country moves form corn country to homes and business development, is crucial. Ruettiger and Tonelli see further development as positive economic impact for the county. The extension of I-355 and a third airport will add to the infrastructure and development of the area, they note. Developers have learned they can look to Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. for professional support as they take a project from concept through completion. "We have been turning to Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Inc. for the specific development insights they consistently deliver, and that means return on investment to us," comments a major developer, headquartered in Oak Brook. "Thanks to Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates' site planning and engineering for the New Lenox Commons, we will truly have a unique destination here, remarked Russ Loebe, New Lenox Village Manager. Another developer notes: "Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates' commitment to quality and to addressing individual customer needs is really unsurpassed in the current fast and furious pace of development in Will County."

"We saw the opportunity here in Will County," maintain Ruettiger and Tonelli. "We're proud of our history here, and we're still dedicated to the overall success of the community, which is where our clients began, and we remain strategically positioned for the future. As a result of our local investment, knowledge and insight, our existing business relationships have been enhanced, and our new relationships grow stronger. We knew the opportunity for development would be here, in this county. The open land, the transportation system, including rail; the Interstate system, and the river access really make this the crossroads to the Midwest. That name is coming true with Will County's current development, and we look forward to being an ongoing part of it!"