Spin the globe, and one might understandably assume that Australia and Arkansas are half a world apart, but looks can be deceiving. While the geographical distance between them might suggest otherwise, the two locales have more in common than one might think.
“I felt quite at home when I first arrived in Arkansas,” said Steve Grandfield, chief operating officer at Lexicon, the global steel construction and fabrication conglomerate based in Little Rock.
Grandfield, a native Australian from Tasmania, is now an adopted Arkansan by virtue of calling the Natural State — and Lexicon — home for the past two decades.
“The area of Australia I’m from has a lot of what Arkansas has here,” he said. “In Tasmania, we have a lot of trees and lush greenery and mountains and lakes and rivers, very similar terrain. In fact, Arkansas reminds me a lot of Australia.”
Scenery aside, Grandfield also found familiarity within the neighborly Southern hospitality that also reminded him of his homeland.
“I guess I might be considered a bit ‘old school’ for saying so, but I genuinely value developing long-lasting relationships,” he said. “I still believe in the power of a handshake and being true to your word. I guess that’s just how I was raised.”
Grandfield said the best advice he ever received in business is the same advice he now finds himself offering others.
“Be prepared to be open to possibilities,” he said. “Always be willing to keep an open mind, and be prepared to be a good listener. It can sometimes be hard to go into a conversation without a preconceived notion of what you think someone wants you to say or do, but if you can remain open, you can allow yourself to arrive at mutual understanding or approach.”
Being open to possibilities is what led him from his home in Australia to follow career opportunities in the United States and, ultimately, Arkansas.
A 1995 graduate of the University of Tasmania, Grandfield earned a bachelor of engineering degree in civil/structural engineering. After working at two Australian companies during the first seven years of his career, Grandfield became aware of an interesting job in the United States with Prospect Steel, a division of Lexicon, and decided to explore the opportunity.
Granfield arrived at Lexicon in 2003 and began his Arkansas adventure as a project manager at Prospect Steel. Soon, his professional success allowed him to rise through the ranks and become company president in 2019. By 2021, Grandfield was promoted to president of Lexicon Fabrication Group.
Earlier this year, Grandfield was promoted once again to his current chief operating officer post at Lexicon.
“I enjoy providing positive interactions with customers and clients,” he said, reflecting on a passion for fabrication and engineering that has served him well in his career. “No two projects are ever the same. Each comes with its own unique needs and challenges, and I enjoy the problem-solving and the team building involved in formulating a plan that best suits a customer’s needs and requirements.”
His enthusiasm for his work translates well into his leadership style.
“I believe in team building, so I try to develop a team by giving them opportunities to grow, sometimes beyond even what they themselves may have thought they could achieve,” Grandfield said. “I look for employees who are compassionate, curious and open-minded, and I try to be a good listener so that I can position my people to do and be the best they can be.”
Over the years, Grandfield said he has witnessed many changes in the industry as a result of technological advancements. Some of those changes, however, brought new challenges, not the least of which was an aging workforce in welding that resulted in a labor shortage.
Lexicon answered the challenge by implementing the use of robotics that helped the company all but revolutionize its productivity.
“Robotics helped to supplement, not replace, labor,” Grandfield said. “Many people may have assumed robotics would eliminate jobs, but in this case, robotics more than tripled our production capabilities. As a result, we had to hire and train more people to support the growth.”
Grandfield points to labor shortages as a continuing concern among the challenges currently facing the construction industry. While admittedly not a new problem, Grandfield said Lexicon has developed its own unique solution.
“We hope to create strong and lasting employee relationships while also meeting the needs of our company,” he said. “So we have developed a workforce-advancement program with local high schools and technical colleges called Lexicon University — Lex U — designed to invest in and foster potential employees by providing them with advanceable career paths.”
Paid for entirely by Lexicon, Lex U is open to all employees across all its internal companies and divisions. Instruction is offered at employee convenience in a combination of on-the-job, classroom and/or online training programs in professional, management or trade curricula areas.
Launched earlier this year, Lex U has partnered with Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville to offer a millwright mechanic-training program that has so far trained 49 employees across four level 1 courses. Thirty-one employees registered for two level 2 courses that debuted in July.
“Lexicon is a family-owned company,” Grandfield said. “That’s why as it has grown. It has always been important to corporate leadership that Lexicon maintain that family feel.”
Boasting an origin story Hollywood might envy, Schueck Steel Products, the company that would grow to become Lexicon, was founded in 1968 in the converted garage of Tom Schueck’s Little Rock home with a total of two employees — Schueck and his pregnant wife, Marge.
More than a half century later, Lexicon has erected buildings and structures across the globe. Headquartered in Little Rock, the Lexicon brand is comprised of a family of full-service construction and fabrication companies that includes Lexicon Industrial Constructors, Lexicon Industrial Maintenance, Lexicon Energy Services, Custom Metals, Prospect Steel, Steel Fabricators of Monroe, Universal and Heritage Links, a specialized golf course, and a sports-field-construction division.
“We genuinely care about our people, and we want them to be happy about coming to work each day,” Grandfield said. “We want them to feel proud of the work we do, the work they do. We want them to know we value the contributions they make in bringing our products and services to market.”
One of the ways Lexicon demonstrates its appreciation to workers is by annually honoring 20-year employees with special I-beam trophies and all-taxes-paid checks of $10,000 each. Since implementing the appreciation program in 2006, Lexicon has presented awards and checks to more than 200 employees.
Currently celebrating his 20th anniversary with Lexicon, Grandfield will be recognized in October, along with about a dozen other colleagues representing Lexicon Industrial Constructors, Lexicon Industrial Maintenance, Lexicon Energy Services, Prospect Steel and Steel Fabricators of Monroe, at a special awards luncheon at Lexicon headquarters in Little Rock.
