Matthew Mabie started as a carpenter directly out of high school and attended Lindenwood University at night as his career in the trades progressed. He joined Knoebel Construction Inc. as an onsite superintendent in 2005 and worked his way up to project manager, then to vice president and ultimately to president of the company in 2011.
Under his leadership, the company has shifted its culture and broadened its footprint from regional to national.
“Changing Knoebel’s entire business strategy from locally focused to a nationwide reach with an emphasis on customer relationships,” Mabie said, “I was confident enough to know we could do it and ignorant enough to not know exactly how. Every day, every week was a new learning lesson, but every day and week we grew better at our craft.”
The strategy has clearly worked. Under Mabie’s leadership, Knoebel Construction has grown revenue from $12 million in 2011 to $138 million in 2022 and is now ranked among the 20 largest general contractors in St. Louis.
“Prior to his leadership, Knoebel was a regional contractor focusing solely on ‘one-off’ historical renovations and restaurant projects,” the company said. “Matt changed the trajectory of the company with a focus on partnership with clients and vendors. These partnerships with repeat clients not only increased revenue and geographical range to the lower 48 states, but also increased productivity on the projects by maximizing efficiencies and ‘lesson learned’ project to project.”
Mabie also modified the culture of the company to become customer service focused. “We Build Customer Experience” is the company motto. In the coming years, Knoebel will open a new corporate headquarters in Chesterfield and keep its focus not on revenue goals but on partnerships with vendors and clients.
Starting in 2017, Knoebel has been listed as one of the top 25 general contractors in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal. Knoebel has also been listed as one of the Top Contractors in the Midwest by ENR magazine since 2019 and currently ranks 87th in the region. In 2018, Knoebel was included among St. Louis’ fastest-growing companies, and in 2019, Knoebel was recognized with a Fast 50 award for 94.21% growth year over year.
Mabie has been recognized by the International Council of Shopping Centers 40 under 40 in 2018. He has been recognized as a Most Admired Business Leader in 2022 by the Small Business Monthly and has been featured in the St. Louis Business Journal Leadership Trust Expert Panel and Table of Experts on several occasions since 2018.
