MEMBER PROFILE Daniel Dragone, CEO, Bauer-Pileco Inc. Charismatic Leader and Dedicated Family Man Daniel Dragone, the CEO of Bauer-Pileco, has a true appreciation for family — whether at home or at work. Dragone is a licensed general contractor with a background in civil engineering; following in the footsteps of generations before him. His grandfather was chief engineer for Allegheny County, in Pittsburgh, Pa., and his father and brothers, Bob, Paul and Michael, have worked at various jobs in contracting and heavy construction. Dragone recalls summers spent working at contracting jobs for different members of the family. Roy Kern, president of ECA describes Dragone as “a fair and reasonable businessman. He is very knowledgeable regarding the drilled foundation industry. He is a deep thinker and has pioneered many innovations at Bauer and throughout the drilling equipment business.” beloved employer. But Bauer made him an attractive offer: they would also extend employment to Dragone’s handicapped son, Christopher, who had been recently laid off. So he and his son accepted the offers and the family moved to Montgomery, Texas. “Sometimes you won’t do things for money, but you will do them for your children,” Dragone commented. Family First Dragone and his wife Linda have been married 34 years and have two sons. Jeremy works as a marketing manager for Bauer- Pileco and Chris works two days a week for Bauer Manufacturing, Inc. in Conroe, Texas. Dragone’s mother, whom he deeply admires for her hard work and dedication, lives in a cottage behind their house. One of the things he likes best about Third Generation Contractor Dragone was born in Pennsylvania, raised in Miami and moved to West Palm Beach to work at Kelly Tractor Co. in 1980. He stayed with the equipment rental and leasing company for 28 years. Dragone started in the service department for Kelly Tractor and rose through the ranks. He spent time in the shop, then in sales, and finally became the group manager heading the foundation and crane division in 1999. Through the years, he worked with Caterpillar equipment as well as Link-belt cranes and IMT drills. Dragone has high praise for Kelly Tractor as well as its employees. In 2009, Dragone was recruited by Bauer Group to be CEO of Bauer-Pileco Inc., a leading global provider of foundation equipment and support to the foundation construction industry. The company has offices throughout the U.S. and represents Bauer Maschinen in the U.S. and Canada. Accepting the employment offer, although rich with incentives, was not a simple matter for Dragone. He would have to relocate his family and leave a Bauer-Pileco is the family atmosphere. Many of their employees have worked there for over 30 years. Dragone offers this direct bit of advice regarding employment: “If you don’t like the company, you shouldn’t work for them.” The family also enjoys living in Texas as evidenced by their bumper sticker: “We weren’t born in Texas, but we got here as quick as we could.” Dragone testifies to the world-class hospitality found there. Jim Harmston of Harmston Consulting describes Dragone as “kind and caring, and a hard worker with never-ending energy.” That energy is often spent traveling. Dragone travels a significant amount, typically over 100 days a year. Bauer Group, Pileco’s parent company, is a public company based in Germany since 1790. The company operates in 90 countries and has more than 10,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $2 billion. Dragone visits the main office in Germany several times a year as well as the factories in China. The rest of his travels are throughout the U.S. and Canada meeting with customers. Professional Life and Hobbies Dragone is active in the professional com- munity, and serves as secretary of the DFI Educational Trust. Although time is a pre- mium for him, he enjoys devoting it to the mission of supporting and encouraging students in the deep foundation industry. Dragone is also active in the International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC), where he is a member of several committees. In his sparse free time, Dragone enjoys golfing with his sons as well as working on restoring a 1986 Isuzu Trooper. He feels blessed to have worked for two great organizations, and to be surrounded by his family. He humbly claims to be “not such an interesting person,” but sources close to him beg to differ. David Sweetin, director of the Hammer/ RTG Business Unit for Bauer-Pileco, has high praise for the man he works for. “Let me start by sharing a quote by Dennis Prager: ‘Goodness is about character — integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.’ This quote epitomizes the daily views and actions of Dan Dragone. Since I met him in 2012, he has continued to amaze me with his high level of energy and intrinsic nature of wanting to teach others through leading by example. I am proud to be associated with a man of his talent.” Helen Robinson, P.E. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2014 • 57
