Gus Bouten was a big man—in both size and personality.

“He had a handshake like nobody’s business," recalls his grandson Bill Bouten. "And I remember people always called him Mr. Bouten.”

The elder Bouten commanded respect.

He had immigrated from Belgium as a young boy, went to work building houses with his father at age 13, and eventually started his own construction company.

That company was such a success that it’s still around today.

Bouten Construction Co., which celebrated its 80th anniversary in mid-March, is a prominent construction operation in the Inland Northwest, with offices in Spokane and Richland, Washington. It has fingerprints on some of the Tri-Cities community’s most visible buildings, including multiple schools, Kadlec Regional Medical Center and Lourdes Health, the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Justice Center, the Tri-Cities Airport and more.

And it has stayed in the Bouten family all these years, with the leadership passing from Gus to his son Frank and then to Frank’s son Bill, who’s the current CEO.

“To be part of (the company’s history) and see others committed to it, it certainly does bring a special meaning,” Bill Bouten says. “I think it shows up in our work and hopefully in our relationships.”

Relationships are a key part of Bouten’s success, he says.

The company has worked with multiple repeat clients over the years, including Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, in Spokane, and Kadlec and Lourdes health systems in the Tri-Cities.

Brandon Potts, a Bouten vice president who’s based in the Tri-Cities, says, “It goes back to our mission statement, which is, ‘Building places that matter and relationships that last.’ It means a lot to carry on this legacy of building places that matter to our community.”

The company currently is working on building more such places.

It has some high-profile projects in the works across the Inland Northwest, including Prosser Memorial Health’s new $77 million hospital. It’s also in the design phase of both the new Columbia Valley Center for Recovery and a long-awaited Pasco aquatics center.

Bouten has more than 160 employees, including about 35 in the Tri-Cities.

The commercial general contractor and construction management company builds facilities for health care, education, business, civic life, multifamily, and more in a territory that spans Eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and northeastern Oregon.

One of the company’s first projects was a cadet nurse training facility for what was then Sacred Heart Hospital, in Spokane. By 1959, Bouten Construction had expanded into the Tri-Cities, remodeling the Pasco branch of Seattle First National Bank.

Back then, the company was called Gus J. Bouten Construction Co. The name was shortened in the 1970s when Frank Bouten became the president.

Frank worked alongside his father before taking up the company’s reins. Likewise, Bill Bouten spent about 10 years at the company overlapping with his dad.

Gus Bouten died in 1984. Frank Bouten, now 89, is retired but still keeps an eye on the family business, Bill Bouten says. Bill’s younger brother Tim also is part of the company.

Bill Bouten says he’s proud of all the company has accomplished, and of all the hard work put in by his grandfather, father, and others who’ve made Bouten Construction what it is.

He’s excited about the company’s future as it continues to grow and innovate.

“We feel very fortunate to be part of the community,” Bill Bouten says. “We’re excited to build off of 80 years and continue the legacy for hopefully many more decades to come.”