BZI Taps Veteran for President in Major Strategic Overhaul

KANARRAVILLE, UT – February 19, 2026 – In a move signaling a significant strategic consolidation, nationally recognized steel and construction firm BZI has appointed company veteran Thomas Harker as its new President. The announcement is part of a broader leadership reshuffle and corporate rebranding effort designed to unify the company's operations as it continues its rapid expansion and solidifies its position as an industry innovator.

Headquartered in the small town of Kanarraville, Utah, BZI has grown into a powerhouse, tackling massive construction projects for world-renowned clients in sectors ranging from data centers and e-commerce to advanced manufacturing. The latest announcements underscore a deliberate strategy to build on this momentum, integrating its diverse services under a more cohesive brand identity and empowering a new generation of leadership drawn from within its own ranks.

A New Era of Leadership From Within

The centerpiece of the announcement is the promotion of Thomas Harker to President. His career trajectory embodies the company's narrative of internal growth and opportunity. Harker was one of BZI's first five employees, starting as a farmhand erecting pole barns in Southern Utah. Over two decades, he has methodically risen through the company, holding positions from field hand and foreman to superintendent and regional manager, ultimately overseeing complex structural steel and pre-engineering projects before becoming COO.

As President, Harker will now oversee all company operations, leveraging his deep, ground-level experience to guide project execution and maintain the company's stringent safety and quality standards. His expertise in innovative prefabrication and erection processes, on which he is a frequent industry speaker, aligns directly with BZI's forward-looking mission.

The leadership evolution extends across BZI's family of companies. The firm also named new presidents for its key affiliates: Guy Nielsen will lead BZI Steel, LLC; Jakob Harker will head InnovaTech®, LLC; Rulon Nielsen will take the helm at Iron Depot™; and Ryan Obray becomes President of VISCO, LLC. This comprehensive leadership update positions seasoned executives to steer each division through the company's next phase of growth.

Unifying the Brand for National Dominance

Concurrent with the leadership changes, BZI has rebranded two of its critical affiliate operations to create a more unified corporate identity. SteelTech Academy, the company’s vocational and safety training center, will now be known as BZI Academy™. Similarly, its logistics arm, JLine Logistics, has been renamed BZI Logistics™.

This move is more than cosmetic. It represents a strategic alignment designed to present a seamless, integrated service portfolio to a national client base. By bringing its training and logistics operations explicitly under the BZI banner, the company reinforces its holistic approach to project delivery, from workforce development to complex material handling and shipping solutions.

James Barlow, CEO of BZI, commented on the strategic alignment in the company's official announcement. “BZI has made tremendous strides during the last few years in defining standards for quality, performance, innovation and safety,” said Barlow. “Today’s announcements of new leadership roles, and branding illustrate our continued momentum, and the exemplary work of BZI leaders - their contributions to our success and commitment to our focus on a wholistic customer experience.”

This unified front is crucial as BZI increasingly competes for and wins large-scale projects in high-tech industries. By presenting an ecosystem that includes in-house fabrication, erection, logistics, and a dedicated training academy, BZI makes a powerful case for its ability to control project timelines, quality, and safety from end to end.

The BZI Academy: A Strategic Investment in People

The newly christened BZI Academy is a cornerstone of the company’s strategy and a direct answer to the construction industry's persistent skilled labor shortage. Since its inception in 2019, the academy has become a robust pipeline for talent, logging over 33,000 student contact hours in 2025 alone and issuing thousands of certifications.

The academy provides all BZI team members with essential training, including OSHA (10) and (30) certifications, fall protection, and mastery of the company’s proprietary equipment, such as the innovative panelization systems developed by InnovaTech®. However, its most significant offering may be the Department of Labor-certified Structural Steel Apprenticeship Program.

This multi-year program offers a clear career path, guiding apprentices through hands-on instruction in steel erection, welding, rigging, and safety, culminating in a Journeyman Structural Steel certification. Apprentices gain experience on BZI project sites across the country, with the company covering travel and lodging. This deep investment in workforce development not only ensures a steady supply of highly skilled labor for BZI’s projects but also reinforces its reputation as a top employer, a claim backed by numerous awards, including a No. 3 ranking among large businesses in The Salt Lake Tribune's Top Workplaces for 2025.

Innovation and Safety Fueling Explosive Growth

BZI's strategic moves are built on a foundation of proven performance and a relentless focus on innovation and safety. The company's revenue has grown more than tenfold under CEO James Barlow, rocketing past the $2 billion cumulative revenue mark in 2025, with the second billion generated in just over two years. Its workforce has swelled from 100 in 2016 to over 1,000 today.

This growth is fueled by a culture that prioritizes finding better, safer, and faster ways to build. The company holds multiple patents for construction technology and has been lauded for its panelization methods, which prefabricate large wall and roof sections on the ground before lifting them into place. This process dramatically reduces the time workers spend at height, contributing to BZI's exceptional safety record, including an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 0.42—well below the industry average of 1.0.

This commitment to safety and efficiency has not gone unnoticed. BZI has been showered with industry accolades, including being named No. 6 on ENR’s List of Top 20 Steel Companies and receiving top safety awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). This proven ability to deliver complex projects safely and ahead of schedule has made BZI a trade partner of choice for premier companies building the backbone of the modern economy, from massive data centers to cutting-edge microchip and electric vehicle plants.