3. Fastest Growing Companies 2024: ‘Renegade Mentality’ drives RNGD’s 3-year revenue growth

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Embracing diversification, expanding geographically, and “bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to an industry steeped in tradition,” says Founder and CEO Wes Palmisano, are all increasing revenue at New Orleans-based RNGD (pronounced Renegade), the local construction company formerly known as Impetus.

In 2023, RNGD reported a revenue of $262 million, up 31% year-over-year from the 2022 revenue of $200 million; and a three-year jump of 162% from the 2021 revenue of $100 million.

“We remain focused on our founding principles of challenging the status quo and bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to an industry steeped in tradition. This renegade mentality continues to drive our innovative approach to serving clients and expanding our business,” said Palmisano.  “Over the last three years, we began a geographic expansion across the Southeast, initiated rapid growth in the infrastructure and heavy civil construction sector, and expanded our in-house capabilities to deliver prefabrication and other innovative design, fabrication, and erection solutions.

In early 2024, the company consolidated all of its businesses under the RNGD brand to “emphasize the importance of working together as one team on a shared mission to move the construction industry forward,” said Palmisano. “Removing organizational silos enables us to work together cohesively and collaboratively to serve clients.”

Palmisano points to growth in services such as heavy civil, infrastructure, public works, utility and road work, in addition to opening offices and having a presence now in Nashville, Tenn., and Huntsville, Ala. In 2023, RNGD completed the 50-acre Propel Park on NASA’s Michoud Campus; transformed 420 Julia St., formerly Children’s Museum, into a hotel and residential complex; and H3C new construction and affordable housing in Central City on Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., a 210,000 square foot development at the former Brown’s Dairy processing plant.

RNGD is also a contractor in the ongoing $2.4 billion Joint Infrastructure Recovery Response program, delivered by the City of New Orleans Department of Public Works and Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.

“We completed our most successful year ever in 2023, overcoming a volatile economic environment and persistent challenges such as the rising cost of construction materials and supply chain disruptions,” Palmisano said. “Collaborative delivery methods and other innovative strategies enabled us to mitigate these issues and maintain fast-track project schedules through our early involvement in the preconstruction and procurement phase of construction projects.”

Palmisano said the construction’s industry biggest challenge, along with his company’s, is “to continue to learn to do more with less. Faster schedules, tighter budgets, longer-lead material procurement, and skilled labor shortages are becoming commonplace, and all businesses are being challenged to adapt to these realities.”

For the remainder of 2024 and into the company’s future, Palmisano said RNGD will continue to diversify and expand its services, leaning heavily into innovation, manufacturing, industrialized construction, continued infrastructure services, and implementing the various advances in technology. “We will continue to expand our geographic footprint as well as our in-house expertise and resources to improve our value to clients and achieve our growth goals.”