Our Company
RW COLLINS | YOUR EXPERIENCED PARTNER
We are Chicago and the Midwest’s leading environmental contractor for clients in need of quality site preparation and remediation work.
- Clients include: engineering firms, developers, oil companies, utilities, Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, and government agencies
- Serving the entire Midwest and Great Lakes regions
- Over 70 years of experience
- Extensive modern equipment fleet
- Family-owned and women-owned business
OUR HISTORY
In 1946, Robert W. Collins founded the RW Collins Company amid the growing need for underground tank installation in Chicago. Throughout the past 7o years we have expanded our expertise to a much wider array of services. Today, we’ve become the Midwest’s leading environmental contractor for clients in need of quality site preparation, excavation, and remediation work.
We help commercial and residential property owners in Chicago, the Midwest, and Great Lakes regions with excavation, environmental, soil-remediation and UST removal services. The entrepreneurial spirit and deep care exhibited by our founder are still alive in RW Collins’ operations today.
We are a third-generation, family-owned, and Illinois-based environmental contractor that is certified as a Women Owned Business by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.
COMPANY TIMELINE & SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES
- 1946: After completing his duties as a U.S. Navy Seabee in WWII, Bob Collins starts his career as an excavating contractor
- 1950’s – 60’s: With the rush to build gas stations, RW Collins establishes itself as a tank contractor. Our signature machine was the Bucyrus Erie 15-B cable backhoe (A restored antique now sits outside of our offices!)
- 1970’s: Company moved to current office and shop location; second generation of family joins the business
- 1980’s – 90’s: Increased environmental regulation and awareness allow tank removal and contaminated soil businesses to flourish
- 2000 – 2010: Major long-term projects, particularly MGP sites, become our dominant market segment
- 2010 – 2015: Expansion to wider Midwest region; third generation of family joins the business