In Hawaii, construction is never just about concrete and steel. It is about place and people — and about understanding how a building will serve a community long after the last crew leaves the site. For Nordic PCL Construction, that context matters deeply, and it helps explain why its team leaders don’t always fit the traditional construction mold.

With a nearly 90-year presence in Hawaii, Nordic PCL has delivered projects woven into the fabric of island life. They range from legacy resorts like Mauna Kea and Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, to essential health care projects, including work at The Queen’s Medical Center and Straub Benioff Medical Center, as well as work on military installations across the state. These projects, serving both residents and visitors, reflect the range of work shaping how Nordic PCL teams approach their work.

Walk onto a Nordic PCL job site, and you’ll find a diverse team whose backgrounds are not solely construction – they include fine art, music, woodworking, dance and elite athletics. These experiences might not appear on a resume next to a project schedule or punch list, yet they shape how teams visualize challenges, communicate under pressure and solve problems creatively. 

In Hawaii, where projects are complex, culturally sensitive and deeply tied to community needs, those perspectives are a powerful advantage. 

Preview a peak of our video series highlighting the talented individuals in this story.

For Mike Betz, vice president and district manager of Nordic PCL, woodworking is both a personal outlet and a professional parallel. In his shop, raw and imperfect pieces of wood become something functional and well-crafted through experimentation and patience.

“When I look at a scrap piece of wood, I’m always asking, ‘What could this become?’” Betz says. “That’s the same question we face on tough projects. You try things, you learn from what doesn’t work, and you find the solution that fits.”

That same mindset shapes how he approaches complex construction challenges. Woodworking has taught Betz to see potential where others see limitations, and to test ideas without fear if they don’t immediately work. On the job, that translates into creating space for teams to explore solutions collaboratively, knowing that not every idea will be the right one, but that progress comes from trying.

For superintendent Craig Akina, art has shaped how he visualizes work long before it ever reaches the field. As a lifelong artist, Akina naturally understands proportion, contrast and spatial relationships, skills that allow him to see a project in three dimensions while most are still studying two‑dimensional drawings.

“I don’t just build projects; I visualize them before they happen and lead the team to execute that vision,” says Akina. “I can see the roof before we even come out of the ground, and that helps everyone stay focused on where we’re headed.”

This ability helps identify design conflicts before they become costly problems. More importantly, it allows Akina to lead teams with clarity and confidence, keeping focus on the finished product even when the process is demanding.

Music also plays an unexpected role in shaping Nordic PCL’s project culture. Superintendent Jose “Joe” Siababa has spent much of his life as a guitarist, learning songs by ear, performing live and listening closely to others.

“A project is like a song,” says Siababa. “It has a beginning, a buildup, challenges in the middle and a big finish at the end. Everyone has to stay in rhythm and listen to each other or it doesn’t work.”

Music has also become a cultural bridge for Siababa, helping build trust and camaraderie among crews and trade partners. Whether it’s playing during downtime or simply talking about songs, those shared moments create bonds that make collaboration easier when pressure is high. That mindset proved especially valuable on complex projects like Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, where coordinating multiple teams and trades across a culturally significant site required the same kind of rhythm and alignment he brings to music.

For Makana Brito, a project administrator and lifelong hula dancer, Hawaiian culture offers a powerful metaphor for teamwork. Hula is storytelling through movement — each gesture is intentional, and each dancer is responsible not only for their own part, but for moving in sync with the group. That philosophy carries into her work at Nordic PCL. 

“In hula, every movement means something, and everyone has a ‘kuleana’ — a responsibility — to the group,” says Brito. “If one person falls out of rhythm, the whole group can feel it. Construction is the same way. Success comes from everyone moving together with purpose, trust and a shared responsibility to the team.”

This cultural grounding shapes how Nordic PCL operates within Hawaiian communities. Respect for place, people and process isn’t an add-on; it’s foundational. Projects aren’t just built for clients; they are built for families, neighborhoods and future generations. One such example is Kūlanihāko‘i High School in Kihei, Maui, where Nordic PCL delivered the region’s first public high school, expanding access to education and creating a space designed to support students and families for generations to come.

Originally from Hawaii, Julius Buelow, a project engineer, began his path to construction leadership on the football field. He played for the University of Washington (UW) before transferring to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he completed his degree and finished his collegiate football career. After graduation, Buelow moved to Canada and signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Across each chapter of that journey — from college stadiums to professional locker rooms — athletics shaped how he prepares, performs and leads under pressure, lessons that now directly inform his approach to construction projects.

One experience that stands out is competing in a National Championship in 2024 with UW, where months of preparation culminated into a single, high-stakes moment. 

“Everything builds toward that point,” says Buelow. “You go in knowing not everything will go perfectly. Mistakes happen, conditions change and you’re forced to adjust in real time.” What matters most, he learned, is composure. Staying adaptable and focused allows teams to respond effectively when the pressure is highest, whether on the field or on a job site.

That mindset also shapes how Buelow approaches trust and accountability within teams. In sports, trust forms quickly because performance depends on it. In construction, particularly with crews of varied backgrounds and experience levels, trust is built through humility and consistency. As someone newer to the industry, Buelow focuses on being a strong learner by listening closely, asking questions and applying feedback.  

“I’ve learned quickly that, similar to football, success is not about individual effort,” says Buelow. “Success means showing up prepared, listening to the people around you and executing together so the whole team succeeds.”

That team-first mindset reinforces Nordic PCL’s belief that strong builders come from many paths, and that discipline developed outside of construction can be just as critical to delivering quality work within it.

Nordic PCL’s teams understand that in Hawaii, value is not about doing the same thing faster or cheaper. It’s about doing the right thing thoughtfully, respecting culture, and building relationships that outlast a single project. The culture at Nordic PCL encourages teams to bring their whole selves to the jobsite and to draw from skills developed far beyond construction. The result is a culture that values imagination and humility alongside technical excellence.

Clients who partner with Nordic PCL gain a multidisciplinary team of collaborators who see challenges through many lenses and are committed to delivering quality that meets — and exceeds — expectations. On a recent health care project, for example, the Nordic PCL team requested to observe an operating room in action before construction began, gaining firsthand insight into how clinicians move, communicate and respond under pressure to better inform the design and build.

“Hawaii’s culture is built on diversity, and that’s what makes teams stronger,” says Glen Kaneshige, president of Nordic PCL. “Like the local ‘poi dog’ — or mongrel of mixed breeds that include lineage going back to when Polynesians first introduced dogs to the islands — the genetic variations from cross-breeding dogs over generations resulted in an animal that is stronger and more resilient to survive in the harshest environments — this is an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.”

By embracing unconventional paths into construction, Nordic PCL is investing in leaders who reflect Hawaii itself: diverse, creative and deeply connected to the community. In the end, that human approach is what makes the difference in serving people long after construction is complete.