As Seen in Arkansas Money & Politics
Jan. 15, 2025
Business executives are often hailed as “builders,” but perhaps none can lay a stronger claim to that title — both literally and figuratively — than Lexicon CEO Patrick Schueck. The Little Rock steel fabrication and construction company has come a long way since 1968, when Schueck’s father, Tom, started Schueck Steel Products out of his garage. Taking the helm in 2020, the younger Schueck now oversees a billion-dollar operation with 2,000 employees that span divisions in fabrication and erection, construction management and equipment installation, industrial maintenance, energy services and golf course construction.
Evidence of Schueck’s work can be found far and wide; he has overseen numerous major projects, from the expansion of Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the NASA Stennis A-3 Test Stand in Mississippi. Already a renowned player in the industry, Lexicon’s body of work is large and diverse — steel mills, semiconductor plants, hospitals and bridges are only a sampling. As the company’s footprint has grown, it has refined its winning ways under Schueck’s leadership, coming out ahead time and again in everything from automation and safety to employee longevity.
While inevitable, Schueck’s path to the family business’ C-suite was no easy climb. He paid his dues in entry-level work, just as any tradesman would. After starting at a South Carolina steel mill in 1999, Schueck’s first two weeks on the job consisted of taking a crew out to pick up trash. Next was bushing columns with a hammer drill in the 120-degree heat. From there, he headed to a plant in Petersburg, Virginia, did shutdown work at steel mills all over the South and spent plenty of time chest-deep in grease while changing out fittings at Nucor-Yamato.
By the time he moved into leadership at Lexicon, Schueck had firsthand, wide-ranging experience with the physical, emotional and mental toll the long hours and days take on a steel worker. That perspective has not only brought him closer to his employees but enabled him to be a more effective decision maker. Schueck seems to understand that Lexicon’s most important trade is not in construction but in people, and he has been vocal in giving credit to those on the front lines for the business’ continued success. In fact, as much as Lexicon leads the industry in terms of production and technological innovation, the company is also a trailblazer in the realm of employee well-being.
In 2024, Lexicon awarded one of its largest-ever groups of employees with $10,000, all-taxes-paid checks as part of the 20-year incentive program started by Schueck’s father. Since 2002, the company has inducted almost 230 employees into the 20-year club and has written nearly $3.5 million in checks to its most loyal team members. A more recent addition, the “Good Catch” award, gives employees who notify management of potential safety risks their own $2,500 reward.
“In today’s competitive labor market, where employees’ tenures are growing shorter, it’s remarkable and gratifying to honor more than 30 employees who have devoted 20 years of service to Lexicon,” Scheuck said during an October awards ceremony at the company’s Port of Little Rock headquarters. “Our team members are the cornerstone of our success, and their commitment, expertise and hard work have shaped who we are as a company.”
Last year also saw the company launch the “Strong as Steel: Building Mental Might” initiative. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by construction industry workers, Lexicon has invested in an awareness campaign to combat stigma, offer resources, and help employees navigate obstacles both professionally and personally. The company’s headquarters already houses an on-site health clinic, and employees have access to telehealth services, an expanded employee assistance program and enhanced leave policies.
Before the state’s largest construction company can work on keeping its employees long term, however, it has to bring new faces through the door. Schueck, naturally, is a strong promoter of trade work, and the company’s internal development program, Lexicon University, gives employees the training needed to further their careers once in the industry. Lexicon has partnered with Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville to provide a millwright mechanic training program, in addition to working with groups such as the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Welding Society to show high school students the opportunities that exist in the lucrative line of work. Those efforts have bolstered the company’s ability to attract, train and retain talent.
State and national conditions also bode well for the company’s future. Schueck has praised Arkansas’ pro-business approach compared to some of its neighbors, and it is no secret that the northeast part of the state is cementing itself as an American steel hub. As a construction industry linchpin, Lexicon is primed to benefit from a growing interest in domestic-made products and a renaissance in demand for stateside labor, as well.
