A Day in the Life with Kurt Nowak

Kurt Nowak, Vice President of Fire Protection and Mechanical

Kurt Nowak leads Lee Mechanical's Fire Protection and Mechanical divisions, overseeing the standards, operations, and direction of work that is, by its nature, non-negotiable. In his role, Kurt is responsible for ensuring that every system installed meets the highest level of performance, not for compliance alone, but because lives depend on it. His leadership connects field execution to company-wide accountability.

"It's life safety at the end of the day. We want to save your property, but it's more important to make sure everybody in the building can get out safe and sound."

The responsibility of it. Fire protection is not a trade where you can rationalize cutting corners. Everything we install has to perform under the worst possible conditions, and that standard doesn't change based on project size or timeline pressure. That accountability is what I find meaningful about this work. When a system performs the way it should, people get out. That matters more than anything else on the job.

My role spans both Fire Protection and Mechanical, so I'm involved across a range of project types and operational decisions. That includes overseeing how work is planned, ensuring our teams have what they need to execute, and staying connected to the standards and codes that govern what we do. A significant part of the role is also making sure the right decisions get made quickly, which is easier here than it has been in other organizations I've worked with.

Lee is a family-owned company, but it operates at a scale that allows us to take on serious commercial and industrial work. That combination is not as common as people might think. What it means in practice is that if something needs to get resolved, I can go directly to the owner. There is no long chain of approvals or internal politics slowing things down. Decisions get made, and projects move forward. That environment makes it easier to do the job well.

The standard here is that we do it right. Fire protection systems are life safety systems first. The building owner cares about their property, and we care about that too, but our primary obligation is to the people inside the building. That means every installation has to be done to the highest standard, every time. That is the expectation, and it is one I hold our teams to consistently.

The industry is changing. Technology, code requirements, and the complexity of the facilities we work in are all moving forward. Lee is in a position to stay ahead of that. We have the resources and the leadership structure to adapt, and we are focused on being at the forefront of where the trade is heading rather than reacting to it after the fact.

If you want to do serious work at a company where your decisions have real impact, Lee is worth a close look. The scale of the work is there. The support structure is there. And you will not spend your time navigating layers of bureaucracy to get things done. For someone who takes the trade seriously, that kind of environment makes a difference.

MORE

Day in the Life

  • Ben Quartemont

    Ben Quartemont

    Technology Specialist

    Ben Quartemont is a Technology Specialist at Lee Mechanical, where he builds Revit families, design automations, and internal tools that help the company's coordinators work faster. He collaborates closely with teams to find their pinch points and design solutions that boost efficiency. That work led to Track and Stack, the new inventory system he developed for Lee's Caledonia fabrication and logistics facility. For Ben, the most impactful part of the job is getting to help people every day, troubleshooting alongside them so they can do their best work.

  • Heather Ladwig

    Heather Ladwig

    Controller

    Heather Ladwig is the Controller at Lee Mechanical, where nearly five years overseeing accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll have made accurate financial data and dependable deadlines part of the daily routine. No two days look the same, but the focus stays constant: keeping the financial side of every project running smoothly and supporting the accounting team. What Heather enjoys most is problem solving, digging into issues and building new processes that make the department more efficient and prevent problems down the road.

  • Mark Rogers

    Mark Rogers

    Yard and Warehouse

    Mark Rogers works in the Yard and Warehouse division at Lee Mechanical, where for a little over two years he's handled scheduling, logistics, unloading trucks, and doing whatever it takes to make his coworkers' days easier. His favorite part of the job is the people — a busy crew that always lends a helping hand and still finds time to laugh while getting the work done. Mark takes pride in serving the company's 400-plus employees, getting them what they need when they need it, and keeping everything running smoothly through clear communication.