Wolf River & Co.’s Ryan Engel heads up a four-person crew and a few subcontractors at his home remodeling projects, but if things progress they way he hopes, the company will be expanding its services into developing new construction as well.
“Wolf River & Co. is looking to get into developing on the new side. Shawano is still in need of housing at all different levels,” Engel said. “I know remodeling very well. I’m very good at it. I know what it takes to build a home. So that is where I’d like to gravitate the business toward next.”
Engel has met with Peter Thillman, executive director of the Shawano Community Economic Progress Inc., to discuss housing needs in the area and establish a proof of concept for his business expansion. He’s also met with bankers at AbbyBank and Bonduel State Bank to secure financing.
Shawano continues to need housing at multiple levels, and Wolf River & Co. expects to contribute solutions on both sides: renovating and restoring existing housing stock, as well as expanding into new construction.
The goal is not “quick flips.” It’s long-term value creation for homeowners, renters and the broader community, Engel said.
Remodeling business takes off
Engel started Wolf River & Co. as an offshoot of his other company, Wolf River Holdings.
“Wolf River Holdings is a real estate rental company. We own rentals inside of that — single-family, duplex, triplex in town,” Engel said. “And the Wolf River & Co. is for the service of our customers.”
With Wolf River Holdings, he and his ex-wife would purchase homes, fix them up and either sell them or rent them.
“And then, as of recent, more customers have reached out because I post pictures of my finished products,” Engel said. “Like I have a flip for sale in town right now with that Queen Anne Victorian. And we decided to start the business to take on our customers and help provide for them better.
“Going forward, I will still be buying homes that need work for sale. I have recently acquired one over by Franklin Park again – 230 S. Washington is the address there. And we will be going there in hopefully a few months and we will be starting that project. That home had a fire, and we acquired it.”
His latest accomplishment is a whole-house remodel on County Road E near Cecil. The house is about 1,800 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“So this is one of our bigger projects; this is a whole-home remodel,” Engel said. “We have done everything from the prep, the drywall, the floors, the oak trim. We stained and painted, stained the boards, the doors.”
Engel knows what he can do, and he knows when to reach out to others for help.
“I am not a licensed electrician or plumber,” he said. “I do have reputable contractors (and) subcontractors that I deal with.”
His employees include a bookkeeper who also does finishing work and a seasoned carpenter.
“He owned an art service shop in California, trimming out artwork, making picture frames and the like,” Engel said of the carpenter.
There is also a new hire recently brought on board.
“David (Cruz), who is a new hire, who was in the roofing space,” Engel said. “He’s learning very quickly. The plan for him in the future is to develop a crew that he will lead and continue on.”
He and his crew generally can complete a basement buildout in 45 days, while a whole-home remodel can take three or four months, depending on the scope of the work.
Engel buys homes sometimes through a sheriff’s sale or sometimes those damaged by fire.
Buying homes damaged by fire requires some cleaning before remodeling can begin. He’s also purchased properties from hoarders that require several loads to be hauled away first.
“We bought what I like to refer to as cat houses where cats destroyed the inside of houses,” he said.
Several “flips” have been known to see an increase in value of two or three times his investment.
For example, a Shawano channel property was purchased for $245,000, renovated and sold for $325,000. A year later, it is for sale again — this time for $425,000.
“I like bringing value to my customers. I like taking old homes and making them good, useful space again for someone — providing good, clean, quality rentals for someone in the future. I like doing it.”
Using AI
For anyone who believes carpentry is an old-school trade, Engel will quickly set them straight.
“Probably 80% of my business is helped with AI,” he said. “AI has been involved in some way in shape or form, including marketing, making ads on both Facebook and Google business, my website.”
Like anything else, there was a learning curve. At first, when configuring estimates, there was an over reliance on AI that didn’t always produce accurate numbers.
“When I adopted it early, I was relying on it too heavily,” Engel said. “I didn’t understand how to use it to the best of my abilities. AI was pulling material prices from local sources, but it’s not going to give you an exact labor count per hours on performing certain tasks.
“And the goal with AI is to not necessarily create an estimate based on one project, but more of a repeatable system, create the system. That way you’re not charging one customer significantly more or less than the previous.”
With a business AI subscription, team members including his bookkeeper use it to save time and support fair billing.
“We are building a repeatable, fair system for estimating and project execution,” Engel said. “I use AI as a tool to improve speed and accuracy, but it’s not a replacement for hands-on experience, job costing discipline or quality control. The intention is consistency: fair bids, clean communication and fewer surprises.”
Creating with his hands
Originally from the Crandon area, Engel gravitated to the business after working a few years at a car dealership in Clintonville.
“I just got out of that. That wasn’t really for me,” he said. “My father was a remodeling carpenter his entire life, so I knew the trade. (I) went out on my own six years ago and never looked back.”
Now, he can’t think of anything else he’d rather do.
“It’s just good to work with your hands and to do that,” Engel said. “I love to create things, so it just goes hand in hand. And then the push toward developing raw land to create new housing for people — that definitely interests me as well.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
