Clune Construction’s procurement manager talks strategy and turning material purchasing into an advantage while navigating tariffs.

Andrew Hime wants to bring predictability back to material sourcing.

Hime, the procurement manager at Clune Construction, joined the Chicago-based contractor in May as part of a broader push to build a national procurement strategy across the firm’s projects and markets. The approach aims to standardize how Clune engages suppliers, so project teams can rely on consistent cost certainty.

The newly created role comes at a time of heightened complexity in construction materials sourcing. Contractors across the country continue to grapple with long lead times and price volatility on key products.

Recent tariff hikes on aluminum, steel and copper, for example, have prompted domestic producers to raise prices. Input costs ticked up again in July, and now sit 2.6% higher for nonresidential construction compared to a year ago, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Hime’s position focuses on easing that uncertainty and building long-term value for project teams. His past roles include chief procurement officer positions at Fermilab, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory based in Batavia, Illinois, and for Anne Arundel County in Annapolis, Maryland. Visit Construction Dive for full details!