About

Our Roots

Following his service in WWII, Urban Zink purchased a track loader in 1959 and started a business excavating residential basements in the Baltimore area. Urban N. Zink Contractor, Inc. operated as an excavating and grading contractor for the next ten years. In 1969, Ronald Zink, Urban’s son, joined the company and expanded its scope of work to include recreational park construction, housing developments, and commercial buildings. In 1986, UNZ took on its first public school project and began to recognize the unique needs of that demanding market.

Our Growth

When Urban retired in 1990, Ronald assumed control of the business and instituted core principals which continue to drive the operation today. Since Ronald took over, UNZ has positioned itself as a boutique provider of sitework services in the public sector, namely education K-12, and remains the largest of such in the state of Maryland. The core business continues to consist of educational facilities, athletic complexes, roadway work, cemetery expansions, and Baltimore Harbor’s ports.

In 2005, Adam Zink joined the management team of UNZ and was named Vice President. Having worked for the family business throughout his teens and college years, Adam possessed the necessary field knowledge to be successful in his new role. He understood constructability, from his work experience, and understood business functionality from the education he received from Towson University. Throughout the next 14 years, Adam and Ron worked in tandem, making smart and profitable decisions, growing revenues, and keeping a finger on the pulse of the UNZ team and operations.

Our Evolution

One of the most efficient decisions Adam and Ron made for the business was implementing state-of-the-art estimating software to reliably generate precise takeoffs in the pre-construction phase. The software allows for the accurate transfer of takeoff directly into Machine Control Models. UNZ communicates in real time with the machines in the field by using connected site technology. There is no room for guesswork in construction estimation. The software allows UNZ to give trustworthy cost estimates for bids, which allows the team to stay accountable during the execution of the project. In addition, our drone program allows our field team to make real time adjustments on the work site and provides our project management team with progress updates and measureable quantities through topographical surveys.

In 2019, Ronald Zink passed the torch to Adam Zink in order to spend more time with his wife of 42 years and his seven grandchildren, though he continues to maintain a peripheral role. As President of Urban N. Zink, Adam continues to carry out the UNZ legacy by seeking specialized, intricate, and highly demanding projects. Holding the values of the past, with an eye toward the future, Adam vows to maintain the company’s reputation of excellence and aims to grow the business to multiple market segments while maintaining its position in the public sector.