2010 CHARLES W. POE - ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Salah Tarraf
Tarraf Construction
Salah Tarraf came to America in 1968 from Senegal. After earning his B.A and MBA and prior to starting his entrepreneurial journey, he spent time in senior positions
with Xerox in Canada, AIG in West Africa and American Express in the U.S. Tarraf Construction was not his first business. Salah formed and subsequently sold a money management firm and a mechanical contracting company. In 2001, he began an excavating company that
moved into general contracting work in 2005.
During his years as an excavator, revenues grew to a maximum of $1.9 million, but as a general contractor, his
company really began to grow. In 2008, Tarraf Construction grossed $11 million. 2009 was a disappointment for many in the construction trade, but Tarraf Construction made it to $4.5 million. The company rebounded in 2010, reaching $12 million in revenues.
Tarraf Construction currently has 28 employees of whom 35% are women or minorities. Recently, MEDA was able to help Tarraf gain financing after eight banks turned him down. Salah is a 2009 graduate of the Pacesetter Program and is a current participant in the Construction Partnering Program with both Veit and McGough Construction.
The business is profitable and, more importantly, Salah is an asset to his community. He is involved in his church, in its mission work in the U.S. and abroad. He has served twice on the National Association of Minority Contractors – Upper Midwest Board of Directors. The NAMC selected Salah as Contractor of the Year in 2005, Union Contractor of the Year in 2008 and honored with an Award for Leadership in 2010. In 2008, he was honored by the Midwest Minority Supplier Development Council as Supplier of the Year (Tier Two). Other awards include the MEDA Construction Partnership Program Best Minority Partner in 2007, and Ryan Construction’s Award for Outstanding Partner for Emerging Business Inclusion for 2007 and recognition by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal in 2009. Tarraf Construction is a proud sponsor of the MEDA Gala and Salah is always available to mentor new entrepreneurs as well as to testify at the state legislature on behalf of MEDA.
We congratulate him on receiving the MEDA 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award.