Last year marked a milestone for Air and Wellness Safety Training when it officially changed its name to A&W Contractors.
The new moniker marks the Englewood company’s bigger shift to construction-related work.
Former respiratory therapist Adrian Mobley founded the company in 2014 to offer CPR and safety training but in 2020 moved into services such as traffic control at construction sites and then temporary fencing. Last year, A&W continued expanding into general contracting, including carpentry, flooring and joint sealant, while still offering respiratory health services.
The company is continuing work on projects at O’Hare Airport, McCormick Place, the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line extension to 130th Street and more.
But there is uncertainty in the infrastructure construction industry surrounding new federal diversity guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In October, the Department of Transportation changed the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program by removing race or gender as indicators of social or economic disadvantage. It previously required federally-funded construction projects to award a certain percentage of contracts to smaller firms certified as DBEs.
The department defined DBEs as for-profit small businesses in which socially and economically disadvantaged people own at least a 51% interest and control management and daily business operations. African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans and women and other groups fell into that category.
A&W benefited from the CTA’s goal of awarding 20% of contracts for its $2.1 billion modernization of the Red and Purple lines to DBEs. In 2024, Mobley’s company was one of 119 minority- or female-owned businesses working on the project, according to the CTA.
Now, DBEs must undergo recertification, which includes providing personal narratives along with financial documentation to prove disadvantage.
Mobley said the recertification process was more open-ended, qualitative and time-consuming. Her five-page application included answers explaining her upbringing, education, parents’ background and financial situation.
“You tell your story and hope the person who reads it thinks you’re disadvantaged,” she said. Mobley submitted her application last year expecting to be recertified. Last month, the city of Chicago notified her that A&W will be re-certified as a DBE.
Recertification is “absolutely imperative” for A&W, Mobley said. At least 40% of the company’s contracts are for federally-funded projects.
A&W didn’t lose any existing contracts last year. However, some federally-funded projects were delayed, such as the CTA’s Red Line Expansion. A&W is still doing demolition and temporary fencing for the Red Line project, which has started but is not in full swing, Mobley said. And the Red and Purple Modernization project wrapped up last year.
The company’s 2025 revenue was about $5 million, less than Mobley’s target of $8 million. A&W currently has 20 to 30 project-based employees, which is below last year’s goal of reaching 75 workers. But the company is much bigger than in 2020 when it had three employees.
In anticipation of an expansion, Mobley is scouting for a larger potential headquarters. She’s considering locations all over Chicago and might leave Englewood, though she would prefer to stay.
This year, she expects to hire more construction staff, such as laborers and carpenters, as well as continuing to search for administrative staff and a project manager. One challenge for A&W is integrating new technology and administrative software as it grows.
Mobley’s 2026 goals are an extension of last year’s targets, and she’s optimistic about the prospect of future projects.
“I’m excited about all the new possibilities,” she said.
