Andres Construction

Source: Construction Digital

Date :21/11/2007 16:55:39

Customer service success for Andres

When Gil and Wade Andres founded their company in 1991 they decided to focus on building long-term relationships with their customers. ExecUS reports

Written by Lucy Mowatt and Produced by Chris Culkeen

With headquarters based in Dallas, Texas, Andres Construction has expanded and developed quickly, becoming a company with an excellent reputation. Since it was founded, the family business has grown, with a new office in Austin and a number of significant contractors.

The Chairman, CEO and co-founder of the company, Gil Andres has a long history in the construction business, having been employed by Henry C. Beck and setting up Hayman Andres General Contractors. In 2002 his commitment to the industry was acknowledged when he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Associated General Contractors of America, Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter. When his son Wade also sought a career in the industry it eventually became clear that a family business was the way forward. Gil’s other son, Warren, joined Andres Construction in 1994 having worked for Disney on a number of construction projects.

“Building long-term relationships” is the company’s slogan, which perfectly sums up its aims; there is a direct focus upon meeting customer demands on time and on budget. This, in-turn, results in a number of repeat orders; 80 percent of Andres Construction’s business is from repeat customers. Indeed, Wade Andres states: “We view each project as an opportunity to turn a client into a repeat customer.” For Andres, every project is an opportunity to build trust, which leads to ongoing relationships.

Building partnerships

Andres Construction prefers to call these clients ‘partners,’ which emphasizes the need to understand a project, its requirements and the client’s obligations. In order to guarantee this, the construction company’s involvement in a project begins at the design stage. This also allows Andres’ expertise to be used to assess and develop a project; they can foresee and help to resolve any problems which may arise in the future. “Problems are opportunities for us,” Wade Andres explains. “We pride ourselves on identifying problems early and solving them effectively so that projects are completed quickly and economically.”

The company’s website explains exactly how each contract is fulfilled and how targets are met: “Your project manager is concerned with only one thing: how to satisfy you.” There is an onus upon reducing bureaucracy in order to ensure that delays are avoided, which can be costly and frustrating.

The construction company is involved with a wide variety of projects. Schools, universities, houses of worship, retirement communities, offices, retail outlets, medical facilities, garages, food storage buildings and slaughterhouses have all been built by Andres Construction. A list of the services offered by the company reads as follows: construction management, general contracting, construction consultation, design and build, renovations, historic restorations, adaptive reuse services and program management.

The Edgemere retirement home in Dallas was a landmark achievement for Andres Construction. The elegant, Mediterranean styled building was developed by Greystone Properties and involved Andres from the designs to the groundbreaking and completion. The project took into consideration the needs of residents both socially and medically; all rooms are suitable for nursing purposes and the site has a billiards room, a pool and a putting green. The complex of 256 suites and 64 private rooms has been very much in demand; nearly 70 percent of the rooms were purchased before the construction work actually began, highlighting the popularity of the projects.

Environmental concerns

Recently there has also been a shift towards developing more environmentally friendly buildings.

The McKinney Green Building is a three storey office building in Northern Texas which was commissioned by West World Holding Inc., a large real-estate developer. The project, which was completed in 2006, took green issues into account across the whole process, not just in the building’s fixtures.

As well as having a storm water collection system for irrigation, efficient plumbing, a geo thermal heat pump HVAC system, solar heating and exhaust air heat recovery, the building was also constructed efficiently. 50 percent of the materials used in the project were recycled, 20 percent of the materials were also sourced locally and 75 percent of all the waste generated on site was recycled rather than sent to the landfill. The building has quite rightly earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Rating and is being extolled as an example for the future.

Wade Andres commented: “I am excited about helping our clients construct buildings that will operate efficiently and help preserve the environment.”

Warren Andres is a LEED accredited professional, as certified by the US Green Building Council, meaning that the company has the expertise of a Vice-President qualified to construct environmentally friendly buildings. He is also the Chairman of QUOIN, the North Texas Chapter of the Associated General Contractors. This organization allows 1300 member businesses like Andres Construction to share experiences and work to implement best practices.

Working with the community

In general the company has always been heavily involved with the local community, not just the construction industry around Texas. Wade Andres is on the Hockaday School’s Master Plan Committee; this not only helped the company understand the school’s construction needs, but also meant that the company has become actively involved in the community. Other interests include the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Zoological Society and the Dallas Museum of Natural History, where it has been either a trustee or a committee member.

Occupational health and safety is a major issue for the construction company and as such it does everything it can to ensure that guidelines are followed. This extends to the communities around a site, as well as the employees. The Hockaday School project is an excellent example of where safety had to be carefully considered. This development involved working around existing school buildings, where the students and staff had to be considered.

Gil Andres: “I think our success is due to our very conscientious approach to helping people resolve their construction challenges. These include: early, accurate projections of probable costs and schedules for projects; working with a client’s design team to make sure these projections happen; and understanding owners’ needs and desires, in order to work within in the context of the system to develop results.”