Balfour Beatty: Focused on service

Source: Construction Digital

Date :13/08/2008 13:42:26

With long-term clients such as Disney and the Jacksonville Airport Authority, Florida firm Balfour Beatty Construction has a reputation for building more than a high quality product.

Written by Kevin Doyle and Produced by Alexander Hortaridis

During his 30 years in the construction industry, Al Petrangeli, president of Balfour Beatty Construction’s Florida division, has witnessed a fundamental shift in the way construction companies manage business. Now, perhaps more than ever before, service has become the industry-wide focus.

“It used to be you worked from a commodity position and you weren’t really that interested in developing relationships. Now we work from a service position and we’re much more interested in the long-term play of a client than ever before,” says Petrangeli.

“We were out front in recognizing that building and maintaining the relationship will get you a lot further. You have to be competitive, you have to be on schedule and you have to offer a high quality product. The quest is how to separate yourself from the competition. When you take that approach, the company takes on a different culture,” continues Petrangeli.

Established in 1933 in Miami by Frank J. Rooney, Balfour Beatty Construction is one of the oldest contractors in Florida. The company provides commercial construction services to both public and private sector clients and annually has approximately US$800 million under construction. The company has seen a number of acquisitions and most recently was one of three made in 2007 by UK-based Balfour Beatty.

“The business model has evolved for us. Balfour Beatty brought an eagerness for growth and I feel very fortunate they bought us. They’re saying to us ‘We want you to grow.’ That’s a great position to be in,” says Petrangeli.

The status of the parent company is certainly encouraging. For example, a US$330 million road project is under way in San Antonio, Texas and the company expects a continued strong performance in Dubai as well.

Long-term clients

If longevity equals satisfaction, Disney and the Jacksonville Airport Authority are primary examples of Balfour Beatty Construction’s commitment to service and relationship building. The company’s relationship with Disney dates back to 1972 and it has been involved in the ongoing expansion project at Jacksonville International Airport for close to a decade.

The company’s work with Disney, Petrangeli points out, has encompassed “in excess of 19,000 hotel rooms and US$2 billion worth of work. They’ve been a great client. Their development company and our construction company have evolved together,” says Petrangeli.

One unique endeavor with Disney was the buildout of the 1300-room Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was completed in 2001. Now Balfour is in the middle of a Vacation Club addition to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The US$233 million Jacksonville International Airport project has included terminal and ticket-selling expansions and construction of a parking lot and parking garage. Construction of two new concourses is ongoing with a June 2009 completion date.

“They have definitely been a great client. We’ve been able to meet every deadline and stay on budget, which keeps the repeat business,” says project manager Dave Campbell.

The concourse buildout has presented a bit of a challenge since, Campbell says, “It’s right in the middle of the airport, but keeping the airport operations going while working there hasn’t been a problem.” Since 9/11, every Balfour Beatty Construction employee working at the site has undergone an FBI background check and wears an identification badge.

Balfour Beatty Construction is also involved with the 32-story Peabody Orlando Expansion project that will include approximately 460,000 square feet of new convention center space and 57,000 square feet of renovated convention center space.

Petrangeli says other divisions of the company maintain a working relationship with the military and federal government, performing renovation and construction work generated as a result of the Base Closure and Realignment Act (BRAC).

Operations

According to the corporate website, “Balfour Beatty Construction US provides general contracting, construction management, design-build and turnkey services. It offers expertise in cost consulting, preconstruction services and comprehensive healthcare construction services. The business also offers contractor-controlled insurance program (CCIP) management, owner-controlled insurance program (OCIP) coordination and indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity/ job order contracting (IDIQ/JOC).” The company has been the recipient of 14 National Eagle Awards since 1998 presented for Excellence in Construction.

The company’s longevity in the state has helped it to forge and maintain a lasting relationship with a select group of contractors in all of the trades. “We have significant relationships with companies that have the same mentality as we have. They have grown and adapted with us,” says Petrangeli. The company is also willing to pay a bit more in order to secure and assure quality workmanship.

The company, Petrangeli says, has a good grasp on green building and the unique set of issues it presents. “We’re pretty fortunate. At the level we play, our subcontractors, clients and employees are pretty sophisticated about green building. We’re well down the road to getting LEED accredited professionals embedded into the company. They have to go through a significant amount of training and a testing process to become accredited,” Petrangeli says.

He adds that associated costs with green building can be misleading. For example, when discussing items such as facility layout, rainwater runoff or recycling of construction waste, Petrangeli says those costs are relatively minimal. “The money comes when you get into a gold or platinum certified building. That’s when you start potentially adding real costs to the facilities,” he says.

The current economic downturn has affected the business to a certain extent. “Multi-family is way down. Diversification of your portfolio is the key to staying in business in this climate. We see a strong federal market and a healthy hospitality market. The office building market is not entirely dead and university and school work is still happening,” Petrangeli says.

Personnel and community

Balfour Beatty Construction’s Florida division has approximately 400 employees. The company has developed a strong internship program with colleges throughout the region that is designed to identify potential employees. Petrangeli says the company has also teamed up with Nova Southeast University to develop a unique employee-training program.

“It’s a program that is almost an MBA for Balfour Beatty Construction. We select high-level management employees and ask them to participate in it. We layer that with mid-level management classes as well,” Petrangeli says. The company has also partnered since 1996 with David Benzel from Winning Ways to develop and facilitate training for mid and upper-level managers in the behavioral side of the business.

Balfour Beatty Construction also maintains a strong community presence and is a committed community partner. “We embed ourselves in the community and the non-profits and feel we are seen as a community player and leader. One of many things we do is have barbecues at the schools for kids who have excelled,” Petrangeli says.

The vast majority of the company’s business comes via referrals. That goes back to Petrangeli’s original point: Success is about cultivating relationships at every level and at every step of the way. “For us, it’s not the destination as much as it’s about the journey with regards to the overall experience,” Petrangeli concludes.