Texas BBL: Building a solid foundation

Source: Exec Digital USA

Date :21/07/2008 17:19:25

Texas BBL cements its reputation with a commitment to quality work and client satisfaction at each and every job.

Written by Kevin Doyle and Produced by Alexander Hortaridis

Jerry Wilson, Managing Director of Texas BBL, isn’t one to mince words. “My druthers,” the construction industry veteran of 35 years says, “are to stay in Texas.”

And why wouldn’t he? Despite the economic downturn that has construction companies struggling in Texas and nation-wide, Texas BBL is thriving. The company has eight projects under construction totalling US$155million, two projects under contract that are scheduled to start August 1 and a backlog of US$68million in projects.

Established in 1993, Texas BBL is a general contractor dealing in multi-family construction. Revenue has increased dramatically from US$68million in 2005 to US$134million through April of this year. “We’ve been lucky – our work has really ramped up in the last two or three years,” says Wilson, who holds a degree in Business Administration from Lamar Tech (now University). “We’re not seeing garden-style apartments. What we are seeing is a tremendous number of high density mixed use developments with retail and residential space. That’s the bulk of the work.”

A commitment to quality work and doing the job right the first time has cemented Texas BBL’s reputation throughout the Lone Star State. The company has also done a handful of projects in neighboring Arkansas and Oklahoma.

“There are not a lot of generals in the multi-family business that have the experience we do. We’ve got really good people working for us and we’re able to do a lot of repeat work for the same clients. That speaks volumes about us and we’re very, very proud of that fact,” says Wilson, who took a job with a phone company out of college before turning to construction at the age of 30.

Getting started

Texas BBL started out as BB&L Texas Division, a division of Albany, NY-based national contractor Barry, Bette and LedDuke in 1993. “They decided to open a division in Texas and they hired me to set that up. The market was just coming back in Texas. Two of the principals were part owners of a project to be built in Dallas. That was the stepping stone. They said ‘if you find more work, great or if you build just that one, that’s fine too.’ So, we did some streets and some bridges and started networking,” Wilson says.

The company’s principals dissolved the partnership in 1999 and Texas BBL formed and ventured out on its own. “Everybody knew us as BBL, so we kept the BBL and put Texas in front of it. We wanted to go with BBL Texas but found there was already a petroleum company with that name,” Wilson says.

Networking and creating business via word of mouth has been more effective than any new-fangled marketing strategy. “That’s been huge. We’ve been able to build a great reputation,” Wilson says. “I do all the marketing and one of the first things we tell clients is that we’re gonna’ make mistakes. But, we’re also going to correct those mistakes. When the bar bill comes at the end of the night, you won’t have to look for us. We’ll be there.”

The process

Texas BBL sub-contracts 100 percent of its work and supplies turn-key services. For long-standing clients, Texas BBL serves as a pre-construction consultant and remains on the job through build out. “We’ll keep the owner advised where a project is going with costs. It makes no sense to spend all that money in design and then go to bid it and find out it’s out of your budget,” Wilson says.

“We do all of the permitting as well. Right now we’re doing a project in Waco and the developer is in Arizona and the architect is in Atlanta. So, we’ll pull the permits and do all of the work for them,” he says.

Some jurisdictions are tougher than others. “We have one project we’ll finish in November that took nearly a year to permit in the city of Dallas,” Wilson says. “And, in Arkansas, everybody who works on a project has to be licensed at the state and local level, so it can be a little bit tough.”

Adjustments and projects

Throughout its history, Texas BBL has shown itself to be quick to adjust to the marketplace. “When we first started, we were scrambling, doing anything we could do. Then we got into very high end Class A and Class A+ projects. When that began to slide, we shifted gears and got involved with affordable housing,” Wilson says. That resulted in a steady arrangement with Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“Knowing how to work within their system is the key. Each HUD office is a little bit different and the processes vary. I laugh and ask ‘Don’t you guys all work for the same government?’ but it’s serious business. You have to understand what the local differences are and you have to comply,” he says.

The company is paying close watch to the burgeoning green building movement and the ramifications of LEED AP certification. “Dallas is about to adopt LEED and, for us, I think it’s really a cost issue more than anything else. The key is making sure we’re aware of all of the requirements. For example, you have to split your (construction site) trash into recyclables. But, it’s only going to get more intense and it’s here to stay,” Wilson says.

Wilson is especially proud of the Pegasus Building, originally built as the headquarters for Mobil Oil in 1968. The building stood vacant since the mid 1980s until two years ago when Texas BBL combined with HUD to renovate it as apartments for seniors. The company is also overseeing construction of mixed use development in Richardson, Texas that features first-floor retail space and apartments on the upper levels. Other projects include collaborations with Archstone and Trammel Crow Residential.

Obstacles

Escalating costs of materials like steel, re-bar and petroleum-based essentials such as roofing shingles, insulation, carpeting, carpet padding and PVC pipe are placing a strain on the industry, Wilson says. The price of steel has increased 50 percent since December of 2007 and the price of petroleum? As a Texan, Wilson knows that story all too well.

“We’re really struggling with some jobs. For example, with HUD you can price a job today and make a deal and then the project may not close for 90 to 120 days. That makes it very difficult to hold prices in today’s market,” Wilson says. “And, up until a month ago we knew that carports would cost about $500 for a single space. Now, just a month later, they’re $900. There’s a problem all the way across the board with material costs.”

Employees and training

Each of the company’s seven project managers has laptop computers on site to increase efficiency, run their own jobs and report directly to Wilson. He often re-hires employees who leave to try something else. “We don’t have much turnover, which is something we’re proud of,” he says.

Among high-ranking employees, Wilson says the company’s general superintendent has been on board for 14 years, the chief estimator for 13, the safety director for 11, and the comptroller for 14. “I think we treat our people very well. There are job-satisfiers that are more important than money. We really believe in the team concept. We practice it and approach it that way with our subs. Without them I wouldn’t be in business,” he says.

The company draws heavily from the state’s large Hispanic population. “They’re ready to work, they’re easy to teach and they are very hard workers. We’ve been very successful hiring Hispanic superintendents and assistant superintendents in supervisory roles,” Wilson says.

All of Texas BBL’s superintendents are OSHA-certified and the company’s safety director is certified to teach the course. “All of our employees know that if there is something they want to do or a class they want to take that will make them better at their job then we will pay for it,” Wilson says.

In the final analysis, Wilson says “The thing we think is most important is we’re selling comfort and service. We’re going to help you if you have a problem. We’re comfortable with how we do things and we like to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror in the morning and believe we’ve done the right thing.”