ARLINGTON, TX June 8, 2010 – FJW Construction has been ranked as a top contractor in Texas Construction magazine’s April 2010 issue. Texas Construction is a statewide, monthly magazine that provides comprehensive construction news coverage, with listings that define the current market scenario. Their rankings are based on instate revenues earned in the previous calendar/fiscal year for Texas-based general contractors and construction management firms. With a reported $23.52 million in regional revenue, FJW ranks 112 out of the 125 top contractors listed.
Company President David Bowlin comments on this recognition, “FJW Construction is proud to be recognized in the April edition of Texas Construction magazine as one of the top contractors in Texas. We are well-positioned in our market sectors of healthcare, higher education, K-12, and aviation and anticipate sustained growth over the next decade. Our plan is simple – keep the client satisfied and repeat business will continue as it has over the past 38 years.”
On the magazine’s rankings, FJW listed the $3.35-million Titus Regional Medical Center’s exterior skin replacement as its largest project to break ground. In this project, the company’s fourth for this client in as many years, FJW is upgrading the 5-story patient tower’s exterior building facade. This involves stripping the exterior wall, reframing, replastering, and installing new windows while maintaining watertight conditions to protect the balance of occupied floors, all while the facility remains fully operational. FJW previously completed this Mount Pleasant, Texas-based hospital’s vertical expansion, cancer center, and medical plaza. The firm’s high-quality work, timeliness, and budget maintenance are keys to growth, as over 70% business comes from repeat clients.
FJW Project Manager Mike Heid remarks on the expansion project’s timely schedule, “We coordinated all trades working together. Multiple subcontractors were used, and we had daily coordination with safety and logistics issues. And we immediately addressed any items that could have caused delays.”
Mr. Heid also comments on how the firm is saving the client money: “We were adding to the top of the existing building, where the A/C units were located. The A/C had to be functioning in the occupied building, so temporary units needed to be ordered, at a cost of around $500,000. We made structural modifications to build around the old A/C units, so that the temporary units weren’t needed anymore, saving the client half a million dollars.”
With a strong market niche in healthcare, Executive Vice President J. Patrick Messer cites experience as the firm’s core strength. Average tenure of the company’s onsite supervisory construction staff is over 15 years. In addition, senior management has over 24 years of experience.
Mr. Messer elaborates on FJW’s longstanding history in the construction market, “Our long-term relationships with the local subcontracting base, who in the end build the project, and government regulators, such as Texas Department of State Health Services, provides stability. Everyone likes to deal with someone they know. It is human nature to work more effectively with the same person than having to reinvent the connection multiple times.”
FJW’s personnel offer detailed cost accounting, accurate scheduling, and skilled field administration to ensure smooth project completion.
Mr. Messer remarks on the current construction market scenario, “We, as all contractors, are bidding more work with fewer results and are realizing lower fees due to the extremely competitive market environment. We are well-capitalized and have been fortunate to increase our bonding capacity, allowing our company to price larger value projects that some less financially strong competitors cannot. We are starting to see the private healthcare market move forward with ambulatory surgical centers now that the specialized hospitals have been put on hold.”
The 125 Texas firms in Texas Construction’s top contractor rankings have collective revenues of approximately $24 billion. This is a decrease of $1 billion from last year’s rankings. Despite the decrease, firms like FJW continue its commitment to client satisfaction. As FJW President David Bowlin states, “A key to success is to under-promise and over-deliver.”
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