Masonry Magazine May 2006 Page. 16
Contractor
We get areas, if there's something going on inside where they're having trouble with leaks, or if parts of the building exterior are in jeopardy of falling off. Maybe they just want to keep their building in excellent shape with preventative maintenance.
We'll write up the suggestions for repair, develop the scope, and develop the budgets. Often, we can break it down over a several-year program. Every owner is different in his or her ability for financial resources. We do a lot of work with the local brewery for instance, and they have the ability to properly maintain their buildings. When they want something fixed, we get it fixed right away; whereas the hospitals might take a program over three or five years. We did a project at St. Louis University for five years. When we do extensive homework for them, they come to us, as opposed to going to an architect or engineer at times. We develop the scope and troubleshoot the building, costs and budgets for them.
Another big part of our success is that we provide emergency repair work. We can generally facilitate our customer's serious emergency repairs within days. We also find dealing direct with owners provides expediency for them and us, as well as a cost savings for them. There's no in between, like with general contractors. We pride ourselves on that, and a great deal of our customer base is ongoing. We keep those relationships and value them highly. Many of my customers have been using Superior for over 20 years. I believe that says a lot about the trust and quality we provide.
Masonry: Superior Waterproofing has landed several high-profile jobs over the years. What do you attribute to landing these jobs, and how has your work on them affected business?
Schmitt: There was a transformation for me back in '87 and '88. One of the big pivotal things was my father coming on board. He worked for the company that I left in '79. My dad was a sales manager there for around 30 years and, needless to say, left for various reasons. He came to me
Staying at the Top in a Masonry Business
MASONRY NEWS CONTRACTOR TIP
Some mason contractors make it to the top: however, very few ever stay there. In fact, it's much easier to get to the top than it is to stay on top. It's much like trying to sit on top of a beach ball in a swimming pool. You ever tried it? If you have, you are aware that it isn't easy, and you certainly are not comfortable on top of the big ball once you get there. The masonry business is no different than staying on top of that beach ball - it's a constant struggle. As soon as you relax for a minute, you fall to the bottom, just to find yourself climbing up again.
What's even tougher is that most mason contractors are much more educated than they used to be. They calculate every move as they go. The old days, where a contractor could just bid and get a project, send a few good craftspersons out to do the job, and be guaranteed a profit, are over. Chances are someone down the street has figured out a way to do things more efficiently by studying and staying on the cutting edge with the best computers, equipment and labor systems that are out there today. Don't get me wrong it still takes the best employees to keep a company successful, but that's only one piece to the puzzle. These employees fall behind without the latest technology, tools, equipment and systems to manage their projects.
In 2003, Lang Masonry Contractors received a "Business of the Year" award from the local chamber of commerce. The amazing thing was that we received the award on the worst year we ever had as far as profits go. Obviously, the board members at the chamber weren't aware how tough the masonry business had become in Ohio between 2002 and 2003. Although it appeared on the surface that we were on top of the beach ball during that period, we were actually struggling with tight margins and just staying afloat. We were still honored to receive such a prestigious award. However, just because Lang Masonry Contractors has been extremely successful over the last 21 years doesn't guarantee we will remain successful. If we don't stay on the cutting edge and make the changes that are required to remain the most efficient, we will go out of business like those who had to shut their doors during that time period.
The best thing we had going for us when bids got extremely tight were the systems we had already put in place. We are big on setting goals for our people to reach and paying them based on their progress toward reaching these goals. With our field labor management systems, along with an open book management system in place for office personnel, everyone knew we had to operate leaner to compete and simply survive. Our people responded to make quick adjustments and got us back on top of the beach ball. Of course, there's no time to relax now. Someone else will come up with a better way, and we'll be left in the aftermath treading the water and picking up the pieces. It's simply the nature of the business.
If you would like to learn more about what our company does to remain successful in good times and bad, I encourage you to read my book called "Rewarding and Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry." To order a copy of this book or to attend one of my seminars held specifically for mason contractors, call Kerri Huck at Lang Masonry, (800) 417-9272.
Provided by Damian Lang, President of Lang Masonry Contractors, Inc. and EZ Great Corp.