Foster & Company General Contractors

Source: Construction Digital

Date :15/09/2007 12:23:47

Fostering Strong Growth

Even as other residential builders are feeling the burning effects of a housing slump, Foster & Company has nearly tripled its revenues in three years.

Written by James Buchanan & Produced Sean Bakke

In 1963, Charles H. Foster brought together a tight-knit group of talented and committed people involved with the construction industry in Duluth, GA., and founded Foster & Company General Contractors — a relatively small, but soon successful, contractor.

Today, the company is led by Charles’ son, Randy Foster, and has managed to grow into a nearly $90 million company.

“We are a comprehensive general contractor operating in the Southeast,” says Foster. “We went from a relatively small contractor to what I suppose you would call a midsize one, where we anticipate bringing in approximately $90 million in revenue this year.”

Foster goes on to say that this growth has come in a relatively short amount of time. Three years ago the company realized approximately $30 million in revenue, and then last year it was $60 million — meaning that as the housing market nationally has hit the skids, the company has tripled its revenue.

Foster goes on to add that even in the current housing climate the company expects to continue its revenue growth, though not quite at the white hot rate it has been enjoying.

Foster & Company is primarily a builder of multi-family housing, senior housing, mixed use (housing with retail and generally some other component) and construction for the hospitality industry. Generally, the company works in urban/high density areas and on projects up to 10 stories high in states throughout the Southeast, “From North Carolina to Louisiana,” says Foster.

“When thinking about what makes us unique, I would have to say that the number one thing is that our longevity in this business is very important as well as our ability to blend our commercial concrete experience and apply it to some of the newer hybrid buildings,” he says.

Foster goes on to describe these hybrid buildings as being a combination of concrete, wood, structural parking and other elements and materials blended together into one design. He also says that due to the efficiency and broad experience of his company, Foster & Company is able to make these buildings economically viable to the end-user and complete them in a timely fashion.

Critical to achieving the high level of quality and efficiency that the company routinely brings to its projects, says Foster, is Foster & Company’s employees — which are highly experienced within a number of disciplines.

“We can work in a number of project delivery methods and building systems, which is something we have developed from within the company,” he says. “We put in a lot of effort to hire young guys and then develop them within the company.”

This focus on developing its employees, he adds, has led to a high level of job satisfaction among its many craftsman and support staff.

“We have guys here who have been with the company for 20 and 25 years,” says Foster.

Asked if the company specializes in one aspect of a building’s construction, he says, “We do the whole project. We orchestrate everything that goes on at the building site.”

During the design phase of a project, Foster & Company plays what Foster describes as a design/participation role, but does not handle the design of the building.

“We take our experience, expertise, and the talents of our subcontractors as the project is being designed to be sure the most economical systems are being used, and to offer advice on the constructability of the building,” he says.

Foster goes on to add that the company has a half dozen architects or so that it works with fairly regularly — which is also one source for generating new business for the company.

According to Foster, the company generally receives referrals through a network of developer organizations, architects and engineers, and financial institutions that are active within the company’s market. Foster & Company does take on some bid/build work, but it more often than not works through a negotiated contract process.

Aiding the skill of its craftsmen is the company’s use of technology. Foster says the company uses much of the same technology as other contractors, but is currently examining a larger investment in 3D CAD systems known as Building Information Modeling (BIM).

“We recently worked on our first project that used Building Information Technology on a portion of the building,” he says. “We’re currently trying to find out where this technology falls: is it an architect’s tool or a contractor’s tool? It can absolutely be used as a contractor’s tool, but given our size or our company and the work that we do, we are still deciding how much of an investment to make into this.”

He goes on to add that because BIM technology creates a three dimensional map of the project — which can be turned and looked at from a number of angles and perspectives — it is very valuable for doing work on complicated projects. That said, the company may use BIM selectively for its more demanding building projects.

Over the past three years the company has managed to achieve phenomenal growth, which Foster & Company has managed to create within the company organically.

Looking forward, Foster says the company will seek out developers with a strong potential for future work to partner with and build relationships. In fact, he says the company has entered into a strategic alliance with one developer that has a particularly strong development portfolio mapped out.

Foster also says the company has been very proactive in working with various organizations to promote its work as well as the industry as a whole.

“The company has been very involved on a local and national level with the Association of General Contractors of America to make sure that the industry is keeping in touch with all the issues that are important to us,” says Foster.