Building New

Building New

COMPANIES by Jean Gruss | Editor Lee/Collier

Is this any time to start a construction company? Two Gulf Coast entrepreneurs are betting it is.

Who's bold enough to start a new construction company in this turbulent market?

Meet two guys who are doing just that: Pete Emidy and Chris Eichhorn. They formed their Bonita Springs-based commercial-construction company, Eecon, in May 2007.

Commercial construction is projected to slow down dramatically, especially in the Charlotte, Lee and Collier areas of the Gulf Coast. In fact, it already has.

Building investment taxable sales in February are down 17% in Naples, 28% in Fort Myers and 67% in Punta Gorda over the same month a year ago, according to the Florida Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research. Permit numbers for new commercial construction have fallen sharply in the three counties.

But Emidy and Eichhorn say they're carving out a niche with small projects that the big firms refused to do during the boom years. They should know because they used to work for one of them: Boran Craig Barber Engel Construction Co. Inc., the second-largest construction company based on the Gulf Coast based on 2007 revenues.

They're using connections they developed over the years working for BCBE to land small projects ranging from renovations of condo common areas to landscaped entry features for luxury residential communities. Although their projects are small, their customers include some of the biggest and best-known developers on the Gulf Coast, including Bonita Bay Group and Bendersen Development.

"It was slow starting, don't get me wrong," Emidy says. And the commercial-construction slowdown is likely to continue. "We're not going to feel it until next year," he says.

Meanwhile, a number of large Gulf Coast construction companies are turning to smaller projects as larger ones disappear. They've started their own small-projects divisions to keep their employees working through the downturn.

Still, Emidy and Eichhorn are banking on their experience and connections. Emidy, president of Eecon, oversaw budgetary estimating for BCBE on high-rise condos, working closely with engineers, architects and condo developers such as WCI Communities.

Eichhorn, Eecon's vice president of construction, was a superintendent at BCBE. Most recently, he oversaw the construction of five condo projects valued at $500 million on the east coast of Florida. He was in charge of all the schedules, manpower and quality for the towers, including WCI's luxurious Resort at Singer Island in Palm Beach.

Using personal savings and borrowing money against their homes to start the company, Emidy and Eichhorn's operation is lean (their company's name is the first letter of their last names, plus the abbreviation of the word "construction"). They only have one other employee and they subcontract the rest of the work through a network of about 75 subcontractors. That gives them a competitive edge, too.

"The big guys have overhead," says Emidy, with a smile.

A walk around Le Parc

Eecon's first project was an interior renovation of the 7,500-square-foot common area of Le Parc, an aging luxury condo tower on Gulf Shore Boulevard in Naples. Their experience at BCBE building condos makes them perfectly suited to renovate older ones, they say. Renovation work is also less vulnerable to the construction downturn because condo associations set aside money for years to pay for it.

"We still think renovation work will be strong," Emidy says.

Meanwhile, Emidy and Eichhorn stay busy taking on projects that larger firms have mostly ignored. At West Bay Club, a condo community in South Lee County, they built the sales center and golf-pro shop. At Mediterra, a residential community, Eecon built an elaborately landscaped entry to the upscale community.

In addition to the connections they made with developers, Emidy and Eichhorn plumb the BCBE relationships they established with architects and engineers. It's a relationship thing.

"Once people know you, they don't have to worry," Emidy says. "We built that trust over the years."

Sometimes, projects come from unlikely sources. For example, Eecon landed some work for Bendersen because Eichhorn's wife works for an engineer who does work for the Sarasota developer. In another case, the firm landed a project at Treviso Bay, a Naples residential community, because Eichhorn coaches the son of one of the developer's executives in a roller-hockey team.

"The people who work in this community live in this community," Emidy says.

Eecon stays away from public work because of the necessity for bonding, a form of insurance that's required to protect taxpayers and investors on construction projects. For small firms with short histories, bonding is prohibitively expensive and the cost would make the firm uncompetitive.

For now, Eecon is sticking with smaller projects valued under $3 million for private developers. The partners decline to disclose revenues or projections. But they don't hide aspirations for greater projects. "Do we want to be bondable in five years? Yes," Emidy says.

No regrets

When Emidy and Eichhorn worked for BCBE, they were responsible for massive condo projects. For example, Eichhorn oversaw a small army of subcontractors and made sure they marched to the beat of a tight schedule while ensuring top-quality work.

"To be honest, I'm still adjusting," Eichhorn says. "I'm so used to the big issues and the feeling of accomplishment for big projects."

Eichhorn says he decided to strike out with Emidy to reclaim some balance in his life and make his family more of a priority. "I wanted more out of life than that," he says. "I'm coaching my son's hockey team."

Surprisingly, Eichhorn says there's less pressure being the owner of a small construction company, even when the economy is slowing. That's because he has more freedom to communicate with clients and has more control over operations. "When I'm done I can't complain about it," he chuckles.

For Emidy, the change has been easier because he'd been hoping for an opportunity to start his own business for 10 years. "I've got an entrepreneurial drive," he says. "This isn't rocket science."

Still, without the support staff he had at BCBE, Emidy says he has to do many of the chores he once delegated. He's doing everything from ordering water for the office water cooler to running to the municipal building department to pull a permit and entering data into his accounting software.

But Emidy feels a sense of accomplishment after a year in business, despite the unfavorable economic conditions.

"I didn't want to have any regrets," he says.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Company. Eecon

Industry. Construction

Key. Leaning on past relationships and finding a special niche can carry a company through tough times.