Slump Spoilers

Slump Spoilers

Looking for reasons to be optimistic in the construction

and contracting industries that don't mix reality with real wishful thinking? See Butch Mullet. He's got a bunch.

survival story by Mark Gordon | Managing Editor

In a twisted sort of way, heavy winds and rain that barreled through much of the Gulf Coast one summer in the late 1980s served as a symbol of all that was right with Butch Mullet's aluminum contracting firm.

Mullet's company, Sarasota-based Mullet's Aluminum Products, Inc. had just completed a high-volume project installing pool cages for dozens of homes at the Bent Tree Country Club in east Sarasota County. Other companies had built some pool cages in the community that summer, too.

After the storm subsided, the only cages left standing were the ones Mullet's crews built. They used superior bolts and locking mechanisms, while other companies, Mullet says, skimped on supplies and technique. Says Mullet: "Our phones really started ringing after that."

Mullet's Aluminum has turned stories like that into the bedrock of building a $15 million company over the last 30 years, ever since Butch Mullet started working as a carpenter for his father-in-law's local construction firm after high school. Mullet would later take over the aluminum installation division of that business.

Mullet's Aluminum, which now sells dozens of aluminum related products and services, from vinyl siding for homes to rails for condo towers, capitalized on the Gulf Coast housing boom earlier this decade to go on a boom of their own. By 2006, it had reached an all-time high of 160 employees and $18 million in annual revenues.

But the latest Gulf Coast storm - call it Hurricane Slumping Economy - has knocked Mullet's Aluminum down a few notches. Says Mullet: "I've never seen times like this before."

Annual revenues are down as much as 20%, to a projected $15 million in 2008. The company's employee base is down to about 120.

Mullet, however, isn't about to retrench in the face of such a dire market. He instead is actually planning to expand, a move that puts him in rare company among Gulf Coast construction-related companies.

The company hopes to add as many as 30 employees over the next year and build as much as 50,000 square feet of new fabricating, welding and manufacturing space to go along with the 85,000 square feet it already works from. It's also expanding its showroom from 1,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet.

Company executives are even projecting that 2009 revenues could come close to matching the $18.7 million mark it hit in 2006. Jay Coblentz, director of sales and marketing, says $11.5 million in projects are already booked for next year.

"We are going through an aggressive growth period," says Nate Yoder, Mullet's marketing director. "We are out of space."

Proving ground

Mullet realizes being out of physical space is a good mental space to be in these days, especially given the troubles of contractors and builders up and down the Gulf Coast. "I've got a lot of friends out there in a lot of trades [not doing as well]," Mullet says, "so I feel kind of blessed."

But there's more to Mullet's success than just good fortune or divine intervention. The company has five divisions of products and services, including windows, metal roofing, gutters, gates and pool cages. And just as important, it has five keys to running its business that would serve any company in any industry well.

The first key component has been diversity, both in product offerings and markets, says Coblentz. That has helped grow the company's reputation in the building community and has served as a way to stand out in a crowd. "We'll build anything and do it right," says Mullet. "It gives us a wide open window to prove ourselves."

After diversity, come details. The Bent Tree pool cages are but one example of the many times the company has put details over all else. Mullet even once had an entire patio project rebuilt because he inspected it and thought some components were just slightly off. And this was for a client, a general contractor, who raved to others about how great the original work was.

The detail-first obsession at Mullet's comes down to what could be referred to as the "mom" rule. Says Mullet: "I've always told my guys: Do your job as if your doing it for your mom."

The details are backed up by the company's acute attention to deadlines. Not making a deadline, no matter the size or scope of the project, is seen as a level one failure at the company. It's a philosophy Mullet developed after seeing too many companies take a laissez-faire approach to getting things done on time. "If you can't meet the deadlines," says Mullet, "you're not going anywhere in this business."

The other two keys are employee-based. The company recently discovered the power of cross-training employees, for example, and executives and department managers have leaned heavily on the concept. In a company as diverse as Mullet's is, having one employee being able to work on several kinds of projects has been a big asset.

But Mullet says an even bigger key component to the business, when it comes to employees, is making sure loyalty goes both ways. He demands and expects a lot from his staff, but he says he gives a lot back, too.

For instance the company has not cut back on any benefits, such as its 401(k) retirement plan or its health care programs, even though other companies have taken those steps during the downturn. Mullet cut health care benefits for employees once before, during a downturn in the market in the early 1990s, and while the move saved money in the short term, it caused more pain in the long term.

Mullet, who says he "lost a good friend and a good employee" when he did that, swore he would never do it again.

'Four eyes'

Mullet's penchant for employee loyalty can probably be traced back to when he first started the company, in 1978. Back then, he was a carpenter for his father-in-law's prominent local construction firm, Ammon Shrock, Inc. When his father-in-law said he was thinking about outsourcing all the company's aluminum work to a company based in Chicago, Mullet stepped in.

"I'd love to start my own company," Mullet remembers saying. "He probably looked at me like I had four eyes."

But Mullet did take over that part of the business, initially splitting his 12-hour days between door-to-door sales and manual labor. He soon moved to a small rented office on Fruitville Road in Sarasota and by 1980 he was working on the construction of his first building, a few miles west of Fruitville and Interstate 75.

Now, 30 years later, Mullet says his biggest challenge is finding more space to house the company's potential growth.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Businesses. Mullet's Aluminum Products, Inc., Sarasota

Industry. Construction, contracting

Key. Company's keys to surviving the downturn range from making every deadline to employee loyalty.

Multiple Mullets

The Mullet name stretches far on the Gulf Coast. In addition to Mullet's Aluminum Products, which has projects from Clearwater to Fort Myers, there is Mullet's Appliances, one of the few independent appliance stores in the region.

Bill Mullet Sr. founded the appliance retailer in Sarasota 1974 and has since opened a large showroom in Naples. Mullet's son, Bill Mullet Jr., is a partner in the operation.

Several other Mullet's have joined Butch Mullet, another one of Bill Mullet's sons, in the aluminum contracting business. Butch Mullet's son, Travis Mullet, runs operations for the company while his nephew, Shawn Mullet, is in sales. And a third son of Bill Mullet, Butch's older brother Bob Mullet, is in charge of large window and storefront projects for the company.

Project Review

Sarasota-based Mullet's Aluminum Products Inc. has developed a presence on the Gulf Coast outside its home base. Some recent and current projects include:

• Coconut Point, Estero: Mullet's worked on the balconies, gates and fences during construction of the mixed-use development, a $4.3 million project for the company. It also installed several hundred impact resistant windows and patio doors;

• MetWest, Tampa: The company is fabricating and installing its proprietary aluminum glass and railing system for the multi-building retail and office complex. The project, worth $1.4 million to Mullet's, also calls for the company to fabricate and install a seven foot aluminum pedestrian bridge stretching 146 feet long;

• Ovation Condominiums, St. Petersburg: In addition to railings and windows, the company is installing a metal roofing system on the top floor of the 33-story luxury condo project currently going up in downtown St. Petersburg. It's a $1 million project for the company.