< PreviousWith decades of experience behind it, davisREED has become one of the fastest growing companies in the markets it serves. Despite its growth, it has maintained its character upon which much of its success is built. Pendry Hotel (San Diego, CA)MAY 201830 Written by Jessica FerlainodavisREED builds relationships and secures projects by adjusting itself to fit the need of the client. When using this approach, market challenges become opportunities instead. “It comes down to a sort of targeted tenacity that we have in our marketing where we will specifically identify a client or a market and very intentionally and strategically position ourselves and execute a plan to establish a relationship with a client,” explained Director of Business Development Lee Conant.There have been three distinct phases in the company’s history. Between 2002 and 2007, there was a boom in the hospitality market for four- and five-star hotels. The founders, through existing industry rela-tionships, secured key anchor projects in California that built the company reputation.“The catalyst for growth in that phase was existing relationships that the founders of the company brought in in hospitality, and those clients were typically developers but also partners in the sense of other design consultants like architects and engineers that the founders had relationships,” said Conant. The second phase was defined by the recession and the need to evolve to stay competitive. Rather than waiting out the slowdown in the hospitality sector, davisREED found new and viable markets between 2009 and 2014. “We were required to really adapt to the new environment in the recession, and the way we did that was we found other markets that we were able to break into which add the unforeseen blessing of diversifying the company,” Conant noted.31 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS At that time, private sector financing slowed, but clients like the Los Angeles Unified School District were a saving grace thanks to the public bond financing that was available. Conant described the school district as a good environment where davisREED could, “establish a good relationship with the district in the same manner we were able to do on the private site, which was pretty unique.” In 2014 and 2015, the private sector returned, and davisREED’s work in hospitality took off once again. What started with hotel renovations eventually turned into the new construction of three-star hotels and by mid-2015 four- and five-star hotels were an active market once again. While hospitality has been its focus, davisREED has experience in constructing for education, public works, commercial office and multi-family residential clients. The company still responds to market ebbs and flows when necessary by seeking out work where its skill sets are relevant and its work and people can shine. Many davisREED partners are repeat clients that rely on it for its expertise with pre-construction and construction services. “Those are typically the value-added services in pre-construc-tion for budgeting and schedule and essentially helping these clients get to their bottom line and make the project pencil out into a good project,” said Conant. davisREED has always held its team of professionals to the highest expectations. “Whether you’re talking about a super-intendent or a project engineer or a project coordinator or an executive, whatever role it is, the people at davisREED embody those skill sets: tenacity, hard work and relevant skill,” explained Conant. “If they’re a builder out in the field, they’re a tenacious builder. What that creates is a sort of ownership for the individual for their jobs so that the individual takes pride in their job; they own it. They identify personally with their job or the project or whatever they are working on.”Quality control and having employees who appreciate the level of quality demanded on projects are crucial aspects of the company’s work. “Our core group of superintendents has been with the company for many, many years. They have done many projects with us, so they understand the high level of quality that is required within our culture,” Conant explained. davisREED’s safety modification rating is also superior. As the company has grown, training has become more impor-tant than ever to ensure that new hires meet the company stan-dards and can replicate the company culture that has been the foundation of its success. Despite this growth, davisREED never forgets where it came from. The company supports many dif-ferent charities and community organizations including the Dodgers Little League Team, YMCA Distribution with Dignity, Santa Fe Christian Schools and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation of Founders Academy in the communities it calls home. While davisREED primarily operates in California, with locations in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Palm Desert, when projects outside of the state require its services, it can build anywhere. For out of state work it can always rely on its affiliate companies E.E. Reed in Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C. and Zapalac Reed in Austin, Texas. Conant discussed the Citrix project that took davisREED across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina. “That project was fantastic. It was profitable. It was high profile. There were a lot of great attributes about that project, and it was also during the recession.”Derek Davis PresidentLee Conant Director of Business DevelopmentThe Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel (Huntington Beach, CA)MAY 201832 Citrix, a software company, relocated its headquarters to downtown Raleigh into a former steel warehouse that was converted into a four-story office building and six-story parking garage. The facility is outfitted with the latest technology, a rooftop garden, a yoga studio, indoor and outdoor dining areas, modernizing the project while staying true to its original indus-trial urban style. The caliber of the projects davisREED produces is remarkable. Its partners are satisfied whether it completes a project for a five-star hotelier, public agency or institution. Notable projects include the five-star Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, the Pendry Hotel in downtown San Diego, the Kimpton La Peer Hotel, the Kimpton Everly Hotel, a new water-front expansion of the Hilton hotel in Huntington Beach, as well as several multi-family residential projects in Sacramento and work for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Projects like these are why 2017 saw the company receiving several awards including homebuilding tradeshow PCBC’s Gold Nugget Awards’ award of merit for the best educational project for davisREED’s work on the Urban Discovery Academy. Last year also saw the company recognized as the second-fastest-growing general contractor in Sacramento by the Sacramento Business Journal and the eighth-fastest-growing company by the San Diego Business Journal.One of the projects for the Los Angeles Unified School District is Calabash Charter Academy. davisREED has joined with American Modular Systems, and the project is using a new cut-ting-edge, sustainable, modular product called Gen7.Much of the construction is taking place in a factory located about five hundred miles from the project site, and then the modules are shipped by flatbed to the site for construction. This has been a very exciting project for davisREED and dem-onstrates its commitment to being versatile in diverse sectors. It remains agile, ready to take advantage of new opportuni-ties as they present themselves while continuing to satisfy its valued customers. “We adapt to any market, and if there are opportunities that allow us to grow in the market, then we adapt to that, and we’ll grow with it, just like during the recession. If there is a market that requires us to adapt, we’ll do that,” said Conant who sees great potential and opportunity in the hospitality market, as well as the growing Los Angeles market.“Projects like these are why 2017 saw the company receiving several awards including homebuilding tradeshow PCBC’s Gold Nugget Awards’ award of merit.”Derek Davis PresidentKimpton la peer hotel (West Hollywood, CA) Concrete pour at Everly Hotel (Hollywood, CA) 33 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Structural engineers are responsible for designing, planning and overseeing construction projects, taking visions from conception to reality. Needham DBS is an award-winning structural engineering firm that excels in the execution of world-class projects for clients across industries.Written by Jessica FerlainoServing architects, contractors, developers, building owners and even manufacturers, Needham DBS has delivered spectacular results for clients in the aviation, education, energy, government, industrial and heavy industrial, office, recreation and retail sectors across North America and the Caribbean. The firm offers numerous modeling packages and approaches to design, and clients have thus come to trust Needham DBS for its ability to deliver projects that optimize client operations regardless of the sector. The company offers solutions that are cost-effective and efficient, building relationships and structures that are meant to last. The firm’s commitment to high-quali-ty, efficient and cost-effective project delivery has been a trademark since it was first established. Needham DBS was established by Jeff Needham in Fort Wayne, Indiana and has since grown to include an office in Lenexa, Kansas. Throughout the years, Needham DBS has maintained a leadership position in the industry, bringing exceptional stan-dards of professionalism and expertise to projects. The firm has always been an early adopter of innovations like computer modeling and even devel-oped early versions of three-dimensional modeling software. Indeed, Needham DBS’ portfolio embodies countless examples of projects that demonstrate the firm’s capacity to deliver results. With projects like the award-winning LA-Z-BOY corporate office in Monroe, Michigan, which was named Outstanding Project of 2015 by the Construction Association of Michigan, there is no shortage of examples of the value the firm can deliver. NEEDHAM DBSMAY 201834 Written by Jessica FerlainoTaking the athletics and recreation sector, for instance, Needham DBS has proven it can be a heavy hitter in the big leagues. Not only did Needham DBS repurpose an old Jewish Synagogue, converting it for use into the South Bend Cubs’ Team Store, it was responsible for a training facility located in right field that required the firm’s creative approach to engineering. When a major pre-engineered building company backed out of a contract at that last minute due to delivery problems, Needham DBS stepped up to the plate and hit a home run on what was described as a “surprisingly complex” two-story hybrid building. Most importantly, the project was delivered in only eight weeks, in time for the 2015 ball season to kick off. Another complex tilt-up design and detailing project in Needham DBS’ portfolio is Olathe West High School. Using Revit structural modeling for the BIM (Building Information Modeling) platform, the firm ensured coordination with the steel fabricator to deliver on the 172,000 square foot, three-story project that would eventually be home to class-rooms, a gymnasium and the perform-ing arts. Needham DBS used load-bear-ing concrete tilt-up panel wall systems to resist gravity and lateral shear forces with lateral shaft walls that provided lateral resistance. Insulated panels with a painted exterior surface or brick casts were used on the exterior. What made this project particularly complex was the fact that part of the project required panels to retain soil. As a leader in design-build, what sets Needham DBS apart is its vertically inte-grated design and fabrication process. Clients can benefit from typical struc-tural engineering design paired with complete shop drawing production of steel and concrete parts and CNC 35 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS file creation. Referred to as concurrent design and detailing (CD2), this packaged service offering affords clients the advan-tage of accelerated and cost-effective production and construction timelines. Its focus includes structural engineering services and products such as structural steel, concrete, steel joists and deck and hybrid buildings. Drawing on CD2 processes and its in-house capacities, Needham DBS can reduce costs and hasten delivery sched-ules that optimize project outcomes. The use of high-quality shop drawing and electronic files eliminates much of a project’s risk.Beyond CD2, Needham DBS provides design build steel (DBS). More than just letters in its name, DBS provides the design-build contractor with a fixed price for the design and structural steel work on a project without the delays that are typical of the conventional approach to projects. DBS can support a variety of simple to very complex building types thanks to its special-ization in the integration of pre-engi-neered buildings and products to create idea hybrid solutions where required. By combining the best attributes of conventional steel with the benefits of pre-engineered buildings, Needham DBS can optimize building systems through its engineered solutions. The work completed for the North Battleford Energy Centre in Canada is a perfect example of Needham DBS’ DBS delivery method and how far the firm can go to deliver results. The 260-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant facility consisted of multiple interconnected structures of varying height that housed equipment like the facility’s gas turbine, 60-ton bridge crane, 10-ton under-hung crane, and 10- and 5-ton monorails. Here, Needham DBS executed in accordance with its vertically integrated DBS delivery model using 1200 tons of primary and secondary steel framing, insulated metal sandwich panel cladding system and conventional membrane roofing system to complete the project. To deliver outstanding results and ensure client satisfaction on every project, Needham DBS leverages leading tech-nology like BIM and the team’s decades of steel fabrication experience. In doing so, the company has become a premier provider of division five products, which is now being expanded to encompass division three concrete products as well. BIM was also utilized on The Andersons project. Needham DBS was selected as Engineer of Record on the project after completing an office headquarters for the same architect, The Collective, Inc. Working with both the architect and the client, the firm delivered an expressive and open building design that integrat-ed structural steel framing and bracing in the building’s architecture. Once again, Needham DBS utilized the three-dimensional Revit struc-tural model to integrate architecture, mechanical and electrical systems, and plumbing models to ensure coordina-tion across the project, improving the project’s timeline and outcome. Needham DBS offers proprietary struc-tural steel products that are designed and fabricated by its in-house engi-neering staff and once a design is created, fixed prices can be determined by pricing through a select group of American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) certified steel fabricators. The firm essentially purchases open shop time to reduce costs and pass along these savings to its clients. Needham DBS also has concrete products at its disposal, including pro-prietary designs as well as subcontractor supplied data. The process is very similar to the CD2 process with varying deliv-erables, given that much of the work is completed by the contractor at the project site. Needham DBS’ reputation extends to the design, detail and specification of Steel Joint Institute (SJI) and Steel Deck Institute (SDI) products. The firm is an authorized builder for American Buildings Company (ABC) products out of its Kansas City office and Varco Pruden Buildings (VP) products out of its Fort Wayne office. The long-standing rela-tionships it has built with major suppliers have enabled the company to be recog-nized as an expert in developing propri-etary SJI and SDI products and solutions, doing so in the interest of improved safety and efficiency.Needham DBS is not only a leader in the delivery of outstanding project outcomes, it is a leader in the industry through involvement with various asso-ciations. Jeff Needham was one of the founding members of the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri (SEAKM), in addition to being a charter member of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association. MAY 201836 The firm remains active on Tilt-Up Concrete Committee 551, the Structural Engineers Association of Indiana’s Board of Directors, as well as local building trade organizations Concrete Promotion Group in Kansas City and the Building Contractors Association in Fort Wayne.In addition to advancing the industry, Needham DBS takes great effort to encourage the development of its people and internal capacities. There is a strong emphasis on continuous improvement through education which bolsters the firm’s capacity to perform to the highest of standards and its employ-ees’ opportunities for career advance-ment. Employees are encouraged to develop their skills and professional capacities through continued educa-tion. The firm’s founder, Jeff Needham, attained academic success earning a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1980 to the firm’s ability to perform for its clients and deliver project quality. With a highly skilled team of profes-sionals and a desire to deliver outstand-ing structural engineering solutions, Needham DBS has made its mark across industries and will continue to do so through its commitment to continuous improvement and project excellence.With a reputation for quality, the firm has become recognized as a structural engineering specialist who, without a doubt, can bring projects to life by promoting cost-effective, efficient and impressive building concepts, designs and execution. while employed full-time, and for those who shared his eagerness to learn, he instituted tuition reimbursement programs for employees. Engineers are encouraged to pursue studies in core subjects in the master’s level engineering curriculum in addition to undertaking continuing education units that are necessary to maintain their professional licenses. To date, six employ-ees have earned their advanced degrees from the University of Kansas through this tuition reimbursement program. In fact, a total of two-thirds of Needham DBS’ structural engineering team holds a master’s degree, which speaks volumes “Needham DBS takes great effort to encourage the development of its people and internal capacities.”37 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Privately-owned general construction company Epik International Inc. began its operations in 2012 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. It is unique in that the head office is in the U.S., but the work performed is across the globe. Most of the company’s workers are Turkish as that country provides a deep pool of resources. Work is less costly when compared with its U.S. counterparts, and this keeps Epik very competitive. We spoke with its Vice President of U.S. Operations, Bozkurt Yurdakul to find out more.Ahmet Bozkurt YurdakulVice President of U.S. OperationsHaşim MutluChairmanNilsoy SözerVice President of International OperationsSean KaygusuzVice President of FinanceGündüz MutluPresidentMAY 201838 Written by Mark GolombekAlthough founded in the year 2012, Epik’s roots go back to 2000, when the owners of Epik International founded a joint venture company called Epik in Turkey. “The joint venture was established by four companies, and each letter stands for one. However, even before the joint venture was established they served as a subcontractor to BL Harbert for the U.S. Embassy Projects in Asia in late 1990s,” says Bozkurt.Epik frequently works as a general contractor for the US Department of State Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO). The bureau is based in Rosslyn, Virginia and is charged with constructing, purchasing and maintaining U.S. govern-ment buildings and real estate in other countries.This first embassy job was done on a cost-plus contract, and the founders of Epik proved to be successful subcontractors.The joint venture survived for another three to four years, working in places like Kosovo, Albania as well as the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.In 2004, Epik was approached by an American company called Framaco International Inc. which is currently one of the OBO contractors. Epik, Framaco and another Turkish company called Metis established FEM JV, worked on the U.S. Baghdad Interim Embassy project. This was the first OBO contract Epik has entered into with the State Department, and it has opened the door for continued collaboration. Since that time, Epik has worked closely with the State Department on twenty contracts worth approximately $600 million.Epik is known for working in some unique and challenging countries. The present scope of its work includes projects in Shenyang, China; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Kabul, Afghanistan and Karachi, Pakistan. “These are the five different countries we work in, and it is very different from working in the U.S. based on changing rules and regulations, dissimilar weather requirements and working permits we have to deal with,” says Bozkurt.39 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS Next >