I recently read an article asking the question, “Should Companies Play Offense or Defense in a Downturn?” The article referenced the 1980-82 crisis, the 1990-91 slowdown, the 2000-02 dotcom bust, the 2007-2009 recession, and finally, they are calling 2020 a recession year. The research found a correlation between increased investments and improved company performance during these periods. Those companies that chose to play offense showed improvement in return on equity, sales growth, and market share. Companies that decreased investment showed deterioration on all three counts. I felt the article perfectly illustrated our strategy during these periods. We recently closed the […]
In the second half of 2020, Kelso-Burnett began working on a major project for an agricultural company. The project is a complete gut and remodel of an existing nearly 100,000 square foot facility in the Midwest. Kelso-Burnett is working with ARCO/Murray to complete the transformation of this massive agricultural facility. This project is unique for a variety of reasons including: Extensive usage of prefabrication Traveling to another state Working with a non-FEC member for labor Existing building was in very bad shape One major obstacle Kelso-Burnett and other trades faced on this project was a lack of information about the […]
It is no secret that prefabrication can be a gamechanger on any project, and that is why Newport Industries has invested heavily in personnel, space, and equipment for prefabricating materials. Newport Industries began prefabricating materials for jobsites more than a decade ago. This initial prefabrication operation was used sparingly and only for certain projects. Since then, there has been a gradual, but colossal growth in sophistication for the entire operation. Leadership and employees worked to standardize processes and procedures throughout the Prefabrication Department, and this has allowed Newport Industries to improve the scale in which materials are assembled. The department […]
In 1968, the Big Mac was introduced to the world, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, and the first 911 call was made. 911 is something we are all familiar with. It is a brilliantly designed system that provides citizens that see or experience emergencies with a quick and easy means to call professionals that have been trained to handle such emergencies. In 2018, 1.3 million calls were made to fire departments across our nation for fires alone. The average national response time for fire departments is approximately 10 minutes. Even with a finely tuned system like 911, there is still ample opportunity for a fire to grow during the 10 minutes that it may take for a fire department to […]
We have recently gone through a rebranding effort that included new and updated logos, websites, email signatures, and marketing materials. I decided to pick up where I left off in my last article titled “It Takes A Village An Industry,” to update you as to how we are moving through this new COVID world. The article was about how we weathered adversity and struggles to reach our 110-year anniversary. A CNBC.com segment reported, “…technology is killing off corporations,” and stated that the trend is accelerating. I feel that we are an exception to this finding because of our ability to […]