THE MAGAZINE FOR leading CONSTRUCTION EXECUTIVES
USBuildersReview
From the Ground Up
A.L. Grading Contractors Inc. Spring 2010
www.usbuildersreview.com
From the Ground Up
Produced by Victor Martins & Written by Molly Cohen
A.L. Grading Contractors Inc (ALGC) is a great example of how a family business can build both bonds and success. Anthony L. Wood Sr. and Jr. started the Sugar Hill, Ga.-based company in 1993 strictly as a grading business. In 1998 Benjamin L. Wood came onboard, and the company opened up its underground utilities division, allowing ALGC to tackle any large job that comes through Georgia. In 2003, the company made a name for itself working for schools. The volume of jobs that the school work generated helped the company double in size. The company’s revenue doubled again from 2003 and 2005, and it now averages $40 million annually. Not a “Get Rich Quick” Scheme Rick Leeson, ALGC’s CFO for the past seven, attributes the company’s quick success to the owners’ hands-on approach. “The Wood family actually works every facet of the company,” he says. “They go to the jobsites, they meet with clients, they do the things most companies hire outsiders to do. The success of this company relies on the Wood family members rolling up their sleeves and getting down to work.” ALGC works in Atlanta and its surrounding areas, “developing large tracks of land for real estate developers, residential, commercial, schools, water treatment facilities,” Leeson explains. Not unaffected by the recent recession, the company has trimmed down on employees. At full operation, ALGC has 100 to 120 full-time employees capable of operating more than 100 pieces of large equipment, including scrapers, excavators, articulated dump trucks and loaders. no matter the company’s labor force, ALGC performs a comprehensive set of services related to site work. “We also do some rock crushing and some aggregate work on-site,” says Leeson. Clean-Up Crew ALGC is dealing with the same issue that many contractors across the United States are facing: an increasing number of contractors bidding
on a decreasing amount of work. “It’s typically the same contractors going for all the large gradient projects, but there’s just not that many to bid on,” Leeson explains. “In the past, four or five companies would bid a job, but now we’re seeing 12 or 13 come in. Typically in the past the largest contractors go after the largest jobs, but now everybody is going after them.
ALGC has also noticed contractors from different sectors attempting to poach potential projects. “We’re seeing a lot of the residential contractors coming into the commercial side to make ends meet,” says Leeson. “We’re seeing an enormous amount of companies bid against us and we’re wondering if they can do the work, if they have the expertise. There’s probably a note of desperation out there.” This process often results in companies incapable of doing the job effectively winning projects due to having the lowest bid.“These situations have been happening frequently over the last two years; we lose a contract because we’re not the low bid and the company that gets awarded the job cannot finish the work, then the owner asks us to finish it,” Leeson laments. To avoid this mishap, Leeson advises choosing a qualified contractor like ALGC from the beginning. ALGC’s capabilities are endless. “We take the entire site and do all the earth moving, all the underground utilities including water and sewer,” says Leeson. ALGC only subcontracts a company to finish the site with any paving and curbing the job requires. “We use the same suppliers, vendors, equipment providers for every job because we trust them,” says Leeson. “We also work closely with some of the pipe companies like Ferguson and Mainline.” ALGC’s recent projects have included work on the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves stadium in Gwinnett, Ga. Additionally, ALGC worked on The Avenue, an outdoor shopping center, in Forsyth, Ga. ALGC will begin a project at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent
headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia in the coming months. “That will be a great job,” promises Leeson. “It’s a tough, compact site and you need a lot of clearance to get in, so it’s an honor to qualify for those types of jobs.” Of course, for such a reputable company clearance isn’t that much of an issue. ALGC has been working in the Atlanta, Ga., area for 17 years and has created a dependable reputation in that time. “The reason most companies pick us is because of our know-how,” says Leeson. “Tony Wood has been a staple in the industry since the ‘60; he’s been in the industry since he was 15 years old. Almost all tough jobs in Atlanta come through our office because people know we can get the tough jobs done. Everybody knows they’re dealing with a financially stable firm and that we always finish on time.” It is the Wood family’s reputation, experience, and overall industry knowledge that will keep the company progressing through this tough economic situation. Once the economy settles ALGC will be at the top of a short list of companies proven to maintain quality service no matter how trying the times or site.•
A.L. Grading Contractors Inc. 110 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Sugar Hill, GA 30518 United States
www.algc.net