Baja Records Big Sales With Small Span Buildings
By Shawn Zuver Editor
At first glance, some might think that Baja
Construction Co. Inc., with 1990 sales volume of $8.4 million. represents the typical
metal construction contracting success story. However, there is little about the Martinez,
CA-based firm that is typical of metal construction contractors.
 |
 |
| Robert Hayworth |
Luis Fabian |
While most
contractors have achieved their position through the use of pre-engineered building
packages, working with medium- to large-size structures, Baja thrives on short span
buildings. In fact, the company specializes in carports and mini-storage, using only
cold-rolled material.
The individual unit sizes that Baja constructs are naturally
small, however, the project sizes and quantities are mammoth. The projects are so large
and numerous that Baja was ranked second among Metal Construction News’ Top 100 Metal
Construction Contractors Of 1990.
Formed in 1981 by Robert Hayworth Jr. and Luis Fabian,
Baja’s 1990 sales volume represents 5,366 tons of steel purchased. The company is one
of the leading carport contractors in the country; it is national in scope, though focused
on the western U.S.
Baja uses metal panels and light framing members manufactured
primarily by ASC Pacific, among other suppliers. Most of the roof panels are
through-fastener profiles.
Baja had seen a steady rise in business from its beginning until
1986 when sales volume peaked at $9.5 million. Bob said while sales slowed with the
slumping economy of late, he is optimistic about the future.
"Business has already started to pick up, though it will be
very, very gradual," Bob said. "Banks are loosening up a little. They are
lending, but they seem to be lending to the very strong companies with a lot of assets. We
believe that we can continue a nice steady growth of 15-20% a year."
Bob, whose construction background dates to his teenage years
when he began erecting carports with his father each summer, graduated from the University
of Pacific in 1972. In 1974, Bob started California Carports Inc. He went to Childers
Mfg., a leading carport manufacturer, in 1977 before moving on to a regional sales manager
position in 1979 with Curoco Steel Systems.
"My dad worked for Childers," Bob said. "He
conceived the idea to use pre-fabricated steel carports for multi-family housing
complexes. We have built on that philosophy, handling carports for large complexes only,
not for single-family residences."
Bob said that his father’s first carport project was a
1,000- unit job in San Jose in 1961. Since then, as steel carports have gained acceptance,
Bob estimates that he and his father have been involved in the construction of an
astounding 2,000 carport units per month. Bob Sr., who is now retired, helped to form
several companies in the carport business.
Baja’s other founder, Luis Fabian, also has an impressive
construction background. He has been building carports and pre-fabricated steel buildings
since 1971. Luis’ extensive experience includes the construction of 500,000 carport
units and over 2 million sq. ft. of mini-storage facilities. He had been involved in two
of his own companies prior to starting Baja Construction with Bob.
"Luis has a lot of special ability. You can take him out to
a job site problem and he can immediately recognize what the problem is and how to resolve
it," Bob said of his partner. "We met in 1971 when we were both laborers in the
carport business. When I started my own company Luis worked for me, and he then went on to
form his own companies before we got back together to form Baja.
"Operations began in a modest setting, in my garage, in
1981," Bob continued. "By 1985 sales grew to $2.5 million and by 1986 they were
$9,5 million. Baja experienced much pain, resulting from this tremendous growth, both
administratively and in the field. However, a protective recovery plan was implemented to
monitor costs and production efficiencies to get the company back on track. Despite
economic downturn in the housing industry, we have been able to improve our market share
through increased market penetration and customer loyalty."
Baja’s Employee Strutcure
Today, Bob’s strong suit is sales, while
Luis oversees the construction aspect of the business.
Corporate headquarters are located in Martinez. Working our of
that office are: Laura Daum, president and chief administrative officer; Frank
Batara,
controller and chief financial officer; Jack Bohr, vice president and chief operations
officer; Kathy Oliver, contract administrator; Teresa Castaneda, scheduling and erection
coordinator; Carol Saunders, credit manager; Imel-da Basco, accounting manager; Mary
Gomez, office manager; and Shirley Francis, marketing coordinator.
The company also has satellite offices. Those operations and key
employees follow. Las Vegas: Marcel Furro, office manager; and Rafael Lopez, construction
manager, Fon-tana, CA: Jesus Fabian, construction manager. Seattle, WA: Gustavo Hernandez,
construction manager. Jose Quintaro is construction manager for mini-storage operation.
Regional sales managers are: Frank Valencia, Oregon, Washington and Northern California;
Tom Braun, Southern California; Ron Bohr, Arizona; and Marco Margiotta, Southern
California and Nevada/ repair division manager.
The 60 field laborers are generally divided into three-man crews
of one foreman and two laborers. The crews can also be re-arranged according to specific
project requirements.
"Luis and I are involved on every project and are available
to the customers," Bob said, "I sell the jobs and Luis oversees construction.
Service is probably our best asset. We sometimes have customers who want 200 units built
in five days to accommodate a lending schedule. With our experienced crews, we are usually
able to help them, no matter what their special problem may be."
Baja has engineering work done exclusively by Vic Meyer
Engineering of Lodi, CA. The engineering firm is run by Mike Smith, who succeeds the late
Vic Meyer. Vie was responsible for designing the original carports for Bob Sr.
Baja reports 50% of its business through design/build contracts,
with the other half coming from bid/spec work. Carports account for 90% of the building
types, with the other 10% comprised of mini-storage and other small span structures. Bob
estimates that two-thirds of the contracts come from repeat customers, with most of the
remainder resulting from referrals.
Experience, in-house design and engineering, capability, economy
of scale, a compact innovative headquarters staff, and listening to customers’ needs
are some of the many reasons for Baja’s strong repeat and referral business.
"Rather than push any one item, we try to listen to our
customer and, based on our experience, offer them a design that will work architecturally
and economically on that particular project," Bob noted.
"We like to do any type of short span construction where you
can use cold-formed rolled sections. Those projects that seem to lend themselves to that
are carports, canopies, RV and boat storage, short span metal buildings and garages,"
he said, noting that Baja defines short span as less than 50’ width and under
14’ clear height.
Baja focuses its efforts in California and the western U.S.;
however, the company has completed projects in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Delaware
and Texas, among other states. The company has an awesome array of projects under its belt
(as the accompanying photos illustrate) and it also lists an enviable string of projects
that are currently under construction, including the following carports:
· 18
projects in Las Vegas, totaling 1,397 units;
· 4 projects in Northern California, 618 units;
· 4 projects in Oregon and Washington, 521
units; and
· 2 mini-storage facilities – one in Reno
and one Modesto, 60,000 sq. ft. each; as well as
· 1 RV and boat storage facility in Las Vegas;
30,000 sq. ft. of enclosed boat storage; 50,000 sq. ft. of RV and boat ports, a car wash,
drying bay and manager’s unit.
Equally impressive are the jobs that are on
backlog, which include 4,784 carport units: 1,175 in the Northern California region; 1,034
in the Southern California region; 1,954 from Nevada; and 312 in Oregon and Washington.
"Metal components allow you to increase field erection
efficiency, through standard operating procedures, to a much greater extent than other
construction materials," Bob said, as he summarized one of the keys to Baja
Construction’s success. "Steel is a better construction method, no question
about it.
"Years of experience allow us to suggest designs to our
customers that will satisfy them architecturally yet fit their budgets," Bob
concluded. "Our development of standard operating procedures over the years has
pushed our field efficiency to a very high level, enabling us to get in and out of jobs
very quickly." It has also enabled to company to grow steadily, with a bright future
ahead. |
