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Wehr Construction Senior Estimator Jack Schuemann, left, and General Manager Tim Miller are aggressively chasing bids.
Wehr Construction Senior Estimator Jack Schuemann, left, and General Manager Tim Miller are aggressively chasing bids.

Public projects spell growth for Wehr Construction

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Wehr Construction LLC was a 2010 honoree at Springfield Business Journal's 2010 Dynamic Dozen awards. Information was accurate at the time of the honor. Click here for information about this year's event.

The decision three years ago to pursue public projects is a key reason Wehr Construction LLC grew in 2009, when so many general contractors struggled.

“It was a calculated move to start bidding and doing more public jobs,” said General Manager Tim Miller. “It was obvious to us where the market was headed.”

Wehr Construction’s 2009 revenues were $10 million, up from $8.7 million in 2008.

The company was founded in 2003 to construct buildings for Wehr Properties. After a few years, Wehr Construction expanded its scope to do work for other entities within a two-hour radius of Springfield. The company is a general contractor only with no plans to expand into design.

“We do a lot of pre-engineered steel buildings for public and private,” Miller said. “We also do schools, jails, city halls … mainly the past two years, a lot of school additions and remodels.”

Ideally, private and public jobs would each comprise 50 percent of Wehr Construction’s project list, Miller said, though that isn’t the case these days.

“We just don’t have that option now, (but) we do see the private sector coming back, so we still bid private jobs,” he said.

Right now, the company’s public jobs make up between 80 percent and 90 percent of the total workload, Miller said.

Several years ago, many companies were flush with private jobs and didn’t seek public projects. Energetic pursuit of bids is critical for survival, which is why Wehr Construction added a full-time estimator two years ago.

“If you want to be successful, you have to be aggressive and think outside the box. You can’t wait for the phone to ring,” said Jack Schuemann, senior estimator. “We do work long hours. We’re here from 7 o’clock to 6 o’clock. We work … weekends when required.”

He prepares three to four bids a week and travels several times a week to visit sites or presites.

“You have to follow where the work is,” Schuemann said.

“You can’t just stay in Springfield in tough economic times. You have to go where the work is. … We have our eyes open all the time,” he added.

Recent projects that have fueled Wehr’s growth include Carthage Technical Center and Electronics Lab; Reeds Spring High School gymnasium and Intermediate School renovation; Rogersville FEMA shelter; Lebanon City Hall and Police Department; and Ava water improvement project.

Because the company gets more and more interest in green projects, Wehr Construction will hire someone who can certify a project for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Miller said. The company can build a LEED building, but without a specialist on staff, it would have to hire someone to certify it as such.

Contractors aren’t always chosen just on their bids, Miller said.

Clients often look for a contractor’s experience with green building.

“We decided to start looking into doing green construction about three years ago,” he said. “It’s a factor in everyday life that we should be looking into.”

Going forward, Wehr Construction will expand into northern Arkansas, Miller said, noting that eventually that growth will slow a bit.

“You can only grow so fast and expand so much without taking a breath,” Miller said. “So we’ll take a breath and then go out and expand.”[[In-content Ad]]

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