As it turns out, there was a silver lining for Morelock-Ross Cos. in the economic difficulties brought by the recession on industries such as construction, one of the company’s six primary business sectors.
“As markets collapse, there’s energy in other markets,” says Wayne Morelock, president and co-owner of the company. “It’s a matter of market research.”
That research has led Morelock-Ross far beyond its beginnings in 1982, when Morelock and Vice President Kenny Ross founded Morelock-Ross Builders Inc. with no initial investment. The company moved in 1985 to 722 W. Olive St., where its headquarters remain today.
Now, however, the Morelock-Ross umbrella comprises 26 companies and about 300 employees, branching out from residential and commercial construction to include property management and restaurants.
Burrito Concepts LLC joined the Morelock-Ross lineup in 2003 and now operates 10 Qdoba franchise eatery locations in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, helping Morelock-Ross Cos. achieve 2010 revenues of $115.1 million, up 33 percent from 2008.
Morelock calls six of the entities under the Morelock-Ross banner major companies, but he declined to disclose how revenues break down or which division brings in the most business.
“Many of our companies have synergy with what the parent company does,” he says. “But as you diversify into an area, or as you bring in an investment partner, in order to limit liability, the world would mandate that you start a new entity.”
Morelock-Ross has been sales-driven since its inception, Morelock says.
The addition in 2009 of Kirk Elmquist, a partner who focuses on business development and community relations, illustrates a continued focus on sales, albeit in a vastly different marketplace.
“I think that we have to continue to adapt to the changing economic times in construction and real estate development,” Ross says.
With its construction signs peppered at building sites in southwest Missouri, Morelock-Ross Builders is perhaps the most noticeable of the entities in the Morelock-Ross group. Projects now under way include a roughly $2.5 million expansion for Aaron Sachs & Associates PC; the 32,000-square-foot Port of Kimberling Hotel in Kimberling City; and Legal Services of Southern Missouri’s recently completed 11,000-square-foot office near Springfield’s government plaza.
Fostering long-term client relationships is an ongoing goal for the company that has helped it weather economic ups and downs, Ross says.
“I think that’s been the real foundation of our business model form the very beginning,” Ross says.
The company’s longest-running client is Jon Risdal, owner of J-K Investments Inc. and the Risdal Enterprises LP. A former Casey’s General Store franchisee, Risdal is engaged in property management.
“I was the first customer they had when Wayne started out,” Risdal says, noting that Morelock-Ross has built five projects and about 15 infills for his businesses, including two Casey’s General Stores, to office buildings and a retail center.
“We’ve had an ongoing relationship that’s been pretty active, particularly in the last 15 years,” Risdal says.
The company founders say they’re still having fun at what they do but admit the last three years haven’t necessarily been easy.
“Has the last three years been a challenge? Yes. Have I learned more in the last three years than I did in the previous 25? Yes. Can I take that knowledge and make the business better in the future? Yes, and hopefully pass that knowledge on to some younger people that can use it in their business life,” Morelock says. “It’s been a challenge, but we’ve risen to meet it.”
Click here for the complete 2011 Dynamic Dozen overview.[[In-content Ad]]
