Local firm banks on decade of experience

For Federal Construction Inc., the building trade is money in the bank.
Federal Construction, which celebrates a decade in business in September, has built almost 70 full-size financial institutions and worked on 550 financial institution-related projects.
The business – a sister company of security systems dealer Federal Protection Inc. – started in 1995, when Kim Hancock and Randy Phelps decided there was a market niche for a company specializing in the design and construction of financial institutions.
Hancock, president and CEO, and Phelps, vice president and general superintendent, were later joined by Greg Patton, head of project management. The firm started with three employees and now has 10. Because of a growing workload, Federal Construction will add two more superintendents within the next year.
“Our total gross sales have increased every year,” Phelps said, though he declined to provide revenue figures.
Federal Construction began with customers in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In the last 10 years, its client list has expanded to include clients in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the company has received requests for projects in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.
“We have the opportunity to go to the Southeastern part of the United States, and it is under consideration,” Phelps said.
Besides increases in personnel, revenue and geographic range, the company has also expanded its headquarters.
Federal Construction more than quadrupled its space in March 2004 when it moved into a new, 58,000-square-foot building at 2500 N. Airport Commerce Drive.
“We’ve had great growth,” Hancock said, attributing that growth to exceptional service and quality.

The business
Federal Construction’s goal is to design efficient facilities that make the ongoing costs of operation more reasonable for their clients. The company’s services include financial advising, budgeting, architectural development and actual construction.
Over the last decade, banks’ needs have changed with technology. Bank design must accommodate more complex electronic systems for security systems, digital video recording, and the addition of DeLaRue Automatic Tellers. However, the company has kept up with the changes. “Continuing education is an ongoing process at Federal Construction,” Phelps said.
As client companies grow and as technology continues to advance, clients occasionally find modification necessary, and Federal Construction works to accommodate them.
In addition to routine servicing, Federal Construction assists clients with adding automated teller machines, enlarging vaults, installing high density file storage rooms, server equipment rooms and racking.
Phelps said these are “just a few of the aspects that we continue to do for the bank after they grow and business needs change.”
In 2001, Federal Construction handled a building addition and interior and exterior remodeling project for State Bank of Southwest Missouri.
Tom Fowler, president, said he chose Federal Construction for the job because of its reputation.
“We saw some of the places they had done and talked to some of the people that they had built for, and everybody that we talked to seemed to think very highly of them and their work,” he said.
Today, Fowler is in the preliminary stages of planning another facility, and he plans to have Federal Construction work on the upcoming project.
“They are very thorough, their finish work is excellent, and they are very easy to work with. We had no problems at all in the construction process,” Fowler said. “They are the best.”
While Federal Construction primarily builds financial institutions, it has also undertaken the design and construction of medical and dental clinics and corporate office buildings. It’s an undertaking that could expand in the years ahead. “We have noticed a trend and have observed a need,” Phelps said.
According to Hancock, Federal Construction’s main objective for the future is to “maintain the quality and integrity of our workmanship.” The company plans to achieve that goal by working with reputable sub-contractors, keeping qualified superintendents on all job sites, and providing the level of quality service established over the last 10 years.
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