Nabholz Client Services filling small-job construction niche with mobile crews

If it's true that one man's trash is another man's treasure, then it might also be said that one contractor's low-priority job is Nabholz Client Service's business treasure. The smaller odd jobs that other contractors prefer to avoid are the bedrock of Nabholz Client Services.

Nabholz Client Services is a separate business unit from its parent company, Nabholz Construction, according to company president Lowell Thomas. Nabholz Construction was established in 1949 in Conway, Ark., and now has divisions in Conway, Rogers, Little Rock and Ft. Smith, all in Arkansas; Tulsa, Okla., and Springfield. Nabholz Client Services divisions were created in 1991 and also are present in these locations. The Springfield location was added in 1995.

Emergency jobs

Nabholz Client Services is not your typical builder, according to Thomas. "Every contractor has clients who need small and emergency services and warranty work," he said. "Every contractor can do these jobs, but they are handled incidentally."

Large contractors could place a low-priority on these jobs, forcing the client to wait to have them completed, or smaller, one-man contracting operations or back-of-truck contractors might make it to the site, but could lack the professionalism and skill level a client wants on the job, Thomas said.

Nabholz Client Services provides clients craftsmen for jobs large and small without the wait. "We're on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Thomas said. "As far as we know, no one else offers that kind of immediate response." The Springfield office, he said, has 12 full-time multi-skilled, uniformed craftsmen to dispatch to clients.

Shawn Gates, general manager, said that the company's craftsmen handle a long list of contracting jobs, ranging from building maintenance to carpentry, concrete and paving to remodeling. "We get a lot of people who have small jobs that no one else wants," he said. "We do everything they need, whether it's just changing out the hardware on a door or building a small addition."

Estimates & inspections

The company also provides estimates and building inspections. While most jobs are within the company's expertise, Nabholz Client Services will locate a builder who can handle anything that goes beyond that. "If it's something we couldn't do, we'll find someone for you who can do it," Gates said.

The company's most prominent clients include Bass Pro Shops, the University of Arkansas, Alltel Incorporated, the Tanger Factory Outlet Center, St. Francis Hospital and Price Cutter. While the company boasts a large roster of clients, many of whom use them for multiple projects at multiple locations, its greater claim to contracting fame is found in an 80-percent rate of repeat business. "We have a lot of repeat business," Gates said. Nabholz Client Services will do one-time jobs, but they prefer to build relationships with clients who will call again, he added.

Job size

A typical week will see Nabholz craftsmen respond to approximately 15 calls, Gates said, and the majority of jobs the company does are priced at less than $10,000, although it can handle jobs in the $100,000-200,000 range. Typical jobs are small concrete, commercial in-fill and tenant finishing of commercial properties, according to Gates. Unusual jobs have included installing bulletproof guards for cooling towers and fire-taping elevator shafts.

Thomas said the company's craftsmen strive to complete jobs quickly in a manner that is not disruptive to a client's regular business activity, a goal that clients value. "We also have ongoing training, so that we always have the most highly skilled craftsmen available," he said.

The company's client survey responses indicate that Nabholz scores high when it comes to getting to a client's needs quickly and getting the job done right.

An edge

Nabholz Client Services could also have an edge over large-job-only contractors when people hit the brakes on new construction, Gates said. "When people aren't doing new building, they remodel what they have, so we're pretty safe even when new construction slows down."

Thomas sees a positive future for Nabholz Client Services in the Spring-field market. "All I see for us in the coming years is an expansion of services and an expansion of manpower," he said. Gates agreed with Thomas' projections. "I see good growth for us because no one else really does this type of work," he said. "There's always going to be a need for the type of contracting we do."