Ozarks Profile: Paul Dock

Tell us about your company.

Dock Brothers Construction Co. is a commercial general contractor/construction manager company specializing in retail, office and warehousing construction and development. The company has 20 employees. Dock Brothers just finished a project in Rogers, Ark., which was a multibuilding project with a retail center and a Kwik Kar Lube & Tune. We're also in the middle of the Battlefield Fire Department project.

How did you come to this position?

I'm a native Springfieldian and second-generation general contractor. After attending college, I went to work for my father full-time until he retired in the early 1980s. My brother Robert and I started Dock Brothers Construction in 1983, and he is still involved. (Dock's other brother is Morris Dock of MoDoCo Inc., another construction company. Paul Dock said all three of the brothers grew up within the construction industry.)

What do you see as the big challenges in the local construction industry?

As with many businesses, the rising cost of insurance is of great concern. I just got some information the other day that there are now becoming more exclusions to coverage. In exclusions, I mean different projects. We are now being told by the insurance carriers that they are going to have EIFS exempt from coverage. What happens to the contractors that maybe three months ago bid on a job and it had a lot of EIFS in it, and he went into it in good faith, thinking there's coverage, and all of a sudden he's left exposed. That may do one of two things. It's either going to scare everybody away from EIFS and personally, it shouldn't, it's a good product or it's going to present some opportunities for some contractors that will take the risk Or they will find creative ways to get it covered.

Plus rates are continually going up, not just in liability and work comp, but also in health coverage. Or for the dollars spent, you have less coverage. On a lighter note, it's challenging and fun to incorporate new products and their application into some of our new construction projects. On the Battlefield Fire Department, insulated concrete form systems is a new product at least it's new to us and it's relatively new to the industry.

How do you deal with those challenges?

I'm always looking for the best value in insurance products and services. In addition, I read up on my industry's new products, and I attend training seminars from time to time.

What about staffing? Do you have trouble finding good, skilled workers?

We do offer some on-the-job training. I don't normally have a whole lot of trouble finding workers with the skills near as much as I have (trouble) finding people you can depend on. It's not the skill issues; it's the work ethic. But I will say that our employees we have, we've been very fortunate. I've got some employees that have been with me as far back as when I worked for my father back in the late 1970s.

Tell us about your family.

Tracee, my wife of 23 years, is a commercial real estate property manager. I have two beautiful daughters who reside in Springfield: Aubree, 21, and Lauren, 19.

What are your spare-time pursuits?

When the weather is good, golf is my passion. During the winter, our family follows the SMS basketball programs. It truly is a privilege to live in the Ozarks.