Walton restructures, longtime Springfield leader leaves

One of the most familiar faces in one of Springfield's most prominent commercial construction firms is gone, but company officials say the office is not going anywhere.

Kansas City-based Walton Construction is in the midst of a companywide restructuring effort, according to David Atkisson, the vice president of operations and new head of the Springfield office.

The restructuring comes at the same time that longtime Springfield office head Rick Quint left the company. Atkisson said that while Quint leaving was not related to the restructuring, company policy prevented him from commenting on the exact reasons for Quint's departure. Quint, whose residential number is disconnected, could not be reached for comment.

"We are sad about his departure - he's been a key part of Walton's success in Springfield, and we wish him the best in his endeavors," Atkisson said. "He has been a real mentor to me and to a lot of other people in this office."

Quint served as president of Walton's Springfield division. Atkisson said the company is shifting from a division structure to a more regional approach.

The Springfield office is now part of the company's newly created western region, along with those in Kansas City, Tulsa, Okla.; Dallas and Austin, Texas; Nebraska; Kansas and parts of Arkansas. Similar regions are in place in the east and southeast.

Walton, which is the second-largest area contractor next to Killian Group of Cos. based on billings, has seven offices in the Midwest and Southeast.

"It will allow us to better share information, software, tools, resources such as personnel and handle staffing issues," Atkisson said. "When you combine our talent, we're better together than trying to stand alone."

Quint's departure, however, is not the only recent personnel change in Walton's Springfield office.

Full-time employee numbers dropped to 29 as of November from 52 a year earlier, according to Springfield Business Journal list research.

Walton's local billings totaled $92.9 million in 2008, up 79 percent from the year before, though Atkisson said 2009 revenues are slightly lower than last year. He declined to disclose current billing numbers in the Springfield office.

Atkisson said Walton has cut its project management and field supervision personnel by roughly 50 percent in the last six months, though he declined to give specific numbers.

He said the staff reductions are a result of a highly competitive market for fewer projects.

"It's not so much changes in the company as adjusting for the current economy," he said.

He pointed to the Missouri National Guard's new helicopter repair hangar for the Aviation Classification and Repair Depot. Ten companies bid on that project, including five from St. Louis, where Atkisson said only four or five companies would have bid in a normal market.

He also said the five lowest bidders were within 5 percent of each other on the project, which Walton won with a $33.3 million bid.

"That's very typical of how the range is very narrow but the number of bidders is much higher," he said.

The Springfield construction segment took a blow in November, when Tulsa, Okla.-based Flintco Inc. closed its local office. Flintco officials told SBJ in May that the decision was based on the fact that Springfield didn't fit into the company's strategic plans and not to the economic downturn.