April 21, 1998

Thirtysomething contractors are changing things

By BENJAMIN MINNICK
Construction editor

As five-and six-year-olds, Mike and Tim Tucci used to ride between Tacoma and Portland with the truck drivers who worked for their family's asphalt paving business. Now in their mid-30s, the brothers have taken on a different role at Tucci & Sons Inc. -- they run the place.

That scenario is repeating itself more and more today as increasing ranks of construction company owners reach their retirement years and pass the business on to younger family members.

Jon Deeny, 33, president of Deeny Construction Co. in Seattle, said in next five to seven years a fairly large percentage of firms will be turning leadership over in the Puget Sound area. (Jon himself recently took over the daily operations from his father Terry.)

"The ground work laid by the previous generation has allowed the latest generation to take over," Jon said. Some of that ground work, according to Jon, includes improving the public's perception of the construction industry, increasing business owners' confidence in contractors and strengthening relationships within the industry.

Tim, left, and Mike Tucci are investing $4 million in a new asphalt batch plant in Lakewood. Photo by Benjamin Minnick

"Today's industry has become a lot more competitive and the working environment is becoming increasingly dictated by concerns over litigation," Tim Tucci said. "Things aren't done on a handshake deal anymore."

Mike said the industry is becoming more adversarial for several reasons, including the competitive nature of bids, a lack of sufficient plans and concerns over liability.

The concerns and needs of younger contractors are fast becoming an important issue at the Associated General Contractors of Washington, the state's largest contractor organization.

"There is a transition at the AGC of Washington," said Frank Firmani, AGC president. "We've gone through a leadership and transitional change, and a generational change (over the past three years)."

New leadership is coming from the AGC's newly appointed executive vice president, Curtis Smelser.

Smelser said the association is looking at doing a young contractors' forum, similar to what the national AGC does. He is also are looking at a mentoring program where experienced workers are given an opportunity to transfer their knowledge to the younger set.

"The AGC used to be the father's gig," said Gene Colin, AGC second vice president and board of trustees member. Colin, who is also chairman and CEO of Ferguson Construction, said the AGC played a big role in its member's social lives in the old days.

According to Colin, construction company owners in the old days would meet at the AGC and leave their sons to run the office. The problem was when the owner retired or died, the kid had no idea what went on at the AGC because he wasn't exposed to it.

That is what the AGC is trying to change. "We're trying to go two and three levels deep to make them aware of what the AGC is about," Colin said. "The whole culture is becoming more in tune with what the young contractor is all about."

One of the ways the AGC is catering to the needs of the younger set is through breakfast meetings, which Colin said are becoming more popular because traditional dinner meetings take people away from leisure activities and their families.

He said the younger generation is focused on using high-technology in the workplace, working harder and spending time with their families. In the old days, he said the focus was primarily on the workplace.

With better technology, Colin said today's employees work smarter than the previous generation. That allows them to achieve the same results and have more time to spend with their families.

"We have more technologically adept membership growing within our ranks," Colin said. "It's the younger guys who are making it happen. (They) are going to transform the industry."

At Tacoma-based Tucci & Sons, the recipe for succession success has been exposure at an early age.

Both Mike and Tim began working at Tucci during summers in their pre-teen years. Some of their first duties included washing vehicles, cleaning up the shop and building barricades.

When each reached the age of 17, they went into the field as laborers. Eventually, they both became foremen and then estimators/project superintendents. From that point, they gradually moved into their leadership roles. Mike, 34, is president and Tim, 33, is secretary/treasurer. Their cousin Josh LeJeune, 25, is a foreman.

Although they officially took over direction of the company in April, Mike said they have been working in their current capacities for the past 18 months. Mike and Tim's father, Michael A. Tucci, still helps with long-range planning of the company and retains the role of chairman of the board.

"Your head has to be in it," Mike said. "You have to enjoy what you do."

During his run to the top, Mike left the company for two years to work for a heavy-highway contractor in California. "I wanted to see what it was like to work for someone else besides family members," he explained.

You might think there would be sibling rivalries between Mike and Tim, but there aren't. "The way we look at it is they are just titles," Mike said about his and Tim's roles at the company. He said they are partners.

"The bottom line is we are both really excited," Tim said. "It's something we wanted and strived for our entire lives."

One of Mike and Tim's first major management decisions at Tucci was to invest $4 million in a new asphalt batch plant at a company site in Lakewood. It is now under construction and should be finished in two months. Mike said he expects it to last 30 years.

The new plant is being built next to one of the company's two existing batch plants. It will have a capacity of 400 tons an hour, compared to 160 tons an hour at the old plant. It also will have four silos with 800 tons of storage capacity for hot-mix products.

Mike said their goal is to produce 150,000-200,000 tons a year out of the new plant (the old plant did about 80,000-100,000 tons a year). He said they plan to keep part of the old plant to sell mix to commercial clients.

"This plant will allow us to be more competitive in south Pierce County," Mike said.

The new plant will also give them the ability to include 40 percent recycled asphalt products in the mixes. (The old plant can't use recycled material.)

Mike said they are now in the process of reviewing the company's procedure manual. It covers topics like safety as well as guidelines on how to bill, bid and handle other construction management functions.

Mike said, over the past four to five years, they have put into place a management team made up mostly of young employees. Mike said the young staff is aggressive, innovative and progressive. He said their attitude makes a difference.

"We've been fortunate, we've been able to find young people," Tim said.

But, that is the management side. Mike said the field side is completely different. He said most of the workers are older and it's hard to find younger, qualified field workers who will someday replace the aging workforce.

Mike said both he and his brother have earned the respect of the company's older workers by getting the proper training and working through the ranks. He said they have known some employees for 20 years.

Jon Deeny has had a similar experience. "The fact that I've been in construction for 10 years has eliminated most of that," he said. "Even though I'm young, I'm not green."

Another way Jon has bridged the generation gap is through the St. Patrick's Day get-togethers his father has been holding for the past 45 years. For the past few years, Jon has gathered up cohorts from his generation -- usually project managers and vice presidents -- to meet with his father's cohorts -- usually company and association presidents.

Jon said the gatherings give them a chance to meet face-to-face and get to know a different generation.