Nuprecon

Specialty: Demolition, abatement, saw cutting, recycling and salvage
President: John Hennessy
Year founded: 1986
Local office: Snoqualmie
Largest project in 2002: Partial demolition of Seattle Opera House for construction of Marion Oliver McCaw Hall

Nuprecon President John Hennessy had at least one nice thing to say about 2002: it’s pushed him to operate more efficiently.

As the sour economy left projects around the Northwest in mothballs, Nuprecon — one the nation’s top 15 demolition contractors according to Engineering News-Record — has seen its revenue erode from $32 million in 2001 to $26 million in 2002.

Hennessy thinks the company can rebound this year, but “it’s going to take an extraordinary effort.” The company will seek to streamline its operations — it will no longer accept contracts under $50,000 outside Washington, for instance — and strive for a leaner, meaner organizational chart. The company has already scaled down its operations in Portland, where it maintains an office.

“We’re looking at our businesses more closely than in the past,” Hennessy said, which includes reviewing the company’s policies, procedures, marketing and organizational structure for areas to tighten up or cut away.

Not to say that Nuprecon is hunkering down. The company has long been developing specialties such as recycling, abatement and salvaging to supplement its core demolition business. Nuprecon has also built relationships with contractors in other parts of the country to help expand its reach and provide a buffer against the vicissitudes of the Northwest economy.

Hennessy said he intends in the long run for Nuprecon to become a one-stop shop for all things associated with preparing a building for construction.

But rising labor and regulatory costs have taken a toll on an already struggling industry. Hennessy said he’d like for unions to work more with contractors to keep labor costs down. Amid a climate of diminishing margins, he said, “everyone’s got to contribute their fair share.”

The regulatory community, too, needs to communicate more closely with contractors to ensure that costly compliance measures will reap real benefits.