DJC.COM -- Construction and Equipment Forecast 2004 -- Surveys

Hoffman Construction

Specialty: Medical, high-tech, education, cultural, sports, industrial, office and prison facilities
Management: Tom Peterson, vice president and general manager, Seattle Division
Year founded: 1922
Local office: Seattle
2003 revenues: $500 million-$600 million company-wide
Projected 2004 revenues: $500 million-$600 million company-wide
Largest current projects: University of Washington bio-engineering building; Roosevelt High School renovation; downtown Seattle Central Library building

UW surgery pavilion
Photos courtesy of Hoffman Construction Co.

Hoffman Construction built a $92 million surgery pavilion at the University of Washington.

Hoffman Construction Co., an employee-owned general contracting and construction management firm based in Portland, has maintained its earlier momentum through the last three to four years of recession in the Pacific Northwest by concentrating on government sector projects.

“There were numerous critical public projects that needed to move ahead, some of them already funded before the economy softened,” said Hoffman Vice President Bart Eberwein.

Among those critical projects, Hoffman is constructing a $100 million bio-engineering facility on the University of Washington campus and is nearly ready to turn over the downtown Seattle library building to the city, a $162 million project due to open May 23. Other Hoffman projects include Seattle’s new $72 million City Hall and the $50 million makeover of Roosevelt High School in Seattle, which is about to begin.

library

Hoffman is completing work on the $162 million downtown Seattle Library.

“It doesn’t feel like we’re really out of the recession yet. First, we need more good macro-economic news that will spur large capital projects or decisions to expand businesses or office buildings,” Eberwein said. “Locally, though, we’re seeing more projects bid than six months ago and more things coming. The Port of Seattle is continuing to expand, the university will continue its projects, along with the Seattle School District.”

Hoffman is also capitalizing on strong construction trends in the medical field, including hospitals, research facilities and clinics.

“Almost every hospital seems to be starting or finishing an expansion, with no end to that trend in sight as the population continues to age and technology continues to develop. That’s certainly one of the drivers that’s keeping a lot of contractors busy right now,” he said.

Already one of the largest general contractors in the nation, Hoffman will continue to look out of the Northwest region for projects, particularly in states where it doesn’t yet have much presence. “We have a lot of expertise in high-demand projects, such as high-tech facilities, and we want to keep reaching out for those markets,” he said.

As for major problems facing the construction industry and the nation’s economy, he sees the impact of global competition and the outsourcing of jobs to other countries as causes for concern.

“As a region and a nation we need to ask ourselves if it’s a good strategy to send so many manufacturing jobs somewhere else. I think a strong economy depends on having some smokestacks out there and marketing high-quality and high-tech products made in America. I’m not being paranoid but I think we might regret this ‘chasing the easy buck’ trend in the future,” he said. “If manufacturing jobs go overseas now, what happens years from now when other countries offer to do our research and development, marketing and other jobs?”