Howard S. Wright Construction

Specialty: Commercial building construction
Management: Steve Mara, division president
Year founded: 1885
Local office: Seattle
2003 revenues: $411 million ($88 million in Washington)
Projected 2004 revenues: $420 million ($90 million in Washington)
Largest current projects: Lynnwood Convention Center, South Seattle Community College, Mountain Star Palmer Clubhouse, Good Samaritan Hospital West Wing Renovation

Lynnwood Convention Center
Photo courtesy of Howard S. Wright Construction
Howard S. Wright Construction is building the 55,000-square-foot Lynnwood Convention Center at 196th Street Southwest and 37th Avenue West.

Howard S. Wright Construction Vice President Paul Okerlund says the company’s Washington operation has picked up several new projects, including the Lynnwood Convention Center and two pre-construction awards.

“We have gotten much busier in the last couple of months, although we definitely have the capacity to take on a few more projects,” he said.

The company’s main focus is helping clients build cost-competitive, durable facilities.

“We also have been successful in providing a true design-build approach for several customers, who like the concept of single-source contracting, quicker delivery and lower project costs that are afforded by design build,” he said.

Industry veterans Steve Mara, who is leading the Washington office, and Jerry Surdyk, a project executive, joined the company in January.

The Washington operation employs 85 salaried office and field staff and Howard S. Wright is in the hiring mode, Okerlund said. “We will probably add a few more project managers, superintendents and engineers as our workload increases.”

Wright’s other offices in Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Calif., Irvine, Calif., and Phoenix support the company’s capabilities as a West Coast contractor.

“Having a regional operations platform allows us to better serve our corporate clients and obtain a steady volume of work,” Okerlund said, adding the company has been using the regional strategy to “help us grow at about a 10 percent clip for the last five years.”

In the Seattle area, the company is building projects in the medical, technology, hospitality, retail and urban residential markets. Tenant improvements, hotel renovations and seismic upgrades have also provided steady work throughout the economic downturn.

“There are certainly areas in the market that seem to be getting more attention this year, however, we see the market being driven by companies that have solid business plans and developers who have either tied up land in the right locations or identified a specific tenant need,” he said. “Being resourceful and responsive to these folks keeps you from having a slow year.”

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