2007 Surveys
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GLY Construction
Specialty: Private sector commercial construction
Photo by Soundview Aerial Photography
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Bellevue-based GLY Construction is booking most projects out to 2009 because of a dearth of management and trade labor, said President Lee Kilcup. “There’s just not as much availability of staff that we’d like to see, so that’s limiting our ability to build more projects at least in the near-term,” he said. Kilcup said the company has “a little bit” of labor capacity in 2008, but the firm is “really selling” 2009 work. GLY has a workforce of about 550, with 100 of those people added in 2006. Hiring staff has been a full-time job for the company in the last several years, Kilcup said. Keeping workers The firm made the fortunate decision to keep its workforce numbers in 2004 when its volume went down to $86 million, Kilcup said. It did this by employing workers on smaller projects. “We’re very glad we did because we needed everybody and then some,” Kilcup said. In this tight labor market, Kilcup said it’s important to work with potentially overtaxed design professionals and subcontractors to ensure they have the staff to get jobs done on time. A busy market GLY is constructing buildings on the Microsoft campus. And, although he declined to name the firm, Kilcup said a certain Eastside software company continues “to have significant needs for space,” adding “they continue to ask if we have the ability to do more.” GLY builds high-rise office, retail, medical, hotel, assisted-living and technology buildings. It also builds condos, but doesn’t have any under construction now. Kilcup said he has misgivings about the large number of condos being built in Seattle and Bellevue. “I am a little concerned that we don’t end up in an overbuilt condition again because of the activity in the market,” he said. On the labor front, GLY is “watching closely” the situation with upcoming expiring union contracts, including the five major crafts unions, said Kilcup. |
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