A year of growth
Architects offer
a key to locked-up economy
Firms draw up a plan
for success, and numbers prove it
By Chris
Thompson
Editor at large
The
nation’s tight economy hasn’t put the squeeze on the
state’s top architects, as many predicted a better year than
last and even sweeter times ahead.
"This
year has been exceptional," said Jim Sutton, director of
business development with The Stubenrauch Architects Inc. in Sheboygan.
"At times, watching the economy, you’d think things
would have slowed down, but frankly, for us it didn’t. It’s
been a very good year, and things are continuing to look good
for next year."
Stubenrauch,
which handled 50 projects last year, matched its 2000 total after
the first six months of 2001. Sutton said the firm’s success
is based on anticipating work before it even materializes.
"We attempt
to develop relationships with potential clients even before they
have projects," he said. “It’s proactive marketing.
"Things
have tightened up, but this firm is known for providing a significant
amount of facility for the dollar," he said. "We strive
to make sure our clients get the most for their money. I know
it sounds old-fashioned, but that’s how we approach our business."
Stubenrauch
isn’t the only firm experiencing a record-setting year. Plunkett
Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, with 120 projects in the first
six months of 2001, is right on track to match its 2000 figure
for the number of projects it’s working on. But David Raysich,
the firm’s managing partner, said simple numbers don’t
necessarily reflect his company’s success.
"It appears
it will be one of our better years, if not our best," he
said. "Our first goal is not the number of projects we work
on.
Those 120
projects are the result of working with our clients. And as we
expand and have more and more projects, we continue to hire new
staff that meet our standards."
Keep on growing
At a time
when the economy has forced many industries into massive layoffs,
architectural firms, such as Plunkett Raysich and Berners-Schober
Associates Inc. in Green Bay, have managed to continue hiring.
"We’re
very busy right now," said Richard Dannhausen, treasurer
at Berners-Schober. "In fact, we just hired three new CAD
operators. I’ve been here for 30 years, and this is probably
the busiest we’ve been in that time. There are just a lot
of things coming together at this time. We’re also in areas
of work that are less vulnerable to economic swings."
Berners-Schober
has only worked on 17 projects in the first six months of 2001,
but Dannhausen said it’s a simple matter of quality over
quantity. The company has devoted a majority of its resources
to its work on the Camp Randall Stadium renovation in Madison.
"We need
a lot of staff for a project the size of Camp Randall," Dannhausen
said. "In total, the project budget is at $88 million, and
we’re looking at the project being built over the next three
years.
"Our
work now is preliminary, and it won’t show as bid work until
at least next year. From a bidding point of view, 2002 might have
some big numbers, but we’re doing a lot of that work now."
The key to
growth in tough economic times, Raysich said, is to be flexible
and willing to expand when it comes to areas of specialization.
An aggressive marketing approach doesn’t hurt either.
"Our
corporate goal is to be always growing, and we’re striving
to develop new business," Raysich said. "We developed
a corporate alliance a few years ago with a Phoenix firm, and
we also developed a strategic alliance with a Cincinnati firm.
Now we’re looking at opening an office in Illinois."
Kahler Slater,
Milwaukee, has also spread out beyond the Wisconsin border, said
Jim Rasche, a Kahler Slater 3EO, which is one of three chief executive
officers in the firm’s shared leadership model.
"We continue
to do work for great clients in Wisconsin, and what we deliver
has allowed us to expand our capacity geographically into the
national marketplace," Rasche said. "We’ve grown
geographically and in terms of capacity, and we’re now working
in 13 states."
Staying on top
Raysich said
his firm’s achievement is based on a simple commitment to
providing a quality product. If clients like what they see, he
said, they’re likely to come back.
"Our
attitude toward our clients keeps those clients coming back, and
we’re always pursuing new clients," Raysich said. "The
key to our success has been the service we provide to our clients.
We’re really a diverse architectural firm, but our first
goal is service to the clients."
But clients
won’t see a quality product if a firm can’t keep a top-notch
staff, Rasche said. He said Kahler Slater attracts the strongest
talent and does everything it can to retain it.
"We have
very low turnover in terms of individuals, and we support the
professional passions of our staff," Rasche said. "It’s
a very rich, diverse, creative enterprise. The company’s
vision is owned by the staff, and that has helped grow the business
successfully. Maybe we’re lucky to have a vision that people
want to be a part of."
With a quality
staff in house and a slate of happy clients, Rasche said there’s
no ceiling to his firm’s success.
"We see
unlimited growth potential," he said. "It will just
continue to depend on the additional growth of the personalities
in the office. But the markets are limitless in our areas of specialty."
