2009 General Contractor of the Year

Wadman Corp. has become one of top construction firms in region

Nearly 60-year-old firm based in Ogden, Utah has made great strides in the building industry, with revenues having more than tripled in the past five years. Company is active in the community, and provides its employees with opportunities for stable, long-term careers.

By Brad Fullmer

Wadman Corp. CEO David Wadman has seen a lot during his three decades working in the construction industry for the company started by his father nearly 60 years ago. He’s experienced a pendulum swing of economic times through those years, from the challenging early 80’s, the growing early 90’s, to the robust good times from 2003-2008.

And despite the economic uncertainty of the next couple of years, Wadman remains confident that his firm – led by its loyal core of employees – will continue pushing forward with diligence and hard work.

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“We’ve got some incredibly good people – we’re going to keep riding along,” says Wadman. “When I started in the office learning the business end of things (1979 at the age of 21) the industry was extremely tough. The early 80’s were very lean years. We had a small staff and I covered all bases. I was an estimator, a project manager, head accountant. I’m optimistic things will turn around with the economy and that there will be a resurgence.”

“A year ago things were on fire and we wondered if (boom times) were ever going to end,” says Dave Hogan, a 14-year company veteran who was installed as president of Wadman Corp. in 2007. “I would say we’re getting more to reality. I don’t see the industry returning to what it was anytime soon. That’s reality – it’s not doomsday.”

“Our theme right now is navigating the storm,” says Keith Buswell, vice president of business development the past seven years. “We’re going to keep moving forward.”

Strong Values = Explosive Growth

Wadman Corp. was founded in 1951 in Ogden by V. Jay Wadman, a veteran of World War II. Jay Wadman started out modestly, building schools and other small commercial projects in and around the Ogden and Brigham City areas. His philosophy from day one was hire good employees, train them to be self-sufficient, and do whatever it takes to satisfy clients. Those same values are still in place today.

Dave Wadman started out as a teenager working for his father in the field, and eventually moved into the office to learn the ropes of how to run the business end of a commercial construction company. Dave Wadman helped steer Wadman Corp. through the rocky 80’s and has been at the helm of the firm’s incredible growth the past 20 years. Dave credits his father’s work ethic and value system as keys to his personal growth as a leader.

“My dad is a hard worker; he still comes in every day (at age 82) – it’s his only hobby,” says Dave Wadman. “He’s a wealth of knowledge. He taught me from the beginning that your word is your bond, and integrity is what counts. Learn to compromise to solve tough problems. At the end of the day, it’s coming up with a solution that works for both parties.”

Wadman Corp. is led by CEO Dave Wadman (left) and president Dave Hogan. (photos by Dana Sohm)

Under Dave’s guidance, Wadman Corp. has seen annual revenues explode the past five years, more than tripling from $60 million in 2004 to $202 million in 2008. During that period, the company has built some impressive projects in various market segments, including retail, hospitality, religious, institutional and resort. Dave Wadman says being that diverse is essential for steady growth, and for weathering a tough economic climate like right now.

“It’s important to have some diversity and to be in different markets,” says Wadman. “Having been at it for 30 years, markets change, areas change. In the mid-80’s hospitality was strong for us and we were heavily involved in that market. But in the early 90’s hospitality dropped, but we had kept other sectors open, so we focused more on them. We’ve got retail, institutional and federal work, and right now we’re looking at more government work. It keeps us well-rounded.”

“We are a broad-based GC that does a variety of work,” adds Hogan. “That’s the advantage of being a nearly 60-year company. We’ve seen things cycle. I’ve seen boom and bust situations from both a field worker’s perspective and as an executive. When the economy slows down, it affects a company side-to-side. I hate saying top to bottom because the guy with the stack of papers in the office and the guy with the tool belt in the field are equally important.”

Dave Wadman (right) and Dave Hogan peruse the Waldorf Astoria Dakota Mountain Lodge project at The Canyons in Park City, Utah. (photo by Dana Sohm)

Having loyal, dedicated employees has been a beacon for the firm throughout its history.

Jay Wadman says his firm could never have reached the $200 million revenue mark without a great group of workers.

“There are always dreams of achieving this kind of goal, but making it a reality, I owe to the leadership and talents of everyone in the company,” says the elder Wadman. “I am proud of the performance and quality of our projects and in the integrity of our company in being honest in our dealings with our clients.”

“We’ve got some incredibly good people,” echoes Dave Wadman. “It’s the people that make it work. If you surround yourself with good people who can do as good, or better, than you, then you’ll have a viable organization. We have people we trust that have a great work ethic. They want to make this part of their life. No way you can move forward without good people.”

Hogan says he’s been impressed with the Wadman philosophy of training people and empowering them to take on key roles of responsibility.

“Construction is a tough business and it’s about performance,” says Hogan. “The long and short of it is people make mistakes. Dave (Wadman) is a great person for looking at the big picture on people. If someone makes a mistake, sometimes you want to make a quick judgment. Dave has taught me, through example, to give people second chances and an opportunity to redeem themselves. You’d be hard-pressed to find a job where a super or PM didn’t make a mistake on any project. The way that’s handled is important. We need to create an environment where people can overcome their mistakes.

“To be a good delegator, you give someone the right to fail,” Hogan adds. “You can’t delegate with a leash all the time. You’ve got to help them out and send them back into the game.”

Buswell says Wadman employees (the firm employs about 150 full-time people right now) have roughly 1,250 years of combined experience in construction, including 750 years with Wadman Corp.

“75% of our people have been with the company longer than 10 years,” says Buswell. “One superintendent is in his 43rd year. Some of our people started at 18 years old cleaning up jobsites, and now they’re running multi-million dollar projects.”

Westgate Resort at The Canyons earned Wadman Corp. ABC Utah’s ‘Champion of the Year’ award this past March. (photos by Dana Sohm)

“They are a well-respected company in the construction industry,” says Ken Shulsen, president of the Utah chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors. “Their employees are actively involved with ABC Utah and they’ve been recognized by ABC with a National Merit Award for their safety, training and evaluation program. We appreciate their commitment to our association.”

Staying Positive About the Future

Wadman Corp.’s annual revenues have increased at roughly a 30% clip from the five-year period of 2004-08, topping out at $202 million last year. Heading into 2009, the firm had a solid backlog, but is seeing that gradually wither down to where 2010 could be a pretty difficult year.

“As I look around at our peers, it seems everybody is concerned,” says Hogan. “We had about $145 million in Park City projects coming into ’09. We’re starting to see those big jobs power down and are starting to feel the crunch.”

Hogan says the firm’s family-type atmosphere took a bit of a hit in March when they were forced to lay off 20 people. However, the company remains committed to keeping as many people gainfully employed as possible right now.

“We all buy into a family feeling and sometimes that’s challenging,” says Hogan. “The layoff was painful – it was the biggest in Wadman history. I think every (construction firm) had to let some people go, but it’s not something we’ve done in the past. We look for ways to keep people busy. It’s more of a family approach than a business approach. Sometimes it’s not very cost-effective to have a superintendent doing manual labor, but it’s what we do from a family standpoint.”

“I predict 2010 will be a tough year, but that by 2011 we’ll start to see some resurgence,” says Dave Wadman. “We knew this was going to be a down year. We set our goal around $170 million based on the markets we’re working in. We don’t need to be the biggest (contractor); our goal remains satisfying clients and maintaining long-lasting relationships. If you do that, goals are pretty easy to make.”

“In every market segment we see challenges,” adds Buswell. “We’re bidding a lot of jobs – smaller jobs, lower margins, more competition. Our people are busy and we are optimistic. But until the financial markets cut loose, it will have an impact on our entire industry.”

Jay Wadman offers this pearl of wisdom regarding the future of the company he founded 58 years ago: “Stick to the basics, and go forth with optimism of even greater heights that can be achieved.”

Corporate Profile

Company: Wadman Corp.
Location: Ogden, Utah
Year Founded: 1951
Founder: V. Jay Wadman
CEO: Dave Wadman
President: Dave Hogan
No. of Employees: 150
EMOD Rate: .63
Markets Served: Hospitality, municipal, retail, government, multi-family, institutional, resort, religious
Recent Major Projects: Westgate Resort, Dakota Mountain Lodge, Sunrise at Escala, South Ogden Jr. High
Construction Innovations: Web camera on job sites, badge ID’s, security, development of a paperless system for project management.
Revenues Past 5 Years (millions): 2008 – $202.6 M; 2007 – $151.3 M; 2006 – $102.6 M; 2005 – $78.6 M; 2004 – $60.2 M
ENR Top 400 Ranking: #350 (2008 revenues)
Awards: ABC Utah 2008 Champion of the Year (Westgate Resort Phase II); ABC National 2007 Safety Award; ABC Utah Platinum STEP Award (six straight years 2003-2008); Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (Dave Wadman); SAW Special Tribute Award for Community Service from YCC of Ogden; Utah Labor Commission 2008 Workplace Safety Award