Company Report: Hensel Phelps Construction Co
Hensel Phelps Construction Co: Wide coverage, local focus As its Arizona and national branches experience significant growth, this general contractor continues to offer customized and affordable service

mployee ownership. It's more common these days, but back in the 1960s Joe Phelps was one of the first to introduce it. As head of Hensel Phelps Construction Co, which his father founded in 1937, he was able to attract individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit who were interested in the company's long-term success.
Today, the business has grown from a small, local builder in Greeley, CO to a multi-billion dollar national contractor with eight regional offices blanketing the country. Overall, the company handles a diverse range of projects, including new construction and renovation of commercial office space, distribution and industrial, public assembly, airport and correctional and sports facilities. It also covers retail and mixed-use facilities, mass transportation, hospitality, entertainment, microelectronics and laboratory facilities. The projects are built for both public and private clients through various delivery methods, according to the company, and a large number include green features beneficial to the environment. It enjoys a 65 percent rate of repeat business.
"Despite its nationwide growth, the company has retained its Midwestern influences for ethical business practices and a genuine commitment to its people," says Steve Grauer, Vice President of the company's Western District office in Phoenix, Arizona. "In fact,
more than anything else, the Hensel Phelps story is one about and for people. We have developed an award-winning construction company by building personal relationships with our valued clients, trusted employees, and dedicated subcontractors and suppliers. Regardless of the technologies available to streamline our operations, our workforce and our person-to-person relationships will always be what sets us apart."
In addition to the Arizona office, Hensel Phelps has its Capitol region headquarters in Chantilly, VA (covering the Washington, DC area) and Mid Atlantic, Northern California, Plains, Southeast, Southern California and Southwest districts.

Diverse projects
More than 90 percent of Hensel Phelps' contracts are design-build or design-assist. Major projects across the company include the Pentagon, the National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, VA, the Disney Paradise Pier in Anaheim, CA, and the Colorado State Chemistry/Biosciences building in Fort Collins, CO. Several clients have helped the company expand into the technical markets, in which it now specializes, including Kodak, IBM, the US Army Corps of Engineers and United Airlines. The company's international work has led to contracts for the US Embassy in Germany, the renovation of Curacao Penitentiary in Antilles, Netherlands, and the Consulate Compound in Cape Town, South Africa.
Grauer says out of the wide spectrum Hensel Phelps covers, the federal market has by far the highest demand right now for the design build project delivery method and has become more popular with some state and municipal owners.
"The Department of Defense, the Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Energy, GSA continue to have significant procurements with the congressionally-mandated BRAC, Army Transformation, and Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Programs."

The Western District
Since Hensel Phelps' followed a repeat client to Arizona in 1978, it has delivered more than 30 projects for Arizona clients with a combined construction value exceeding $800 million. The office which is now known as the Western District was established in 2002. Grauer came on board in February 1990 as a Field Engineer and worked his way up to head the successful Arizona office.
"Our largest projects for the Western District in Phoenix are the recently completed $155 million mixed-use City North Project in North Phoenix," Grauer says, "and the $310 million Automated Train Project at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which is currently under way."
City North includes boutique retailers, office space, four big box retailers, two hotels and residential condos, all on lease-held land. The Sky Harbor project will create a 4.8-mile rail system by the airport to transport passengers to terminals and parking areas.
The Arizona branch has also handled the City of Goodyear City Center Development, the Four Seasons Resort at Troon North, Scottsdale, and the University of Arizona Law Commons construction and expansion of the school's chemistry building.
The Western District is one of more than 300 members of The Arizona Builders' Alliance, which represents companies and their employees whether they're open shop and union, general contractors, subcontractors, professional service firms or suppliers supporting the construction industry. The ABA, created through a merger of Associated Builders & Contactors and Associated General Contractors' building chapter, provides access to a nationwide network of construction industry professionals, publications and resources. It's helpful in building up Hensel Phelps' subcontractor pool, which it draws from for sub-trade specialty work, minus concrete, site management and general conditions expenditures, which the company takes care of.

A LEED leader
The Hensel Phelps name is synonymous with innovation in sustainable design and construction. One of its projects, the Capitol Area East End, Block 225 project in Sacramento, CA, was the first state-owned office building to achieve a LEED New Construction Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. When it continued to show benefits, it later earned the LEED Existing Building Platinum rating.
"Hensel Phelps has more than 175 LEED Accredited Professionals across the nation, and many more preparing to take the exam," Grauer says. "The commitment to sustainable design and construction demonstrated by these employees is helping clients maximize long-term performance of their buildings and protecting the environment for generations to come."

Continuous improvement
In regards to employees, the ownership aspect has been crucial in creating staff loyalty and an outstanding reputation with clients. Through its Continuous Improvement Process, the company has collected ideas from both employees and subcontractors and saved clients in excess of $50 million. Many past interns have joined Hensel Phelps, some of them whom participated in the company's tuition assistance program. This is helping fill some of the void in skilled craft laborers in the industry, including in Arizona.
Looking to the future, the company hopes to continue to draw dynamic employees, and to keep its Continuous Improvement Process in motion.
"The company has established itself as one of the industry's most profitable and highly regarded companies by continually improving the quality of its work product and the opportunities for its employees," says Grauer.

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