FMI Releases Business Development Strategy Survey

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The economic climate of the last few years has done more than impact the bottom line of many contractors; it has been the catalyst for changing the industry’s approach to business development. FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, and the Associated General Contractors of America have collaborated to release the “2012 Business Development Survey.”

The report captures how the business development efforts of contractors have changed. Beginning with the recession and continuing through the recent months of slow economic expansion, the report takes a concentrated look at the business development function, as well as firm performance and strategy.

Survey Insights:

  • Going forward, business development is becoming more central to the overall business plan of many firms, with some contractors holding firm on business-development spending even as work becomes scarce.
  • Providing incentives for customers to maintain loyalty is a strategy being employed by the upper echelon of profitable firms. Margin leaders, looking to extract value from client relationships, are experiencing a correlation between the growth in repeat business and firm profitability.
  • Across all contract types, bid-hit rates for mid-sized firm ($100 – $500 MM) are lagging behind their industry counterparts. It is also the segment where the largest percentage of respondents (42 percent) spend less than 1 percent on business development.

To download a copy of the full report click here. For reprint permission or to schedule an interview with the author, please contact Sarah Avallone at 919.785.9221 or savallone@fminet.com.

About FMI: FMI is the largest provider of management consulting, investment banking and research to the engineering and construction industry. We work in all segments of the industry providing clients with value-added business solutions, including:

  • Strategy Development
  • Market Research and Business Development
  • Leadership and Talent Development
  • Project and Process Improvement
  • Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Consulting
  • Compensation Data and Consulting

Founded by Dr. Emol A. Fails in 1953, FMI has professionals in offices across the U.S. FMI delivers innovative, customized solutions to contractors; construction materials producers; manufacturers and suppliers of building materials and equipment; owners and developers; engineers and architects; utilities; and construction industry trade associations. FMI is an advisor you can count on to build and maintain a successful business, from your leadership to your site managers. Visit www.fminet.com.

About AGC of America: The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is the leading association for the construction industry. AGC represents more than 28,000 firms, including 6,000 of America’s leading general contractors, and more than 9,800 specialty-contracting firms. More than 11,000 service providers and suppliers are associated with AGC through a nationwide network of chapters. Visit www.agc.org.

Lauren Joyce of HPG to Speak at Green Plus Breakfast

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Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP, one of the largest CPA firms headquartered and staffed in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, announces today that Lauren Joyce will be presenting a keynote address on the benefits of going green to the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Green Plus™ Recognition Breakfast on June 7. HPG was the first accounting firm to achieve Green Plus certification from the Institute for Sustainable Development. In 2011, the firm was named Biggest Green Plus Mover of the Year.

Joyce’s keynote will address the benefits of going green from a networking and marketing perspective. This will include how being a Green Plus organization has created opportunities to grow HPG. She will also discuss how HPG became a Green Plus certified company through the development of a paperless methodology for completing key accounting activities and how the firm measures, monitors and reduces resource usage, including energy and water.

The growing Cleantech practice group has 15 employees and provides industry knowledge and the financial experience necessary for business success. HPG is a supporter of the CleanLinks Forum by the CED. The forum offers practical business advice to cleantech entrepreneurs.

About Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP (HPG): HPG is one of the largest CPA firms headquartered and staffed in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, as ranked by the Triangle Business Journal. More than just an accounting firm, HPG assists clients in looking beyond the bottom linesm by being the right people, right value and right firmsm to achieve each client’s definition of success. HPG is a member of CPAmerica International and affiliated with the Crowe Horwath International alliances of firms, with offices worldwide. The firm leverages this to provide national and global accounting resources to its clients. HPG offers a wide array of business accounting, auditing, corporate tax and management advisory services. Specialties include serving owner-managed, investor-backed technology and life science organizations, healthcare services, real estate development, manufacturing and distribution businesses, as well as providing ERISA audits, family wealthcare services and Sarbanes-Oxley internal audit services.

HPG has remained committed to advancing a thriving Triangle community since its founding in 1983. In recognition, the firm is the recipient of two Pinnacle Business Awards by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce: the 2009 Large Entrepreneurial Business Award and the 2010 Integrity in Business Award. Additionally, HPG has been certified Green Plus by the Institute for Sustainable Development for integrating environmental sustainability efforts into company culture, and has been named one of the top 100 Best Accounting Firms to Work For in the country by Accounting Today. Visit www.hpg.com for more information.

100 CEOs Discuss the State of the Engineering & Construction Industry

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One hundred top executives from some of the largest architecture, engineering and construction companies gathered in Washington D.C. recently to discuss the state of the nonresidential engineering and construction industry. The markets addressed included:

  • Federal & environmental
  • Transportation & power
  • Water & wastewater
  • Commercial & governmental facilities

A half day was devoted to discussion of the State-of-the-Industry report prepared by FMI and Alan Farkas. The report was based on a thorough analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau construction spending data, results of the Engineering News-Record Design 500 survey and 45 in-depth interviews with industry leaders. Key takeaways included:

  • U.S. design and construction markets are still waiting for the upturn
    • Design markets remained flat
    • Construction markets fell 2 percent
    • Breaking the trend is the power utility market
      • Power design gained 4 percent
      • Power construction increased 14 percent
  • 2012 appears poised for a mixed recovery
    • The power market should continue to grow
    • The facilities market should begin to grow
    • Transportation and water infrastructure will likely remain flat
    • Remediation will decrease slightly
In addition to the state of the U.S. construction industry, forum conversation included the U.S. political landscape with Larry Sabato talking about the 2012 election and The Honorable Gene A. Cretz, Former U.S. Ambassador to Libya, discussing the global economic outlook. The two-day forum also included workshops on emerging markets, funding and industry innovations.
This was the 18th annual gathering of this group, which represents 61 percent of all engineering and construction spending in the U.S. FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, hosted the event established in 1994 by Farkas Berkowitz & Company. For more information about the forum or the State-of-the-Industry report, contact Lee Smither, FMI managing director, at 919-785-9243 or email at lsmither@fminet.com.
About FMI: FMI is the largest provider of management consulting, investment banking and research to the engineering and construction industry. We work in all segments of the industry providing clients with value-added business solutions, including:

  • Strategy Development
  • Market Research and Business Development
  • Leadership and Talent Development
  • Project and Process Improvement
  • Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Consulting
  • Compensation Data and Consulting

Founded by Dr. Emol A. Fails in 1953, FMI has professionals in offices across the U.S. FMI delivers innovative, customized solutions to contractors; construction materials producers, manufacturers and suppliers of building materials and equipment, owners and developers, engineers and architects, utilities, and construction industry trade associations. FMI is an advisor you can count on to build and maintain a successful business, from your leadership to your site managers. For more information, visit www.fminet.com.

OutRaleigh Festival Makes Nationwide News

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OutRaleighNot only did the local papers, The News & Observer and Independent Weekly find OutRaleigh worth writing about, but thanks to the Associated Press, papers across the state like the Jacksonville Daily News and the Blue Ridge Now Times-News ran stories mentioning the festival. The AP coverage has reached as far north as Boston and as far south as Louisiana.

Locally, The News & Observer even made mention of it in their report on the weather. N.C. State students posted photos on The Wolf Web, and news blogs like examiner.com and Honest NC.

Even before the festival began, LGBT media like the Washington Blade were reporting on the importance of the event.

Now keep you eyes open for the LGBT Center of Raleigh, organizer of OutRaleigh, to receive more news coverage Tuesday. The center is holding an election night watch celebration that NBC 17 has already requested to cover and Articulon is receiving call from out-of-town publications such as the Charlotte Post for call-in reaction interviews.

 

Tacquire Data Publishes with Cary Chamber of Commerce

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RALEIGH, N.C. (March 19, 2012) – The Triangle Commercial Association of REALTORS®, announces today the integration of its commercial real estate exchange portal, Tacquire, into the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s economic development website (www.caryeconomicdevelopment.com). The site provides business, economic and community information for companies considering relocation to Cary. The addition of Tacquire’s portal provides visitors with real-time property and listing data.

“Cary has long been viewed as a desirable place to build prosperous businesses and strong families, and this is shown through its burgeoning growth,” says Sanford Jordan, vice president of the Cary Economic Development program. “Tacquire’s database provides easily accessible, up-to-date information that will be valuable in sustaining this growth.”

The Tacquire web portal tracks office, industrial, retail and specialty space available for lease across the Triangle region, as well as buildings and land being marketed for sale. The database is set up to be searchable by location, property type, price range and square footage. Results can be printed, converted to a PDF, or emailed.

“We are proud to partner with the town of Cary and other Triangle municipalities in integrating the Tacquire portal,” says Elizabeth Gates, Tacquire president. “Oftentimes, these economic development websites serve as the first place a company visits when looking to relocate, and our searchable database puts valuable information at their fingertips while also providing additional exposure for member listings.”

TCAR’s partnership marks the sixth since introducing Tacquire in 2010. In addition to working with Cary Chamber of Commerce,  the organization has integrated its Tacquire search database into the Raleigh Economic Development (www.raleigh4u.com), the Wake County Economic Development (www.raleigh-wake.org), the Town of Chapel Hill Economic Development (www.opentobusiness.biz), Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce (www.discoverwakeforest.org) and Downtown Raleigh Alliance (www.YouRHere.com) websites.

About Triangle Commercial Association of REALTORS®:
The Triangle Commercial Association of REALTORS® (TCAR) is one of 1,800 local associations of REALTORS® nationwide that comprise the National Association of REALTORS®. TCAR is the second largest commercial overlay board in North Carolina with 600 members and is accredited through the REALTORS® Commercial Alliance. The association was established in 1995, but began as a committee of the residential board in 1977. TCAR currently serves a 14 county area, including the Triangle, for real estate practitioners, appraisers, property managers, and other professionals allied with the real estate industry. For more information, visit www.tcar.com.

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