Construction Company Owner Profile: Roger Tate and Bernie Jones, Allen Engineering Contractor, Inc.

Construction Business Owner, January 2009

You can call Allen Engineering a one-stop shop-they don’t mind. In fact, Roger Tate, president and founder, welcomes it. “The best decision we ever made was to bring in quality labor skill sets so that Allen Engineering self-performs the majority of all work scopes, allowing us to keep our pricing competitive while insuring a quality finished product, being in control of our own schedules as well as setting the bar high for industry safety standards,” Tate said.

These expanded offerings include Design/Build, HVAC, electrical, demolition, paving, flooring and roofing, among others. This allows the seven-year-old company to complete 60 to 100 percent of a project’s scope without subbing any of the work. Tate believes this approach allows them better quality control, but it takes support from the entire staff and a strong eye toward opportunities that fit their managed growth plan for the future to make this ambitious strategy work.

“Supporting new contract opportunities that may take our company into new regions, requires home office support as well as field support. With that in mind, we don’t want to compromise our commitment to being industry leaders through innovation, dependable service and the highest quality products and solutions to meet the client’s needs,” Tate said.

The idea of one company handling everything appealed to the Department of Defense, since much of Allen Engineering’s work is on military bases. Because of this, Tate and his vice president, Bernie Jones, added yet another notch to their belts by earning their Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Training certification from the Naval Service Center, Security Engineering Division in March 2005.

Tate’s final advice for other contractors is to have a business plan for future growth and work toward it consistently. “Reinvest in the company by sticking to the business plan for future growth requirements and hiring key personnel with vast experience.”