P&C ConstruCtionBuilding on a Foundation oF good Morals

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R C O N S T R U C T I O N E X E C U T I V E S

Winter 2010 www.usdevelopersjournal.com

P&C ConstruCtion

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Building on a Foundation of Good MoralsProduced by Matt Duncan & Written by H. M. Kuldel

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based general contractors P&C Construction began humbly with high intentions. “We set out to be not necessarily the biggest, but one of the best for quality and morality,” President Royce Cornelison explains.

Cornelison grew up in the construction business. He started as a laborer for a roofing contractor when he was just 15 years old. Over the years, he worked his way through the ladder, including being a carpenter, foreman, assistant superintendent and superintendent. By 1993, Cornelison felt being a business owner was the right path for him. P&C

Construction was formed with just two men working out of Cornelison’s 150 square foot basement office in Alabama. But the small size wasn’t as challenging for Cornelison as the perception the public had about general contractors.

“I wanted to change the image of contractors,” says Cornelison. “For a long time, they had the image of used-car salesmen. People didn’t trust them [because of some peoples’] shady practices. We wanted people to be able to trust who they were doing business with.”

Going the Extra Mile, Literally

In its first year, P&C Construction brought in about $200,000 to $300,000 in revenue, while it steadily built its reputation for integrity, morality and honesty. In 1994, the business relocated to Trenton, Ga., later moving again to Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1997, P&C Construction bought its current location — a 21,000 square foot structure on two-and-a-half acres of land – which serves

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as homebase for 60 full-time employees. This year, the company’s on pace for $21 million in revenue, its best year yet even though the economic slowdown has increased competition. Cornelison attributes P&C Construction’s success to the diversity of work it performs. Licensed as a general contractor in 10 states, the company handles design-build and construction management projects for medical, commercial, industrial, financial, educational, residential and even historical restoration. Carpentry work is the main in-house trade, but the company has expanded to include metal stud framers

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and drywall mechanics. For other trades, it often uses subcontractors that the company knows to be trustworthy and dependable.

Chattanooga serves as home base for the company because of its central location within the Southeast. Licensed in 10 Southeastern states, P&C Construction is very capable of providing construction services anywhere in the region. If a client ever wants work done in a state that P&C Construction doesn’t hold a license in, Cornelison said the company will pursue it.

Minding Your P’s & C’s & Q’s

For Cornelison, returning customers is a better mark of success than any one specific project. From 1997 to 2000, P&C Construction worked continuously on historical restorations for the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. In 2007, the company completed over 300 bank renovations for Regions Bank, and over

I feel like we’re particularly good at build-outs for

medical, retail and commercial offices,...

Most of our projects are within schedule or better than schedule, and within

budget.

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30 for SunTrust. “We’ve had so many milestones that I wouldn’t want to call out one or two or three as our greatest because we’ve got some good customers who have been loyal and stuck with us for many years,” Cornelison says.

“I feel like we’re particularly good at build-outs for medical, retail and commercial offices,” he continues. “We’re one of the best in this area for that type of work. Most of our projects are within schedule or better than schedule, and within budget.”

P&C Construction’s employees are the foundation of its reputation for quality and honesty. “We’re very selective in our hiring process,” Cornelison says. “We try to hire good quality people who really care about the kind of work that we do and our customers. In turn we try to take care of them.”

The company offers comprehensive benefits package — better than most other constructions companies, Cornelison says — and encourages continuing education. It recently put a new staff training program in place to share carpentry knowledge among its laborers and apprentices.

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Many of the trade organizations P&C Construction belongs to — the Associated General Contractors (AGC), CSI, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Structural Engineering Institute, and the American Institute of Architects, to name a few — provide additional training. In particular, the company has enrolled staff in programs from the AGC to learn more about first aid, safety, blueprint reading, estimation and general construction knowledge. Cornelison also expects to do some recruiting from the new construction management program at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga that the AGC helps fund when graduates start coming out of it.

P&C Construction also has two LEED-certified staff members, with the rest of its project managers going through certification over the next year. Sustainability will play an increasing role in P&C Construction’s efforts to be a responsible general contractor. “Even if it’s not a LEED-certified project, we still encourage

more sustainable materials because natural resources are drying up,” Cornelison says.

Controlled Growth Equals Quality

Getting customers to use greener materials is easy for P&C Construction because of its design-build workload. It picks up many projects at the first concept and then sees them through to completion. Being involved early in the process helps P&C Construction to choose sustainable materials, avoid problems, create realistic schedules, and determine whether the customer can really afford to do the project.

“We want to be known as being honest and being of the highest moral integrity,” Cornelison says. “That’s our No. 1 goal. No. 2, we want to perform the highest possible quality for the customer. No. 3, we want to do that same good quality work on a schedule the customer can live with.”

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And P&C Construction’s large but still growing work docket indicates that the customers appreciate the efforts. While many other businesses are downscaling, P&C Construction has added to its workforce and is making optimistic, but realistic, plans for the future. “We’re continuously trying to grow at a moderate level so nothing becomes overwhelming,” Cornelison says.•

Established : 1993 P&C Construction Employees : 50

President : Royce Cornelison

www.pc-const.com

COMPANY AT A GLANCE

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