Ideal Contracting utilizes innovative computer programming to save its clients time and money.

Ideal Contracting LLC performs about 500 jobs a year. Some are big and some are small, says Greg Sorrentino, vice president and general manager, but the company gets all of them done with high-quality results.

“We'll do little jobs that are only worth about $1,500,” Sorrentino says. “That's unique of this company. We're equipped to do small jobs and respond quickly to the owner's needs and emergencies. And with our partner company, Barton Malow, which owns 49 percent of Ideal, we're able to take on any large project.”

Ideal Contracting LLC began in 1998 as a partnership between founder Frank Venegas Jr. and Barton Malow Co. The company says the goal was to create a viable minority general contractor catering to the automotive industry. Headquartered in Detroit, it has grown to be one of the largest general contractors in Michigan. It has received national and local recognition for its service, quality and innovative construction techniques, it says.

The company started out with nine people, but in 2002 it narrowed its focus to industrial work. Sorrentino says Ideal Contracting redefined its business model, brought other people on board and the company grew from there. Today, the company has 120 employees.

“I grew up as a carpenter, then got an engineering degree, so I'm big on performing work,” he says. “I've worked for several self-performing companies. When I first got [to Ideal Contracting], I was a broker. There's no challenge to it. I wanted to self-perform operations and do my own work. That's the fun part of the business.”

Big on Performing Work
The company engineered the turnaround to become a self-performing construction company. “I hired people who had experience in construction and experience in the auto industry, and [interviewed] people I knew or people I had been referred to by trusted people,” he says. “We are most successful because of exceptionally good people.”

Sorrentino adds that when he took his job at Ideal Contracting, he left a “really good job” with another company. “My wife asked how I'd think the company would do,” he says. “I said, 'If I can get it up to $25 million a year, we'll be good.' Last year, we did $132 million in sales. I'm not very good at predicting, am I? I thought we'd have $25 million in a few years, but instead we got it in seven months.”

Serving the automotive industry and working in Detroit, Sorrentino says, it isn't hard to find qualified workers. “We've got close to 80 guys who live and die in the automotive industry,” he says. “We're trying to keep them around.”

Ideal Contracting says its location in southwest Detroit gives it the opportunity to help people in the local community to get into the construction business. “We are located in a primarily Hispanic community,” Sorrentino says. “We hired some local people and some of the younger people and are helping them to develop in the business.” Ideal Contracting also is involved with local organizations, such as the Detroit Hispanic Development Council.

“We just work hard,” Sorrentino says. “We have a system here: Everyone has a job they know how to do. We've become successful for people knowing what to do. When we're awarded a job, our clerks set up files and contracts, our safety people get a program ready for a project, [etc].”

Ideal Contracting says it is committed to provide service that ensures quality delivered in accordance with customers' requirements and designs. “Ideal Contracting is committed to 100 percent customer satisfaction and a continuous improvement program that provides results for our customer,” it says.

Living Up to its Reputation
Sorrentino says Ideal Contracting has garnered most of its work because of its good reputation. The company completed a $52 million V6 engineering building addition to a GM plant in Flint, Mich., in 2004. Its success in that project gave Ideal Contracting most of its notoriety. GM has awarded Ideal Contracting its GM Award for Supplier of the Year four years in a row.

“We're also a contender for this year and are hoping to win again.” Ideal Contracting uses 3-D BIM along with a collaborative approach to to help design and build projects. It helped greatly when building the V6 engineering building addition, Sorrentino says. “We've been pushing this program to a lot of clients, and it's great when we use it in collaborative efforts,” he says. “It has proved to save the owner time and money, and he gets exactly what he wants.”

No Sales Goal
Sorrentino says he'd like for Ideal Contracting to keep expanding, but it gets harder because “we have to go further and further for a job. But if it's a job worth doing, we'll travel.” Providing a good work environment is most important to Ideal Contracting, he says. Regarding sales goals, he says, “We don't have any. If were to do less sales, I'm fine with that. We're only interested in a secure, successful future.”