Ambassador Construction says a committed work force and longstanding relationships with clients and subcontractors drive its success in New York City’s commercial interiors scene.

Through three generations, Ambassador Construction Co. Inc. and its employees have maintained a commitment to “producing high-quality work,” notes Vice President Ron Hertz, and this continues to differentiate it from competitors.

“It's truly the level of service and the commitment that the people here have to doing the right job” that sets the company apart, he emphasizes. Irving Koven founded Ambassador Construction Co. Inc. in 1960 and it is now in its third generation of family ownership. The company's current president, Cory Koven, took the helm approximately five years ago.

The company provides construction management and general contracting services, specializing in interiors. Ambassador Construction works primarily in New York City but also does projects in nearby New Jersey and Connecticut. Although it has performed work for retailers, restaurants and the residential sector, Hertz estimates “95 percent of what we do is corporate office interiors. We don't try to be everything to everybody.

“We try to do what we do and do it well,” he adds. “As one of New York City's leading companies in its field - serving both public- and private-sector clients in providing pre-construction, general contracting and construction management services - the firm is committed to delivering superior quality, accurate estimating, cost-effective purchasing and strong, experienced, personal project management and field supervision on every project designed to meet or exceed our clients' expectations,” the company emphasizes.

Service Culture
For the most part, Ambassador Construction's culture of high-quality service comes “from the people having been here 20 to 25 years and working their way up from field supervisors and laborers through the ranks to be senior supervisors, project managers and senior project managers,” Hertz states.

“Half of our people have truly been with the company close to, if not more than, 20 years. Most of these guys started in the field and worked their way up,” he adds. The company has 50 employees. “At least 50 percent or more have 18- to 22-year histories with the company,” he emphasizes.

“People start here and many people finish their careers here.” The other key element to the company's culture is a heavy emphasis on cross-training and personal accountability, Hertz explains.

“[With] our project managers and some of our supers, we want them to also be estimators and purchasing agents,” he says. “We don't delegate responsibilities of a job to different departments. We delegate a person to the different responsibilities of a job, and I think that has really helped our personnel be able to understand the project and who they work for from the bid phase to completion of a project and the end-product.

“The company's unique structure is conducive to direct accountability throughout every phase of every construction project, both to the client and our management, assuring that service is delivered in a highly personalized manner,” the company states. “Each project is assigned a team of professionals, all of whom remain directly involved through the life of the project - from estimating to purchasing, to supervision to the final punchlist. The client works directly and personally with the team so there is a personal knowledge of what the client wants at each step.”

This philosophy goes back to the beginning of the company, Hertz asserts. “That's the way the company has operated as far back as I can recall,” he says. “I've had a relationship with the company for 30 to 40 years through my family.”

Personal Connection
Hertz has worked for Ambassador Construction for about four years. “On a personal level, my father is an architect,” he notes. “That was my connection to the company, so I've known Ambassador and Irving and Cory Koven from when I was a young child.”

'Sense of Family'
Being privately held has given the company a boost, he says. “Truly, there is a sense of family here,” Hertz emphasizes. “There is no question that you are able to grow into greater positions of responsibility. It is a major reason people have struck around and I think there is truly a sense of family in this company.”

The company has also developed a culture of accountability and quality, Hertz adds. “Part of that came from the fact we did a lot of work for owners and developers and that enabled us to function in that way,” he says.

“[The company] didn't do a lot of strictly bid work in the beginning. When you are hired as a construction manager, it is really a cost-plus-fee basis as opposed to straight bids. “So the way that our work was funded enabled us to develop that type of strategy. It has proven to be really wonderful for us through the years.”

Hertz says the company will continue to keep a lean, cross-trained staff. “We don't anticipate growing to be 100 [people],” he says.

“We feel that in order to stay service oriented, there needs to be senior management and principals involved in the project and we don't want to get too big to provide that type of service.”

Training Strategy
The company also takes a personal approach to training, providing hands-on learning in-house to pass on expertise. “Most junior people are assigned a senior person and work with them,” Hertz explains. “We create teams, so it's truly hands-on training and development. We don't sit people down.

“This is not an industry for the classroom; this is an industry for the field. You learn in the field,” he adds. “The junior team members really get firsthand experience.”

A Changing Marketplace
“The marketplace is constantly changing; we constantly have to adapt,” Hertz notes. “Years ago, many owner/developers were smaller and more family oriented.

“Now, we are dealing with a lot of large real estate investment trusts. There's more dealing with large corporate procedures and such, as opposed to having more personal, small-owner relations we had through the years. Although we still have quite a few of those, too.

“The business is always challenging,” he adds. “It feels as if there is a lot more competition these days for what we do, and I think that's probably one of the bigger challenges we face.

“The rising and falling tides of the New York marketplace affect us. New York kind of lives and dies with the financial institutions; the banks and Wall Street really drive the economy here. When the economy is strong and Wall Street is strong, it keeps our field busy. Right now, the New York real estate market is as strong as it has ever been. There is very little vacancy in the city. Everybody keeps telling me there are all-time-low vacancy rates here in New York.”

Facing Challenges
Hertz says the company has overcome ebbs and flows in the marketplace through the years by “staying that smaller, service-oriented company.

“We have a much easier time providing good service to existing clients so they want to remain with us through the years,” he states. “It's much harder to go find the next piece of business.

“We find it easier if we provide that service [than to] get that opportunity to begin with. People are looking for quality work, and we are more likely to maintain them through the years as clients. It makes our lives easier here. Our goal to make people clients for life.”

Long-Term Clients
Ambassador Construction has many longstanding clients, he notes. For example, it has been working with Silverstein Properties since the company was Silverstein & Mendik. Bernard Mendik started off as partners with Larry Silverstein and later sold his company to Vornado Realty Trust as the first REIT in New York City.

Ambassador has worked with Vornado Realty Trust for many years, as well, continuing Mendik's legacy. Ambassador Construction has performed several projects for The Tower Group, and recently completed a substantial expansion project for the insurance company whose business has grown from a 60,000-square-foot space to 130,000 square feet.

“We did the original installation 10 years ago, have continued to do work for them throughout the years and were the only people they considered for their expansion project,” the company says. “That's a prime example of what we are all about - we truly are about service and quality.”

The company also has a continuing relationship with other firms, such as the Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison Group. The company helped the law firm expand from 50,000 to 75,000 square feet of office space, and recently added a new data center. “Once we were given the first opportunity, we wanted to make sure we were given a second and third opportunity, which we were,” Hertz states. “Nobody is bringing you back for a second project unless you did a great job on the first one.”

The company has garnered repeat business. “We boast an impressive client list including such owners as Silverstein Properties, Tishman Speyer Properties, Vornado Realty Trust, General Motors Corp. and The Trump Organization, among others, and such tenants as Bloomberg LP, FAO Schwarz and YMCA's Pension Fund,” according to the company.

“[Ambassador] has repeatedly been recognized by New York City's leading owners, tenants and brokerage firms for its dedication and attention to quality, service and every detail in the highly specialized field of commercial interior construction,” it adds.

Built on Relationships
Ambassador Construction enjoys long histories with key subcontractors. “Many of those subcontractors have also been with us 20 to 35 years,” Hertz states. “We have longstanding relationships and one reason we are able to do quality work is our subs are part and parcel of who we are. We are only as good as our subcontractors. We do say that all too often.”

The company also understands the relationship between contractor and architect, Hertz asserts. “I think with the approach of our people being multifunctional, and understanding the project that way, we are able to have a more personal level of interaction with the architectural community. With an architect on a specific project, we provide sensitivity to their design intent. We actualize what the architects plan and think and conceptualize.”

GM Project
Ambassador Construction notes it has completed several challenging projects in recent years, including an executive office space build-out for General Motors Worldwide Corp. The project included executive offices, lobbies, toilets, conference rooms, training room, a cafeteria, and custom workstations, as well as an internal staircase between the floors.

Mendik Co.
For the Mendik Co., a division of Vornado Realty Trust, the company performed a complete renovation of an active lobby, including 6,900 square feet of ceilings and 6,900 square feet of marble floors.

“The 27-foot ceiling height at the main lobby required special procedures to ensure the safety of building pedestrians - on average, 2,000 per day - and construction workmen,” the company explains.

“Rolling platforms and pedestrian tunnels were created to manage traffic control and the work in progress. The selection of royal green marble and South American Bubinga hardwood presented special challenges. “The main lobby is distinguished by the 27-foot-high panels of Bubinga hardwood accented by solid bronze trim.”

Ambassador Construction also created a 3,800-square-foot retail clothing store and wholesale showroom for Tom James Co. Inc.'s Oxxford Clothing in New York City. “The project required converting a single-story street-level store into a two-story high-front sales area and building façade, with an elaborate two-story great room sales area at the rear,” the firm says. “This was accomplished in an existing five-story retail structure with masonry exterior and interior wood construction.

“The rear of the second story consists of clerical offices, large wholesale buyer's showroom, toilets, pantry and mechanical space. The basement houses a tailor shop and storage.

“The project required extensive reinforcing of exterior walls and floor, installation of multi-zoned heating and air conditioning, and new electric service.”

Remaining Effective
The company says effective construction management requires constant contact and communication with the client, contractors, engineers, architects and other agencies, as well as planning, organization, coordination and an understanding of “the bigger picture.”

“The effective construction management firm must be responsive to unexpected situations and be able to effect necessary changes in a seamless manner,” Ambassador adds. “We wear the mantle of construction manager proudly and well.

“We have spent more than 40 years in an ongoing process of sharpening our skills, expanding our experience and establishing our credentials as a highly qualified firm that brings very personalized and very effective service to our client base.”

Future Vision
Ambassador Construction says its strategy will continue to boost business well into the future. “Ambassador Construction is well positioned for the challenges of the 21st century,” it states.

“We are secure in the knowledge that delivering the highest quality and providing services that are simultaneously professional and personal never goes out of style.”

Company Mission
The company says its mission “is to bring experience and professional expertise to every project, enabling our clients to meet or exceed their objectives and expectations. We succeed by ensuring that [the] following expectations are met on each and every project we undertake:
• “Dedication to quality
• “Attention to detail
• “Budgetary accountability
• “Timely completion of projects
• “Assignment of qualified experienced professionals
• “Effective and continuing communication.”

Quality-Minded Future
Hertz says Ambassador will continue to thrive based on quality. “Our plans for the future are pretty much to maintain that type of service and quality we've been providing, grow intelligently through the years and continue to be the successful firm we've been for 47 years now,” he emphasizes.

The company is committed to maintaining its legacy of quality service with an eye to the future. “Paradoxically, although our company is firmly rooted in the old-fashioned traditions of delivering quality and very personalized service, we are thoroughly modern in our methodology and resources,” it states.

“We feel that to abandon the hallmark of excellence begun over four decades ago and lived up to every business day since, would be a great disservice to those employees and the valued clients who made possible the success we enjoy today.”

Business Philosophy
Ambassador Construction says it has a “time-tested and success-generating business philosophy” that has helped it build “a loyal and enviable client list. That philosophy is founded in the belief that every client and every project is unique, a condition that requires delivering services in a highly personalized manner,” the company adds.