Turner Construction Atlanta Division
Cover Story
By Kathryn Jones   
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Turner Construction Co.’s Atlanta division has “a lot of experience with high-rise office buildings,” says Gary Swidorski, manager of business development.
Turner Construction Co.’s Atlanta division has ‘a lot of experience with high-rise office buildings,’ says Gary Swidorski, manager of business development.
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Turner Construction Co. ’s Atlanta office has paved its way to a top spot in the Southeastern construction market. As one of the top-five general contractors in Georgia, the company maintains its position by staying up-to-date on industry advances. Maintaining a diverse project portfolio has also been the key to its success, according to Gary Swidorski, manager of business development.

“We’re one of the larger business units within Turner,” he says. “I can say we’ve got a lot of experience with high-rise office buildings, commercial buildings, sports facilities, laboratories, K-12 schools, higher education buildings, condominiums, jails and courthouses, as well as healthcare and hospitality work.”

In an interview with Construction Today Quarterly, Swidorski touches on issues and trends that affect all members of the industry: the peaks and valleys of various markets, the increase in materials prices, LEED certification, building information modeling and the labor shortage. He also discusses Turner’s relationship with subcontractors and highlights one particular project that has made the company proud.

Construction Today Quarterly: What is a recent project of which Turner Atlanta is particularly proud?
Gary Swidorski: Probably the most recognized one that we’ve recently done is 1180 Peachtree, a 41-story, LEED gold-certified, high-rise office building. It creates a beautiful addition to the Atlanta skyline.

CTQ: Has the commercial market remained strong in your area?
GS: Right now, the commercial market has slowed down. There are a couple million square feet of vacant office space right now in Atlanta, and that has caused developers to slow down. They don’t want to build unless they get a commitment from tenants, and right now there aren’t many tenants out there committing. Over the next 12 to 18 months, it will turn back around, and you’ll see new developments.

The public and institutional side remains pretty strong here in Atlanta. We benefit from having a wide range of markets that we pursue work in. It helps us with some of the peaks and valleys of certain markets when they get too busy or there is not enough work.

CTQ : Has Turner been affected by the increased cost of materials?
GS: I would agree that construction costs continue to rise, but not at the same rate they have been for the past couple of years. Just as a general rule of thumb, construction costs typically go up quicker than inflation, but I think the increase has slowed down. It will continue to increase, but not at the same rate it was in the past couple of years.

CTQ : What are some developments?
GS: That’s a company-wide question. I would say the industry is headed towards building information modeling (BIM) technology. We’re finding that owners are much more interested in applying BIM technology and the value it brings, but it is still pretty new technology.

I would say the focus has been even stronger throughout the industry for green buildings. We’ve got six projects under construction right now that want some sort of LEED certification. Almost 50 percent of the proposals that come in the door are for projects requiring some level of LEED certification; owners are asking for their projects to be certified, and even if they’re not certified, they want to bring some green ideas to the building. As a result, we continue to add to the ranks of our folks who are LEED-accredited, and we continuously have folks who are being trained and preparing to become accredited.

CTQ : How would you describe Turner’s relationship with subcontractors?
GS: We have very strong relationships with subcontractors. We view them as our partners. We’re consistently ranked among the top-five contractors here in Georgia and we can’t do that without a great subcontractor base. We certainly have our core group that we are comfortable with, but we’re always looking to establish new relationships in the industry, as well.

CTQ : What is your most valuable asset?
GS: We always say that people are our most valued asset. Most of our work is subcontracted out, but the people we do bring on board are the face of Turner and carry themselves as such. We enjoy recruiting people, letting them intern with Turner, bringing them along from ground up, and provide them exposure to all sides of the business and then let them gravitate towards what they enjoy and are good at.

We let them see all sides of the business and grow their knowledge base, so they can be well-rounded and able to fit into one of several different positions long-term in the company, making it more likely they will stay with Turner for the long-term.

CTQ : Would you say the talent market is competitive right now?
GS: Yes, absolutely. As an industry, there is a concerted effort to get young people engaged and interested in our industry, whether it’s architecture, engineering, design or construction, because there really is a need.

In the future, we are not going to have nearly enough people in the industry to do the jobs that we’re doing today.

We also find that recruitment is very competitive within the industry and especially here locally.

It’s almost required to hire interns a full year or two before they graduate from college just to put yourself in a better position in that they might consider coming into a full-time role with you.

At Turner, there is a focus on work/life balance. It’s easy to run yourself ragged in this industry, but there is certainly an emphasis on maintaining a work/life balance that keeps you healthy and happy.

CTQ : What is your vision of Turner Atlanta’s future?
GS: I think we’ll continue in a positive growth mode with positive people and continue to be recognized as one of the premier builders in Georgia.

We’ll continue to have a wide variety of markets that we’re active and successful in.

I also believe Turner will be the place where people want to work at if they are in the industry.
 
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