专业承包商克利夫兰电气公司（Cleveland Electric Co.）的副总裁范·克利夫兰（Vann Cleveland）描述了该家族拥有的公司对过度扩展其在乔治亚州剧烈建筑市场的能力的警惕性，“留在大灯中”

A couple of years ago, however, someone must have turned on the high beams.

2014年，克利夫兰电气的收入跃升了44％，这是几个重大计划的重大项目，同时启动。新利18备用网址该公司的三条服务线（电信，机械和通信/低压技术服务）构成了去年的收入稳定。该公司报告了2015年的2015年最佳专业承包商调查的区域收入为1.7062亿美元。总体而言，承包商在ENR东南部的专业公司年度排名中排名第9。新利18备用扎实的表现还帮助克利夫兰电气（Cleveland Electric）作为ENR东南部年度最佳专业承包商获得了选择。新利18备用

Even though Cleveland says the company is on pace to reach $182 million in revenue in 2016, he admits to some trepidation about 2014’s great leap.

“We nearly did too much, because we’re driven by profit, not growth,” he explains. “We want to add to our bottom line without compromising quality.”

That philosophy dates back to 1925, when Vann’s great-grandfather, Ras Cleveland, started the business as an electric motor repair shop. Today, Vann Cleveland shares company ownership with Ras’ other descendents: John Cleveland, president; Ken Harbour, chief financial officer; and James Cleveland Jr., chairman and CEO.

The industrial process and power generation market, long the cornerstone of Cleveland Electric’s construction business, remains a stalwart sector with longtime clients such as Atlanta-based Southern Co., the parent of Georgia Power, which provides a steady stream of assignments.

Last year, for example, Cleveland Electric provided $13.3 million in mechanical and electrical services for the conversion of two coal-fired boilers to natural gas fuel at the utility’s Yates steam-generation plant in Coweta County, Ga. Meeting that project’s demanding 14-week schedule required working as many as 300 craft personnel across two shifts seven days a week.

Cleveland Electric’s current projects include the $200-million, 485,000-sq-ft Spring @ 8th office tower in Atlanta’s Midtown Tech Square; electrical power and systems work for the 20-MW Hazelhurst Solar Farm in southeast Georgia; a central energy plant to support a 200,000-sq-ft data center expansion west of Atlanta; and $36 million in electrical work for the Landside Terminal Modernization at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, another longtime client.

当项目的工作范围要求额外的resources, Cleveland Electric joins other subcontractors in joint ventures to maximize its own resources, which include 3D modeling and prefabrication. For instance, the company is part of a three-contractor joint venture providing electrical power and sports LED lighting for Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the $1.2-billion, 1.8-million-sq-ft new home for the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons.

克利夫兰指出，尽管亚特兰大市场的持续活动使大多数分包商忙碌，但竞争的水平尚未转化为价格上涨。但是熟练的劳动仍然是一个问题。

“There is a shortage with journeymen electricians,” he says, “but we’ve been able to plan for that so far.”

战术队伍

克利夫兰说，与当前业务环境的区别是对所有者驱动的对更大的协作和效率的要求，尤其是在更大，更复杂的项目上。新利18备用网址他说：“这实际上对我们有好处。”“这就是我们的优势扮演的那种工作，因此这些是我们想要的工作。”

Cleveland believes the firm’s most extensive problem-solving effort came with integrating nearly $90 million worth of process, electrical and communications systems at the recently completed $1-billion Program Covington Biologics Facility, located 45 miles southeast of Atlanta. The 100-acre campus houses more than 1.2 million sq ft of research, manufacturing and utility operations, all of which depend on precision building systems to support cutting-edge pharmaceutical research on therapies that will be used to treat patients suffering from burns, immune deficiencies and other medical conditions.

Since construction got underway in 2012, Cleveland Electric has worked with construction manager Fluor to mitigate numerous issues as new buildings have come on line so that the facility can quickly transition to full production in 2018.

“他们希望您挑战他们。”麦卡锡建筑公司的马克·阿努特（Mark Allnutt）说，埃默里大学医院的项目总监450,000平方英尺的患者塔，克利夫兰为此作为合资企业的一部分提供了所有电力和系统。

Allnutt adds that even when starting out with limited design documents, “they’re very good at understanding how projects go together, yet establishing a solid budget.”

创造力也是克利夫兰电气工作的标志。Allnutt回顾了该公司在施工早期安装永久照明的战略如何消除了可能在该项目后期可能被丢弃的临时照明的需求。

Cleveland Electric has also gained a reputation for problem-solving and, more importantly, problem-prevention.

Ken Aschbacher, Archer Western’s project manager for Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s $38-million Brady Avenue Mobility Facility, says that over the two-year construction phase, Cleveland Electric helped maintain seamless operations across the 11-acre site. The firm’s work included setting up temporary power, electrical connections and switchovers, and performing as much work as possible overnight to ensure uninterrupted operation of MARTA’s Mobility vehicles the next day.

“They are willing to do things that aren’t ordinarily expected of subs,” says Aschbacher, and that was particularly important given that the project is design-build, a delivery method rarely used by MARTA. As such, the agency had set exacting standards for its communication equipment, some of which had been superseded by technology changes.

Yet Cleveland Electric found a strategy for meeting MARTA’s requirements with up-to-date equipment and only minimal change orders.

“They were truly interested in giving the owner an optimal solution for the least cost,” Aschbacher says.

尽管这些项目属性在今天看起来似乎是独一无二的，但克利夫兰预测，随着业主期望承包商希望以几乎相同的成本提供更大的价值，克利夫兰将逐渐成为常规。幸运的是，他补充说，BIM和其他建筑管理软件也发展了，帮助承包商更加主动地确定了该领域的预制机会和冲突检测。

“The pressure is on everyone,” Cleveland says, adding that opportunities to participate with the better lead contractors come only to those subs that put a premium on safety. “Fortunately, our EMR has never been lower,” he says.

克利夫兰电力公司采用削减成本和节省时间的另一种策略是与两个预选供应商的合作伙伴关系，这些供应商竞争为特定项目提供新利18备用官网登录基本材料（例如电线，导管和配件）。新利18备用网址由于供应商还负责材料包装和交付给工作现场，因此克利夫兰电气的现场工作人员可以专注于安装，而不是追逐零件。

Yet even with their emphasis on efficiency, Cleveland Electric employees still take time to work with the Phoenix Boys Association, a program for at-risk youth in west Atlanta. The company hosts meetings of the group’s Boy Scout troop and provides mentoring opportunities for inner-city students.

Sustaining the Cycle

With the total value of Atlanta’s construction starts having doubled since 2012—and projected to touch $13 billion this year—it would appear that Cleveland Electric will continue to enjoy opportunities to pursue its time-tested strategy, one that Vann Cleveland believes will help provide a degree of protection from any sudden disruption.

“The key as always is to keep on top of the marketplace by talking to customers about what they’re doing,” he says. “If we can get ahead of the opportunity, we can be ready for it both to bid and to deliver the service.”

麦卡锡的Allnutt说，利用现有的质量，协作和解决问题的声誉也不会受到伤害。

他说：“您可以信任他们，这在这项业务中很重要。”