Dargan Construction Company:

Photo by Benton Henry
Donald R. Weaver
Vickie J. Cooper
Archie S. Dargan III
Harold G. Cushman III
Dargan Construction
Company:
Building The Grand Strand For More Than 50 Years
by David Shivers
Jr., who started the company in 1953, and director (and later
company president) Harold Cushman Jr., who joined Dargan in
1955.
Both of them are now retired, but the tradition of building
solid foundations based on human relationships and quality,
cost-conscious construction has been carried forward by their
sons, company president A. Shaw Dargan III and Harold “Harry”
Cushman III, vice president of construction, in conjunction with
a team of veteran company personnel, both in management and
out in the field.
History and Family
Prominently displayed on the wall in the reception
area of Dargan Construction Company in Myrtle Beach is
a memorial to James “Jimmy” Jordan, a beloved company
employee who lost his life in 1964 in a mishap while on an
errand at a non-Dargan job site.
The display – a plaque accompanied by his hard hat and
other tools of his trade – commemorates Jordan’s demonstration
of his philosophies of life and work. It also stands as a testimony
to the value Dargan Construction places on its people and their
integrity, principles instilled by founder Archie Shaw Dargan
Greater Pee Dee Business Journal
“My father was a freshman at Clemson when World War II
broke out,” said Dargan. “He joined the Army Air Corps where
he received pilot training, then ended up in Europe flying a P-51
fighter against the German Luftwaffe. After the war, he went
back to Clemson to complete his studies. After graduating in
1949 with a degree in mechanical engineering, he went to work
for J.P. Stevens Company in Greenville.”
Dargan Jr. was encouraged to come to the beach by Craig
Wall of the old Canal Wood Company. So the family moved
to the beach in 1953, founded Dargan Construction, and then
Hurricane Hazel hit in 1954. That natural disaster helped the
housing industry as there was a lot of rebuilding to be done.
Harold G. Cushman, a Citadel graduate and Korean War
veteran who served as a Captain in the Army and was a recipient
of the Bronze Star Medal, joined Dargan in 1955 as company
vice president. Coming to Dargan in 1964 was Vickie J. Cooper,
who is still with the firm as vice president of administration.
Rounding out the current management team is Don Weaver,
executive vice president of finance, who came on board in 2000.
A. Shaw Dargan III and Harold Cushman III joined the company
on the same day in 1982.
According to Dargan, employment longevity is something
the company is proud of. “We have employees who have
been with us a long time – 20, 30, 35, and 40 years. It’s like a
family.”
Dargan cited as an example a family where the father
began his career with Dargan Construction as carpenter. He was
promoted to foreman, then to an assistant superintendent, then
to general superintendent, a career which spanned more than
35 years. His three sons began with the company in a similar
fashion, and today all three are general superintendents. Now
their children are starting their careers with Dargan Construction.
“That’s why we’re so successful in this industry,” said Dargan,
whose son and daughter work for the company as well.
The longevity of many of the employees is attributable,
Dargan thinks, to the family atmosphere and a sense of loyalty.
Dargan Construction demonstrates its loyalty in numerous
ways. According to Cooper, the company’s benefit program
is second to none. It includes a 401(k) plan, profit sharing,
insurance, a drug card, paid holidays, and paid vacations.
Changing to Commercial Construction
The Grand Atlantic
The Island Condominiums
Brookgreen Welcome Center
Barefoot Resort
Dargan Construction essentially switched from home building to
commercial construction in the late 1950s, and, as they say, the rest is
history.
That history now includes completion of numerous well-known
structures on the Strand and around the state, including the Founders
Centre for Burroughs & Chapin, the Florence City-County Complex,
elements at Broadway at the Beach, Brookgreen Gardens’ Visitor Center,
and its Lowcountry Center, Francis Marion University’s McNair Science
Building, Coastal Carolina’s E. Craig Wall School of Business and
Wheelwright Auditorium, and the Thomas Cooper Library at the University
of South Carolina, and numerous primary and secondary schools.
Myrtle Beach’s skyline attests to the company’s legacy. Many of the
“Mom & Pop” three- and four-story motels constructed by the company in
the early ‘60s are now being demolished by Dargan Construction to make
way for new high-rise hotels and condominiums. Among these are The
Breakers, Beach Colony Phases 1 and 2, SeaWatch Tower 1, SeaWatch
North Tower, SeaWatch Tower 2, NorthShore Villas, Crescent Shores
Towers 1 and 2, Camelot By the Sea, SouthWind, The Island Condominium
Tower Barefoot North Tower, and others too numerous to mention.
The company is currently negotiating several projects on the Grand
Strand and another near Hilton Head. Under way is the $145 million
North Beach Plantation, Sheraton Broadway Plantation buildings 18, 19,
and 20, The Pointe Condominiums, The Spa at North Beach Plantation,
and Hilton Garden Inn at Coastal Grand Mall.
Some of Dargan Construction’s projects have brought it industry
recognition.
“We received the Carolinas AGC (Associated General Contractors)
Pinnacle Award for best building project for the Caravelle Resort,” said
Cushman. “It was brought in ahead of schedule and under budget. The
AGC recognized it as a difficult and complex project and awarded us for
that. We also received semifinalist award for Brookgreen Gardens’ Visitor
Center.”
Dargan Construction has received several Pinnacle Award honors
over the past 15 years.
While the awards are appreciated, Dargan stresses: “We’re not
looking for accolades. We’re out there looking to get the job done in the
best possible manner, for the best possible price, and have a win-win
situation between the developer, the individual owners of the building,
and our company.”
The company’s commitment goes well beyond simply completing a
building and providing the industry standard one-year warranty period.
Dargan said he isn’t aware of any other company that continues (beyond
the initial warranty period) to return on the anniversary date of the
building’s completion to perform a cursory inspection of the project.
“Our director of quality assurance is present at the annual meeting of
the (Homeowners Association) to answer any questions about the report
or any concerns of the HOA. This service is provided for a minimum of
three years,” said Dargan. “The individual homeowners are provided with
an operations and maintenance booklet. Included in this booklet are the
contact names and phone numbers of all subcontractors, major material
suppliers, and other pertinent names and phone numbers of individuals
associated with the project, as well as any specific product warranties.
We’re not perfect, but we have never run from a problem, ever.”
The Margate
10
April 2008
The Founders Centre for Burroughs & Chapin
Community Commitment
Dargan Construction is also attentive to the needs of both
the civic and business communities.
According to Weaver, the company formed the Dargan
Foundation to administer gifts to organizations such as the
Horry County Shelter Home, Boy Scouts of America, YMCA
in both Myrtle Beach and Darlington, the South Carolina
Children’s Museum, United Way, the Governor’s School for
Science and Mathematics in Hartsville, and the South Carolina
Association of Independent Colleges.
Professionally speaking, Dargan said: “We have a training
facility next door where we offer safety and first aid training,
forklift and crane operation certification to our employees as
well as our subcontractors.”
“We even train some of our competitors’ personnel,”
said Cushman. “When we raise the bar for everybody, we’re
helping ourselves as well.”
“We’ve made a significant contribution to HorryGeorgetown Technical College to help them with a construction
science and management program, and we have several people
on their advisory board to oversee that process,” said Dargan.
Dargan Construction has visited universities in South
Carolina and adjoining states to recruit young men and women
who are in construction science and management programs.
“We have a summer internship program in which students
come and spend the summer going through every aspect of
construction. That program has proven to be a wonderful and
rewarding endeavor,” said Dargan. The company has gained
Greater Pee Dee Business Journal
four project managers and two assistant superintendents as a
result of the program.
“Not everybody wants to work in an office,” said Dargan.
“Some like being in the field, where they can see their
accomplishments on a daily basis. What motivates me in the
construction industry is that it’s never the same. You could
build the same building a hundred times and it would never be
the same, because of the human relationships you encounter.”
Dargan Construction is also committed to job safety.
The company has a full-time safety director who Dargan
said performs his duties “like OSHA performs its. Nobody
knows when he’s coming, he shows up on the job and does
a thorough walk-through. Each job has an individual who is
responsible for safety on that job. That individual follows the
safety director through the project. Any deficiencies they find
are noted, and he’s given a certain amount of time to correct
those deficiencies. Many are corrected as they walk through.”
The company takes building and worker safety very
seriously, said Dargan. And aside from the purely human
aspect, it’s financially beneficial.
“It has paid off because our insurance mod rate is
exceptionally low and our workmen’s comp claims are next to
nothing,” said Weaver.
According to the website of Ohio-based Component Risk
& Safety Services, mod is an experience modification factor
applied to the premium of a qualifying policy as a financial
incentive for loss prevention.
Safety is also addressed at bi-weekly progress meetings,
said Cushman. Those meetings, which also include the director
of quality assurance and the scheduling coordinator, are
11
conducted, according to Dargan, on the
job site in the company’s office trailer,
“which we try to keep in immaculate
condition, as it’s a reflection of our
company.” Every job site has a field
assistant who records information that is
sent back to the main office by computer
link.
Foundation for the Future
Since joining Dargan Construction
eight years ago, executive vice president
of finance, Don Weaver, CPA, has
overseen some fiscally advantageous
moves for the company.
“Prior to my coming,” Weaver said,
“the company outsourced a lot of its
accounting and, basically, maintained the
books on the completed contract method.
The company relied on accountants to
come in and convert the accounting
records from a completed contract basis
to a percentage of completion basis. That
process took some time to complete and
the company has moved from a completed
contract method to a percentage of
completion method of accounting. We now
publish quarterly financial statements on this
basis and that has been very helpful and well
received by our bonding company.”
Weaver adds the change has been
especially beneficial in view of Dargan’s
business growth over the last few years.
In recognition of its growth volume,
Dargan Construction was recognized as
number five on the list of the Elliott Davis’
2007 “25 Fastest Growing Companies” in
the state.
Dargan said, “In 2006, we were number
two in South Carolina (among construction
companies) in terms of volume of business,
at approximately $190 million.” Revenues
for 2007 were $184 million, and Cushman
believes the company may claim the top spot
this year.
As part of its strategic plan for the
future, Dargan Construction is preparing
for key management changes. Retirement
is on the horizon for Dargan, Cooper, and
Weaver, with Cushman expected to move
into Dargan’s seat.
“We have people to take our place,”
Dargan said confidently. “We don’t have them
all here, but we’ve gotten commitments.”
Of the company’s future overall, Dargan
said: “We don’t have a magic ball, but we
are definitely encouraged. I’m an eternal
optimist. I always try to think that the glass
is half full rather than half empty. I don’t
like it when people say we’re about to have
a recession. It’s just as easy to say that work
has slowed. But we will be successful in
obtaining work. We’ve been here how many
years? About 55. And I hope we’ll be here
another 55 years. Nobody knows what the
future is going to bring, but I do believe
Dargan Construction Company will get its
fair share of the available work.” p
South Wind On The Ocean, Myrtle Beach, SC
12
April 2008