Building on its Experience Building on its Experience

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO BUILD NORTH AMERICA
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Building on
its Experience
Electrical contractor PowerWorks Electric brought
the experience of a failing firm into a new venue
and became an instant success.
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at JFK International.
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NOVEMBER 2008
President Andy Shadrick (left) and
Chairman and CEO Al Fiore lead electrical
contractor Powerworks Electric.
Building on its Experience
Electrical contractor PowerWorks Electric brought the experience of a failing firm into a new venue and became
an instant success. The key to the company’s success is taking care of customers and making them happy.
By Chris Petersen
E
xperience matters, and there are likely few companies that prove this better than North Carolina’s
PowerWorks Electric. Born out of the ashes of a prominent electrical contracting firm in the Carolinas, PowerWorks
has become just as big of a force as its predecessor in only
two years due to the experience and skills its employees
brought from their previous positions.
Today, PowerWorks has parlayed the solid relationships
and years of experience of those veteran employees into a
firm that is well-known and trusted despite its brief tenure.
Chairman and CEO Al Fiore says the company’s “user-friendly” approach complements that experience well. From his
perspective, he says, customer satisfaction
PowerWorks Electric
is the only true measure of success.
www.powerworkselectric.com
“Early on when I invested in this compaHeadquarters: Mooresville, N.C.
ny and I was interacting with our cusEmployees: 125
Service: Electrical contractor
tomers, one of our general contractors
Al Fiore, chairman/CEO: “If I
looked at me and said, ‘I’m in the happy
take care of my customers and
make them happy, then I’ve won, business,’” Fiore says.
and I’ve succeeded.”
“What he was really saying is if I
take care of my customers and make them happy, then
I’ve won, and I’ve succeeded.”
A Unique History
Fiore says the story of PowerWorks is unique in the industry
because its existence is owed to the failure of another company. He explains that the company’s president, Andy Shadrick,
came to electrical contracting from the electrical engineering
design sector.
He was an executive in several leading electrical contracting firms in the Southeast before founding Power-Works,
including Starr Electric, where he was a vice president
and board member. During this time, Shadrick was
instrumental in a joint venture with Port City Electric,
where he forged a relationship with the company and its
employees.
At the time, Port City Electric was one of the most trusted
names in the Carolinas, Fiore says. The company had been
providing electrical contracting services since the 1960s and
handled a large portion of the major projects in the area. In
2000, Port City Electric’s management received an offer to
sell the company, which allowed the firm
to move into the New York market.
Unfortunately, the sale did little to benefit Port City.
“Like so many situations where you
have a roll-up where you’re trying to take
three companies in different geographic
locations and put them together, it didn’t
work,” Fiore says. Port City struggled under
new ownership, and went through four
presidents in as many years at one point.
The situation became so dire that bills
were going unpaid, and a number of Port
City’s preconstruction personnel could see
the writing on the wall. Based on their
prior relationship with Shadrick, those
Port City employees approached him with
an offer to start a new firm. Shadrick then
approach Fiore, a good friend of his, to
provide capital for the new company. At
first, Fiore says, he was skeptical.
“I said that wasn’t particularly in our
wheelhouse and we tend not to invest in
cyclical businesses and we don’t like startups,” Fiore says. He changed his tune, however, after meeting with Shadrick and the
former Port City employees.
“What really struck a chord to me is the
group said, ‘We just want to be able to
practice our trade, have some control over
our destiny and do it with dignity,’” he
says. Fiore agreed to fund the new company on two conditions: that the key employees be given ownership and the company
would be debt-free. Consequently, in 2007,
PowerWorks Electric opened its doors. The
reputation of the company’s superintendents and employees, Fiore says, proved to
be the deciding factor in driving its early
success. “We were turning a profit within
the first year,” Fiore says. As for Port
City, it filed for bankruptcy and closed up
shop in late 2007.
The experience those superintendents
brought was vital for the company to get
off to a running start, Shadrick says. “Our
business is something that takes years to
develop experience at, and you can’t just
open your doors and say, ‘OK, now I want
to do a big building,’” he says.
Shadrick adds that many of the Port
City superintendents had more than 20
years with the company when they
moved to PowerWorks. “Guys that work
for companies that long typically don’t
change jobs very often,” he says. “It was
like having a Super Bowl team that was
ready to play the game.”
The Whole Spectrum
The experience of its key staff members
gives PowerWorks Electric the ability to be
a one-stop shop for customers in numerous fields, Fiore says. “We basically function in all the disciplines,” he says. “We
really cover the whole spectrum.”
The company’s capabilities run from
preconstruction services to maintenance
and service. Fiore says PowerWorks has
completed projects including industrial
facilities, data centers and hospitals. He
says the company is in good standing with
many major general contractors, but adds
he doesn’t worry about where the company’s competitors are in relation to it.
“Generally, my management philosophy
is that I don’t spend a lot of time focused
on our competitors,” Fiore says. “What we
really try to focus on is being user-friendly
and easy to do business with, and treating
our employees in a manner where they
are the participants.”
Focusing on making the customer
happy and not worrying about the compePowerWorks Electric completed this electrical
project in the fall of 2008. Combined, the twin
buildings, the Hayes and Irby, measure 250,000
sq. ft. of “Green” Class A office space and are
located on the grounds of the Golf Club at
Ballantyne Resort, Charlotte, NC.
tition have been winning strategies so far,
Fiore notes. He says PowerWorks has
received repeat business from every client
it has worked with so far. “For me, that’s
really what I’m looking for in terms of
areas of excellence and awards,” he says.
Technology Focus
To make sure PowerWorks continues to
satisfy its customers well into the future,
Fiore says, the company has to stay on
the leading-edge of technology. Developers
and general contractors are under more
pressure to bring a project in on time and
on budget, he says, forcing subcontractors like PowerWorks to focus on ways
to improve efficiency.
“We’re trying to bring technology into
every phase of our business, and it starts
with project management,” Shadrick says.
PowerWorks’ project managers use automated project management software that
ties into estimating programs as well as
AutoCAD and building information modeling software used for shop drawings.
Shadrick says the efficiencies gained
through the use of such software has produced significant results so far.
“It has produced consistent profit margins that are ahead of estimates through
better organization, material purchasing
and overall project management,” he
says. Shadrick says the company is also
in the process of implementing CAD
Live, which will give the company automated material inventory capabilities.
PowerWorks has parlayed its solid relationships and years of experience of its veteran employees into
a firm that is well-known and trusted despite its brief tenure. “Early on when I invested in this company and I was interacting with our customers, one of our general contractors looked at me and said,
‘I’m in the happy business,’” Chairman and CEO Al Fiore says.
Expansion Team
Shadrick says PowerWorks Electric is
going to take advantage of the strong relationships he’s built in the Atlanta market
over the years to establish a new office
there. The company is also adding offices
in Raleigh, N.C.; and Columbia, S.C.
“That’s allowing us to network with
our regional clients who have regional
offices,” Shadrick says.
In addition to expanding geographically,
PowerWorks is adding diversified services,
such as specialized emergency generator and standby power work.
Shadrick says the strength of PowerWorks Electric is going to remain in its
relationships. “The bottom line is, our
whole success is based on customer relationships as built by the members of our
team,” he says. ■
Powerworks Electric completed the office project with
general contractor Cox and Schepp, the 500,00 sq. ft.
combined Class A “Green” Harris and Boyle office building
located at Ballantyne Corporate Park in Charlotte, NC.
Published by Schofield Media Ltd. Tel: 312.236.4090 Fax: 312.240.0686
On behalf of PowerWorks Electric. © 2008 Schofield Media Ltd. All rights reserved.