ANNUAL REPORT TO EMPLOYEES
Transcription
ANNUAL REPORT TO EMPLOYEES
T O G E T H E R , B U I L D I N G V A L U E E V E R Y D AY. 2016 PERSPECTIVE ANNUAL REPOR T TO EMPLOYEES FREED Freedom Jim Swanson What does the word evoke for you? Every year I choose a theme to help us reflect on many of the unique benefits we derive from being an employee owner at Kitchell. At the end of last year, many of you expressed your “freedom” to create value. What do you think of when you hear “freedom?” Most will think of America, this year’s election, our Constitution or something else related to our free society. But our freedom also has a lot to do with who we are, and what we want to be at Kitchell. As a private, employee-owned company we have the ultimate freedom to choose our destiny and to control our future. During the course of our now 66-year history, we have chosen freely to support innovation, encourage champions, pursue growth and share ownership. Our historic leadership, starting with Sam Kitchell, has embraced our freedom to shape our future. Today, with a supportive board of directors and exceptional operating company leadership, we continue to maximize the value of our freedom. The concept of “Champions” at Kitchell is a direct result of our freedom to chart our own future. A few examples of freedom in action in the past year include: • The acquisition of a new facilities management business in Silicon Valley. • The planning and opening of our pre-fab facility. • Re-entry into industrial development. • Collaborative problem-solving to address critical project issues and minimize liability. • Maintaining competitive rates while increasing gross margin on HVAC equipment. • Streamlining operations and creating efficiencies through new technologies and applications. You all knew when you started reading this that the next part was coming…. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. Of course it is not. We have a huge responsibility to deliver while we are exercising our freedom. A few things come to mind when I think about our responsibility to protect our freedom. These themes also come directly from feedback from our employees. DOM Board of Directors Bill Schubert, Chairman Bob Delgado Jack Henry Mark Pendleton Jim Swanson Accountable – We need to hold ourselves and each other accountable for our actions and our results. If we fail to do so we are likely to put our fate into the hands of others. We need to work together to accomplish great things, and we all need to strive to achieve our best work. Feedback – We need to ensure that we have a welldesigned and effective feedback system. If we do not do this we will not develop the next wave of leaders. I will take “the cold hard facts” over vague feel-good language every time. Communication – Good communication means people feel included. Communicating to our employee-owners is one of the most important things we can do. It leads to interconnectedness across our businesses and improved idea flow and innovation. Together, let’s embrace our freedom in 2016 and beyond. Together, let’s do the things we need to do to protect and enhance our freedom to chart our own course. Together, let’s work on preserving the Kitchell we have: one that consistently provides new and exciting opportunities for our employees. Jim Swanson President/CEO Kitchell Corporation Kudos for Kitchell projects ENR Southwest: Chandler Regional Medical Center and HonorHealth Deer Valley Central Plant National Design-Build Institute of America Award of Merit: Chandler Regional Medical Center AGC Las Vegas Building Project of the Year: Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican HospitalsSiena Campus Construction Management Association of America, Southern California Chapter Project of the Year: San Bernardino Valley College Auditorium, San Bernardino Community College District Metal Construction Association Chairman’s Award: University of California San Diego Jacobs Medical Center Central Plant International Partnering Institute John L. Martin Partnered Project of the Year – Ruby: DeWitt Nelson Juvenile Justice Conversion Student Housing Business Magazine Innovator Award for Best Renovation of an Existing Dorm: Arizona State University Manzanita Hall Student Housing Business Magazine Innovator Award for Best Architecture/Design of More than 300 Beds: Roosevelt Point KC Corporate Services Freedom to lead For many years, Corporate Services enforced protocols and guidelines for the operating companies while overlooking the potential challenges, overlap and duplication of services that might result from five distinct entities. Thanks to the digital world, innovations that come from within our own ranks, and the focus on being lean in every aspect of our business, we have found new ways to streamline, be more efficient and support the companies as they look for new ways to bring value. Just as the operating companies have always looked at ways to express their freedom through new ideas, Corporate Services, also, is looking at ways to support its operations through new approaches and programs. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 Revived the Kitchell Employee Foundation. As a way to build camaraderie and give back to the community, the Kitchell Employee Foundation – now an official 501(c)(3) – came to life with new leadership and participation, generating record numbers of donors and funds for new non-profits. Enhanced our emphasis on benefits and training. To illustrate Kitchell’s investment in people, we developed Total Compensation Statements to help existing and prospective employees understand the value of being a part of Kitchell. We rolled out Sonic Boom and Healthiestyou – programs to encourage more proactive involvement in healthcare, helping to meet the federal government’s goal of personal responsibility while providing as much support as we can to keep our employees and their dependents healthy. Orientation and onboarding received more intense focus, with programs that help bring a universal approach to introducing new employees to Kitchell. Introduced new financial services solutions. With the roll-out of a new invoice router and expense management application, we have more controls in place, and have added several vendors to our electronic payment system – a major cost-saving initiative in our efforts to reach 100 percent electronic payments. We are also implementing an automated system to help manage Kitchell’s stock plan, easing the burden of one person managing a program that requires responsiveness to hundreds of employee owners. We survived a 2012 IRS audit and transitioned back from new auditors to our former auditors. And as a great way to cap the year, Financial Services played a significant role in the successful acquisition of VFMC. Our HR, IT and Financial Services teams have all played a role in bringing h/dc further into our operations, successfully converting from Timberline to E1, enabling them to be part of Kitchell’s ongoing communications and operations systems and helping with their recruiting efforts. A component of nearly every corporate function, our IT team worked closely with Financial Services CORP on new billing processes for the operating companies and to configure the new invoice routing system. They also collaborated with HR to implement the new Kronos timekeeping system. And in a very exciting development, IT was able to bill hours to several CEM clients. Our legal team was on task this year. David Koval and his faithful sidekick, JoAnne Bourgogne, have done a terrific job of evaluating our risk, mitigating our liability and helping to educate companies and employees about protecting our livelihood. Looking to 2016, Corporate Services will continue to meet the needs of our constituents through continuous planning and communication, working with each of the companies to help them achieve their business plans and goals. 2016 INITIATIVES • Improve accessibility of HR information by reviving our HR policy manual online, conduct workplace harassment training, expand development and wellness programming, and revive the Performance Management System. • Enhance Kitchell’s internal communications and corporate culture by encouraging teambuilding, offering management training and celebrating accomplishments. • Execute business intelligence, cash management and procurement solutions. • Migrate operating companies into universally used platforms, including E1, SalesForce, and implement project management, financial and safety management dashboards for all operating companies. • Implement stronger security protocols to protect Kitchell’s technology assets. • Begin a strategic planning initiative. Kitchell Contractors Freedom to create Freedom to innovate. Freedom to create opportunities. Kitchell exemplifies disciplined freedom to explore new horizons while adhering to the values that have driven our success since day one. For the past few years we have explored new areas of growth by expanding regionally and vertically. Longtime pursuits have come to fruition, and the flexibility that Kitchell provides in enabling us to explore new paths and new ways of doing business has proved fortuitous on many fronts. In 2015, we achieved our goals (and then some). ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 Advanced our safety and health management system. We accomplished this in a big way. The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) designated Kitchell a “STAR Site” through the Construction Voluntary Protection Program “CVPP.” Companies and jobsites that are awarded the STAR designation demonstrate exemplary and comprehensive safety and health management systems. Kitchell is one of only three construction companies in the state to achieve this designation. Overall, KCI reported zero lost time incidents in 2015. Increased our self-perform work with a focus on prefabrication. Prefabrication has created a number of unique opportunities for us, and we were rewarded for our success in 2015. From the head- walls at UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center and Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s 9th floor expansion to Dignity Health’s Chandler Regional Medical Center and St. Rose Siena expansion projects, we continue to look for better ways to build. Grew our Client Leader Program. In Texas, we continued to see growth through Baylor/Scott & White Healthcare with expansion into different project types as well as opening an office in Houston. In California, our client base includes a diverse portfolio with UCSD, SDSU, Sharp Healthcare, and Scripps Healthcare. We completed a LEED Gold Certified Central Plant for UCSD, the first medical center central plant to be Gold Certified. Arizona saw an expansion into the senior living market, as well as maintaining strong repeat clients in our Healthcare, Higher Education, Retail and Native American market sectors. Kitchell Custom Homes wrapped up three landmark projects in Santa Barbara and one in Colorado, leading to growth opportunities in Nevada and Southern California. In Arizona, the golf clubhouse market heated up, and we were able to leverage our strong resumé and leadership to land multiple projects. FDI expanded its services and continues to maintain a strong backlog of work while creating a strong KCI Dan Pierce organizational support system set up for growth in 2016. KCI and FDI teamed up to deliver a very successful corporate office remodel for one of Arizona’s largest employers, Banner Health. Deployed LEAN on every project. Continuing along our LEAN journey includes utilizing Prolog on every project, continuous integration, and the beginning of a new companywide reading – “Switch” – which is the third book to complement our LEAN journey. Gave back. Wrapping up our year, we celebrated the third annual Build Fore Good charity golf event that benefitted Semper Fi with a record donation. We also celebrated the new school for the Foundation for Blind Children, increased involvement in the San Diego Food Bank, the Santa Barbara Food Bank, and community project engagement in Texas. 2016 INITIATIVES • Reinforce a continuous culture of Safety Excellence based on Leadership & Engagement, Safety Management Systems, Risk Reduction, and Performance Measurement. • Finalize and explore more innovative field services, such as the opening of the Kitchell Prefabrication Shop. • Fully implement the Client Leader Program. • Establish a National Projects Group to grow our Healthcare & Native American Markets. • Deploy LEAN principles and practices on every project. Kitchell Development Freedom to build With the oversight of Kitchell’s property and development portfolio, Kitchell Development Company is in a position of ensuring we bring value to employee owners through our holdings, with the flexibility to be creative and look at different ways to approach our assets given industry trends and market demands. We were fortunate to have a very productive and successful 2015 and can report that we brought great value to the Corporation. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 We are forecasting another profitable year in 2016; however, the gains will be lower than last year as we continue the construction and stabilization of our existing projects. We anticipate the completion of four major developments: Prescott Valley and Estrella retail shopping centers, and San Sonoma and San Posada multifamily properties, our developments in partnership with Mark-Taylor. These projects will be in a position to sell in 2017 if we determine that’s in the best interest of the company. In the coming year we will commence construction on two new retail developments and one speculative industrial project. We have two key properties in Del Mar, Calif., and anticipate making significant progress with entitlements, which will allow us to develop the first two residential projects in Del Mar in more than 20 years. We have the strongest backlog in company history, and assuming market conditions remain stable, we are in a very good position for the next three to five years. We significantly exceeded our plan while adding to an already strong backlog. The increase in profitability was primarily due to the sale of our ownership interest in the 156-acre property at Loop 202 and Hawes in east Mesa, Ariz. We also realized our goal of selling four retail properties: Chico McDonald’s, Manteca Square pad to Taco Bell, a bank pad in Oro Valley, and a parcel of land in Prescott Valley for a car dealership. Kitchell Property Management remained profitable and has built an impressive portfolio of quality retail, office and industrial properties. We completed construction and stabilization of the 274-unit Villas at San Dorado multifamily project in Oro Valley, Ariz., a project with Mark-Taylor, and also completed construction and stabilization of the 20,000-square-foot San Dorado retail project in Oro Valley, Ariz. KDC Jeff Allen 2016 INITIATIVES • Sell San Dorado multifamily and retail projects. • Complete construction and stabilization of the 590-unit San Sonoma multifamily project in Tempe, Ariz., and the 372-unit San Posada multifamily project in Mesa, Ariz. • Commence and complete shell construction on the 220,000-square-foot Freeway Logistics industrial project in Phoenix. • Commence and complete construction on the 10,000-square-foot Ulta Beauty build-to-suit in Chico, Calif. • Achieve positive results with the Del Mar residential properties. Kitchell CEM Russ Fox Freedom to innovate CEM has long fostered Kitchell’s entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging employees to express their freedom through presenting and funding innovative ideas to help grow our business. In the war for talent and innovation, organizations that devote themselves to fostering “freedom” will be best suited to generate sustainable growth that is resilient over the long term. A perfect expression of this freedom – and a major highlight in CEM’s historical timeline – was our creative partnership last year with the San Jose-based facilities management firm VFMC. We elevated this partnership into new services, new markets and new opportunities, leading to an acquisition and giving us a footprint in a lucrative market where we didn’t have a presence. Our other highlights over the past year further reinforce the freedom and flexibility we have in exceeding our business goals and looking to the future. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 Engineering & Architectural Services (EAS) smashed through sales and profit goals while acquiring or promoting several key staff members and expanding services. The acquisition of VFMC proved valuable when EAS was selected to provide the pilot for a statewide FM process framework. Condition Assessments, Design and Commissioning services continue to grow and remain our core business offering. The Northern California team, in addition to meeting and surpassing its goals, built a foundation for growth and success in 2016 and beyond. We began the integration process of the Northern California region and the Bay Area region as one region for more effective operations. We strengthened our relationships with State of California Department of General Services (DGS) and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) leading us to win a new CM contract without teaming with another CM firm. The Northern California team increased our presence by winning more jobs in the Public Safety, Correctional, Healthcare and Education markets positioning us to exceed our 2016 goals. The Arizona Region had a strong and consistent year, exceeding sales goal with wins that covered a very wide geographical area, encompassing Southern California, Northern California, Arizona, Iowa and Utah. The wins in California were a result of client relationships in Arizona, as well as our philosophy of servicing a client rather than a region. A steady and consistent driver in Arizona was our ASU team, who fostered the relationship by working tirelessly on 40-plus projects on several campuses. Our year ended on a strong note when we interviewed CEM 2016 INITIATIVES • Integrate and leverage the VFMC acquisition for growth in our FM and PM/CM service lines. • Create a basic dash boarding tool to monitor project risks and progress. • Relocate three CEM offices (Sacramento, San Jose and San Diego). • Hire at least four strategic hires for the major California programs. • Continue to organize CEM for future growth and employee opportunity for advancement. and just hours later were notified that we were selected to oversee Program Management Services for the $550-million, 4,000-bed Utah State Prison Relocation project. The significance of this project is underscored by its size and scope and enhances our national leadership in correctional facilities, similar to the result of the long-term relationship we have with the California Department of Corrections. Our Southern California region continued on a strong growth trajectory in 2015. With several key hires and new clients, the region is building a strong local presence and reputation, through our municipal work in San Diego County and Costa Mesa, and higher education clients UCSD and Coast Community College District. The Southern California team secured a statewide program management contract for a developer who has a five-year plan to develop throughout the state. Our project teams continue work on exciting projects including the Science Building at Saddleback Community College and the Skate Park for the City of Anaheim. As the region moves into 2016, we are positioned for growth into Los Angeles County and the K-12 education market. The Central California Region scored a crucial win in our core education sector market through a new contract with San Luis Obispo County Com- munity College District. We are providing program management services on its $275 million Measure L bond program. This new long-term contract and other contracts with existing clients have laid the foundation for sustained future growth within the region. Kitchell Facilities Management (KFM) continued to experience dramatic growth, starting the year with a long-term contract for a large corporate customer’s 700,000-plus square foot headquarters in Northern California through a joint venture with VFMC. With all of KFM’s services leveraged in this single contract, it has become an excellent example of a fully integrated facilities management scope of work and continues to net additional services. The “beyond the ribbon cutting” marketing strategy of CM services to FM solutions was successful, leading to a unique community college FM contract and a decade-long county contract secured due to the strong relationship created by the CM team. The year was capped by the successful acquisition of VFMC, transitioning 40 employees into Kitchell’s FM business. American Refrigeration Supplies Freedom to change Our $5.4 million sales increase in 2015 can be credited to an Arizona-based, American Standard HVACdriven, blockbuster year! Over a four-month period ending late in 2014, we negotiated significant cost reductions on our American Standard HVAC equipment, particularly on the most popular entry level 14 SEER equipment. We were able to reduce dealer pricing, making us more competitive, while retaining 2014’s gross margin dollars per model. We also were successful promoting new state-of-the-art 18 SEER and 20 SEER variable speed split systems. These new products have variable speed compressors that will operate in a range from 100 percent down to 30 percent of full capacity. That means a 5-ton VS system can operate as low as 1.5 ton, if that is all the cooling needed. We promoted our new pricing and products and overcame dramatic shifts in consumer sentiment during the year, as well as weather influences in the Arizona HVAC market. The result was a $4 million American Standard equipment, parts and accessories sales gain; we also increased gross margin and industry reported market share. Consumer sentiment was all over the board during the year. It started the year at an 11-year high, was down 11 percent by October, and ended the year down 5.6 percent. Arizona cooling hours were equal to 2014, but heating hours were elevated. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 Achieved a 5.8 percent boost in sales, exceeding our sales plan of 4.1 percent. We exceeded our profit plan by 12.6 percent, but the result was a profit only slightly up from 2014 as the result of our LIFO (last-in, first-out) method of inventory accounting. LIFO escalates our cost/reduces profit generated by inflation in a normal year. As the result of dramatic highs and lows in R22 price and a drop in quantities on hand, we went from reporting additional income of $400,000 in 2014, to an additional cost of $120,000 in 2015, or a $520,000 cost increase in 2015 compared to the prior year. Achieved an 18.5 percent surge in our commercial HVAC equipment business with significant growth in market share. We also experienced an uptick in Mitsubishi Mini-Split HVAC sales by 17 percent. Hired a Vice President of Business Development in May, a new position for ARS. One of his main roles is to build our HVAC equipment business in all markets outside of our American Standard area. By the end of the year, we were transitioning from the ICP brand of HVAC in Virginia, to Allied Air. We now have Allied Air everywhere outside of our American Standard area. Transitioned leadership. An original founder of our Virginia Division retired December 31, and we suc- ARS Steve Martin cessfully transferred that responsibility to a newly hired Regional Sales Manager position. Completed our second (new construction) apartment project in California with MagicPak specialty HVAC equipment, now totaling nearly $1 million over the last two years. We also achieved a 52 percent rise in our home warranty replacement parts business, bringing it to more than $1.1 million. 2016 INITIATIVES • Complete the implementation of our Allied Air HVAC equipment sales growth initiative in California, Nevada and Virginia. • Name a Safety Director to work with ACIG and Kitchell’s Safety Director to enhance and coordinate our focus on safety. • Relocate our Glendale, California store, and purchase our Norfolk, Virginia leased facility. • Achieve a minimum 30 percent increase in Tecumseh Compressor sales as the result of newly stocked products and new promotions. • Continue to build on our American Standard strategy, dealer programs and efforts to achieve continuing sales growth. h/d hardison/downey construction Freedom to adapt hardison/downey was built upon the foundation of flexibility, adaptability, quick decision-making, streamlined processes and a horizontal organizational structure. Having the strong financial backing of Kitchell Corporation has afforded us the freedom to continue to operate in the way clients have come to expect, despite the brutal market conditions of recent years. Many of our competitors cannot say the same thing. The organization helped push h/dc through a tough few years, and we now have a bright 2016 ahead. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015 Solved problems. In late 2014 and going into 2015, we were in a very tough spot on our Vertex project, a 600-bed, $36 million student housing community in Tempe. Code interpretation issues forced significant delays in the project schedule. With an incredible effort by the project team, including working seven days a week for months on end, not only did this project finish on time, but we also have a happy client. Completed memorable projects. We saw some incredibly unique projects throughout the year, including the world’s largest Harley-Davidson dealership, a 100,000-square-foot, four-story Student & Academic Services building squeezed onto a oneacre site and sharing a wall with an existing park- ing garage on NAU’s campus, six floors of Class A office space in downtown Phoenix remodeled while fully occupied with lawyers (!), a new building for South University for an existing h/dc client built in conjunction with KCI in Texas, a 600-bed student housing community comprised of five buildings on a tiny triangular site built right next to the light rail, and the second phase of a pre-K-12 public charter school renovated from a former Veterans’ Association morgue. Scored repeat clients. The majority of our work has always come through word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business. Last year was no different. We were fortunate to enjoy numerous projects from longtime h/dc clients such as ASU, GoDaddy, YAM Management, Aramark, Quarles & Brady, City of Phoenix, New Way Academy and PayPal. Maintained strong presence in multifamily. We have yet to see a slowdown in our multifamily market. Last year was hot for us in housing construction, with new starts on 214 units at iLuminate and Linear Apartments in downtown Phoenix, continued construction on 292 units at 1100 & 1200 Capital Place Apartments in downtown Phoenix, and a signed contract for Sunrise Hayden Apartments, with 281 units set to break ground in February 2016. We are currently in preconstruction on two additional proj- Pat Downey ects totaling 536 units in Chandler and Mesa. 2016 INITIATIVES Diversified student housing. We have been hired by the Dinerstein Group to assist them on preconstruction on a large student housing project in Tempe across from Vertex, which may lead to a construction management role during the construction process. • Establish a scalable QA/QC program. Rebranded. After 10 years, it was finally time for some corporate rebranding. We did this via a new corporate website, which is a great improvement from our previous version. • Full redesign of the h/dc intranet to seamlessly integrate with the Kitchell site. Pursued safety excellence. In 2015 we established a Safety Committee, integrating with KCI and CEM committees to achieve safety excellence through a universal approach. Streamlined operations. We began the process of transitioning our Project Managers, Project Engineers and Construction Administrators to the integrated Prolog/E1 Platform. We will continue this process of transition into 2016. Improved finance operations. Since moving to a new ERP system and project management platform, we will be working diligently with the project teams to educate and become proficient forecasting and overall project reporting. • Continue safety initiatives with new members joining the existing Safety Committee. • Continue to grow our commercial shell business. • Increase company profitability. thank Service Awards Dan Pierce, 35 years Peter Holbrook, 35 years George Dyckes, 25 years Lisa Dixon, 25 years k you Pat Downey, 30 years Jeff Allen, 25 years David Giannelli, 25 years Sammy Trejo, 25 years thank Service Awards Join us in extending our congratulations and appreciation to our 2015 Service Award recipients for their individual contributions to Kitchell. Conrad Muhleman, 20 years Jonathan Friend, 15 years Mike Kussy, 20 years Alec Galindo, 15 years B.A. Golston, 15 years Rick Barton, 15 years Paul O’Connell, 15 years k you Eric Bramman, 20 years KC Dougherty, 20 years Brent Bonenberger, 15 years Michael Bruggeman, 15 years Marie Otaya, 15 years Jason Sandidge, 15 years Amber Sortor, 15 years Wendy Fowler, 20 years Gail Forshey, 15 years Keith Voll, 15 years T O G E T H E R , B U I L D I N G V A L U E E V E R Y D AY. VALU ES HONEST Y & INTEGRIT Y We will act with honesty and integrity in our conduct with fellow employees, business partners and customers. SAFET Y We will provide a safety culture focused on continuous improvement and individual accountability for the well-being of our employees, business partners and customers. QUALIT Y OF WORK / SERVICES We are committed to continuous improvement. We will fully understand and communicate our customers’ requirements and perform work that meets those requirements. CUSTOMER SATISFAC TION We will meet or exceed customer expectations in everything we do. PEOPLE DE VELOPMENT We will develop strong leaders and foster a highly-motivated work force through employee empowerment, training and career growth opportunities. PROFITABILIT Y We will increase profits through our diversification, entrepreneurial philosophy and motivated employee owners. MANAGING CHANGE EFFECTIVELY We will continually seek new ways to add value to our customers and company through innovative ideas and services. March 2016