Phalen Steel Construction Co. originated as a metal building contractor more than 66 years ago when R.E. (Rich) Phalen Sr. built a Quonset Hut to serve as a lab for a local company. After two name changes, ownership successions extending now into the third generation and a steady evolution in services, this Butler Builder in Mendota, Ill., has become the dominant force in metal building systems construction throughout a nine-county area.
Five brothers make up the current ownership, including: Dan Phalen, president; Mike Phalen, vice president of sales; Tim Phalen, vice president of marketing; Doug Phalen, vice president of development; and Steve Phalen, general superintendent. All worked in the field at various trades before assuming their current roles. Tammy (Phalen) Wise, a fourth generation, recently joined the firm after graduating from Northern Illinois University.
Phalen Steel began selling and erecting Butler Buildings in 1948, and products became the foundation of the company’s growth. A lot has changed since then and the contractor’s ability to adapt allowed the business to steadily expand. The company’s commitment to become a full-service designbuild organization was the driving force in expanding the business. Alan Russell, AIA, LEED AP, joined them in 1980 and currently serves as vice president of architecture and engineering. A recent architectural school graduate works as his understudy. Many of the other staff is formally schooled in LEED. Negotiated design-build projects account for 80 percent of the builder’s work, much of it with repeat customers. Within the past five years, the company has also pursued construction management contracts and engaged in more competitive bidding if the projects “fit the business model,” Dan Phalen says.
Even during the current recession, the company has remained busy. “We feel very fortunate in having made it through these tough times without downsizing the past three years,” Phalen says. “While we’ve enjoyed success, several contractors throughout the area have really suffered.”
Phalen further attributes the company’s continued growth to an uncompromising commitment to customer service and focus on emerging opportunities in the trade area. “No matter how small or large, whether it’s a totally new building, an addition, remodel or re-roof, we try to ensure that nobody services any of our past customers,” he says emphatically. “It’s a policy we live by here. We also strive to identify and pursue any new market opportunities.”
Recent examples include motorcycle and automotive dealership work, alternative energy facilities and health care projects. Butler’s Building Information Modeling (BIM) and plant fabrication capabilities for conventional steel framing have opened up opportunities in ‘hybrid’ buildings that were never pursued in the past for the pre-engineered metal building contractor.
The demand to instill speed throughout the operations has made Phalen an advocate for technologies. Most of those used by the company did not even exist when he started working with field crews after finishing high school in 1976.
“In the last five or 10 years, technologies have delivered many advantages throughout our entire business,” Phalen says. “On some jobs, pricing a project faster to arrive at a firm price can make the difference in a sale. All of our sales staff have smartphones so they can communicate with customers and access email instantaneously, whether they are in the office or on the road. You have to respond quickly in today’s business climate.”
Project management at remote job sites also has benefited. All of the company’s superintendents carry laptop computers with satellite access. The company also upgrades CADD technologies, usually on a bi-annual basis, to support the in-house design staff. Although well established as a fully staffed design-builder, Phelan seeks out expertise whenever a specialty market demands it. The regulated health care construction market offers a case in point with two excellent examples of recently completed projects that are also hybrid buildings.
Project management at remote job sites also has benefited. All of the company’s superintendents carry laptop computers with satellite access. The company also upgrades CADD technologies, usually on a bi-annual basis, to support the in-house design staff. Although well established as a fully staffed design-builder, Phelan seeks out expertise whenever a specialty market demands it. The regulated health care construction market offers a case in point with two excellent examples of recently completed projects that are also hybrid buildings.
Project management at remote job sites also has benefited. All of the company’s superintendents carry laptop computers with satellite access. The company also upgrades CADD technologies, usually on a bi-annual basis, to support the in-house design staff. Although well established as a fully staffed design-builder, Phelan seeks out expertise whenever a specialty market demands it. The regulated health care construction market offers a case in point with two excellent examples of recently completed projects that are also hybrid buildings.
Phalen Steel’s original plans to offer designbuild project delivery and to self-perform the steel erection changed with a federal loan guarantee for the project’s financing. The contractor’s role as CM required the hospital to solicit competitive bids from pre-qualified suppliers of the project’s conventional steel framing. The bid had to include a firm price, all detail drawings and initial deliveries in less than 90 days. Eleven sources considered the project but only four pursued it after that, either because of time constraints or the inability to submit complete drawings and perform within the time frame. Using the manufacturer’s BIM and automated plant fabrication resources, Butler submitted the lowest quote and earned the contract to supply the structural steel package in step with the procurement’s challenging schedule.
In the process of successfully completing the project, Phalen became acquainted with the hospital’s preliminary planning and design consultant. They later teamed the consultant’s expertise in health care facility with Phalen Steel’s in-house designbuild experience to secure a design-build contract for a medical clinic project developed in Peru, Ill., by another hospital. It, too, was a hybrid building with a conventional steel package supplied by Butler.
Lesli A. Crawford is the marketing communications manager for Butler Manufacturing, Kansas City, Mo. She joined Butler in 1985 and has advanced in roles of ever increasing responsibilities. To learn more, visit www.butlermfg.com.
