A Family Business

by Jonathan McGaha | 2 August 2015 12:00 am

Coleman-Adams Construction Inc.[1] in Forest, Va., has been building by its mission statement-“To build a high-quality construction project, competitively, with skill and integrity that will satisfy both the customer and ourselves”-since 1971. More than just an executive philosophy, the company views its mission statement as a guiding principle to work by every day. Commitment to this has made the company one of Central Virginia’s leading contractors.

All in the Family

The company evolved from Coleman Construction Co., one of Virginia’s oldest construction firms, where A.C. (Clif) Coleman III’s father, A.C. (Buzzy) Coleman Jr., and his friend Vincen L. Adams, worked for his grandfather and great uncle. Shortly after Buzzy’s father passed away, he left the company and started Coleman-Adams with Adams, which was formed as a partnership in 1971. In October 1973, the company was incorporated under the present name of Coleman-Adams Construction Inc.

While Buzzy (middle) handled the office part, Adams was in charge of the field. In 1985, Adams sold his stock to Buzzy and in 2000, Buzzy retired from the business. Adams passed away in 2002. Clif (left) has been president and CEO since 2000, and brother David T. Coleman (right) is vice president/secretary-treasurer, marking five generations in the construction business for the Coleman family and putting Coleman-Adams in its second generation of family ownership.

 

Pride in Accomplishments

Because the company has been firmly rooted in Central Virginia for five generations, it has a pride in accomplishment that carries over into everything it does, and is reflected in every project it builds. They are committed to providing consistent quality in their product, priding themselves on delivering value to their customers through craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Coleman-Adams has decades of experience in everything from heavy industrial to historical renovations, and has been a franchisee for Kansas City, Mo.-based Butler Buildings since 1974. The company has consistently been one of the top builders in Butler’s worldwide network. “We have always been able to very confidently say that we are providing our customers with the best pre-engineered building they can buy,” says Clif Coleman.

This confidence is shown in the company motto, “The Coleman-Adams Difference,” which came about through their efforts to always be one step ahead of the competition-in quality, value, performance, safety and technology. The company also has a high percentage of loyal repeat customers that come to them for all of their construction needs, which, according to Coleman, is the most important thing that has helped the company grow over the years. Recognizing that one only gets as much as they give back, Coleman-Adams is committed to the community in which their owners and employees live and work, and is active in many local non-profits, local chambers and various boards. Coleman strongly believes there is no substitute for integrity. “If you haven’t got that, then you haven’t got much,” he says.

Working on Projects

By being a full-service design-build firm, Coleman says the company has better control over a project’s cost and schedule. Coleman-Adams’ staff includes architects and draftsmen who work with each client to ensure the perfect balance of functionality, quality, aesthetics and cost of providing the highest level of value attainable. The estimating department works closely with the design staff to ensure the estimated cost of a project fits the customer’s budget. Using a database-driven estimating program, Coleman-Adams can accommodate changes to the budget with ease, providing efficiency and streamlining the estimating and change management process.

Staying on the cutting-edge of technology, Coleman-Adams’ award-winning computer services department helps build efficiency and facilitates communication throughout the life of a project. The company provides customers with a job-specific email address, website and online documentation, helping them build quality, performance and value into every job.

Safety is also extremely important to Coleman- Adams, with providing a safe work environment being a top priority. The company provides proper equipment and training for each task to make sure its employees, subcontractors and customer’s on-site representatives return home safely at the end of each day.

Honoring the Lost

One project Coleman-Adams is especially proud of is the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va. “We are very proud to have been the general contractor for this memorial, which is located in Bedford because it had the highest per capita loss of any community represented in the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944,” says Coleman. “Of the 35 ‘Bedford Boys’ that participated in the invasion, 22 were killed. President George W. Bush officially dedicated the memorial on June 6, 2001.”

Located on 88 acres at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the monument receives an average of 55,000 visitors a year. At the center is a 44-foot-6-inch tall granite arch, inscribed with the military name “Overlord” that was given to the crucial operation. Highlighting the arch, a reflecting pool surrounds a captivating scene that is symbolic of the arduous trudge soldiers made onto the bloodstained beaches of Normandy, France.

With a population of 3,200 in 1944, Bedford suffered the nation’s severest D-Day losses. Congress recognized Bedford as emblematic of all communities- big and small-whose citizens served on D-Day by establishing the National D-Day Memorial there.

Secrets for Success

According to Coleman, the secret for the company’s success during the latest recession has been keeping the core group together, circling the wagons, and everybody buckling down, working hard and cutting expenses wherever possible. “Most of our challenges have revolved around economic downturns, particularly this last one which really hurt just about everyone I know,” he explains. “We have had a few instances where we had very large receivables due and the customer got in trouble and couldn’t pay us for months, or in some cases, years.”

Since most of the Coleman-Adams team members have been with them for anywhere from 20 to 35 years, Coleman says they will be very hard to replace. So in planning for the future, Coleman says they are trying to bring in younger people to replace those who are retiring, and also promoting from within wherever possible.

“Our strongest assets are our excellent team and the Butler buildings that we offer to our customers,” Coleman says. “Along with our solid reputation, these are the primary reasons that people call on us.”

 

Company Profile

Year Founded: 1971

Location: Forest, Va.

Website: www.coleman-adams.com[2]

Geographic Areas of Service: Central Virginia

Services Offered: General contractor featuring design-build services and Butler pre-engineered building and re-roof systems for commercial and industrial construction.

Number of Employees: 62

Management Team:

A.C. (Clif) Coleman III, President and CEO
David T. Coleman, Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer
Gordon E. Dawson, Vice President
Charles A. Evans, Vice President
Herbert C. Dunnam, Director of Field Operations
James C. Thompson, Director of Design
Mark R. Keeney, Controller/IT Manager

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/a-family-business/

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