Success Through Team Work

Specializing in metal building supply and erection, Steadfast Structures Inc. in Tucson, Ariz., has made a name for itself by building close relationships with the architects and general contractors it works with on a regular basis. The company has more than 30 years of combined construction and project experience, with many employees who have been with the company since its founding in 2003.

President Matthew North has more than 20 years of experience in commercial construction, project management, bid estimating, drafting and design, and claims he started Steadfast Structures almost by accident. While working for a general contracting firm, North took over the metal building division he was running when the owner decided to close down. The idea, North says, was to get a cash flow going so he could get back into general contracting, but ended up doing pretty well and decided to stick with the metal building side of business. “I actually at the time had an offer to go to work with a metal building company as a district manager, but had already started off down the road of starting my own company,” he says. “I felt like I had to meet the challenge or fail, to see what would happen.”

Team Work

Since its founding, the company has completed more than 300 projects totaling more than 2 million square feet throughout Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Montana. With an in-house staff of estimators and business managers, projects have ranged from museums and hangars to warehouses, universities and elementary schools. Project sizes vary from retrofits to new construction and from 2,000-square-foot maintenance sheds to 60,000-square-foot school complexes.

Steadfast Structures works closely with architects and general contractors, often from the design phase of a project. Many times, this enables it to complete projects from initial concept to occupancy in less than six months. North says the key to quick turnarounds is being a part of a team that works together regularly.

“It’s important to have a qualified, experienced architect and engineering team on board, one that’s very familiar with the permitting process,” he explains. “It’s also important to have a general contractor on your team who’s like-minded, who’s looking for their success and the success of all of the subs, the architect and everyone else involved. That’s really the only way to get a fast turnaround, just having a team from design through construction, and the owner and everybody working together.”

Successful Projects

Steadfast Structures’ goal is to make sure projects are done right and everybody is happy with the finished product. North says it’s important to recognize that it’s more than just his company being successful, but for everybody involved in the project to be successful. “You don’t want to be greedy at the expense of anyone else,” he says. “It’s important to work together and make sure that your end goal is not only that we succeed, but that the owner’s end product is what they wanted and serves their purposes, and everyone involved is successful.”

One of the things that leads to Steadfast Structures’ success is having well-trained and driven employees. “You have to find people who are willing to work hard and you have to develop and teach them,” North says. “This is not one of those trades where people go to school for it. You have to have internal systems for developing people, and helping them to improve their skills.”

Once you find people who are willing to work hard and have a good work ethic, North says it’s important to use the more skilled workers to teach the less-skilled employees. By teaching employees new skills, you’re helping to round them out. North also adds that it’s important to focus on quality work. “It’s as important as safety,” he adds. “You’ve got to teach guys to work, but you’ve also got to teach them to work safe. It’s a constant improvement that you’re looking for.”

Driving Innovation

While acknowledging the company has been involved in some innovative projects, North is hesitant to take any credit. “Generally when we’re involved in a project that has something innovative on it, it’s driven either by the design team or the owner,” he says. “We just try to make metal buildings that do what the end user or the designer wants.”

To do that, North says they educate the architects and owners on what’s available and how metal buildings work. “The metal building is so integral to most projects, that if you’re going to use it, you really have to understand a lot of the small details about how it works together,” he explains. “You have to be willing to invest the time and be willing to share that information and try and understand what they’re trying to accomplish so you can help them get there.”

“I’ve been surprised by some of the innovation that architects come up with, just by us supporting them,” he adds.