METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS; May 1994; By Shawn Zuver (Full Article)

For the fourth consecutive year, Span Construction & Engineering of Madera, CA, has been named Metal Construction News’ Top Metal Builder. SPAN won the 1993 honor for having purchased an astounding 14,000-plus tons of steel last year for pre-engineered metal building projects, accounting for almost $38 million in construction volume.

Founded in 1980 by Firoz “King” Husein, P.E., SPAN has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the industry. As the entries poured in for the 1993 Top Metal Builder contest, the question from King’s peers was not of which company would head this year’s list, but rather by what margin Span would claim this year’s prize.

Having posted incredible figures of 6,279 tons in 1991 and 7,882 tons in 1992 it became apparent to many industry experts that SPAN might approach the magical 10,000 ton mark in 1993. As it turns out, those estimates were far short of SPAN’s final tally of 14,189 tons a full 80% more than 1992’s record setting pace. King recently said that he expects steady growth in 1994 over these phenomenal levels.

In addition toSPAN’s 1993 Top Metal Builder award, it also received four Building Of The Year Awards from the Systems Builders Association for: Payless Distribution Center in Ogden, UT; Chiron Corp., Vacaville, CA; Costco Wholesale, Merced, CA; and Costco Wholesale, Livermore, CA. The Merced project for Costco also won a Hall Of Fame Award from Varco-Pruden Buildings, Span’s long-time building systems supplier.

King also received the honored Alumni Award for 1993 from the College of Engineering and Technology at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. King holds a Masters Degree from BYU and a Bachelors Degree from the University of Bombay in his native count1y of India. He launched his career in pre-engineered buildings in 1971 and started Span just one decade later.

While it is often tempting to only look at Span’s impressive sales volume and awards, the company’s commitment to service, quality and fair pricing have allowed it to thrive. In place at Span are company-wide focuses on safety, maintaining well trained erection crews, effective marketing and developing relationships with architects and engineers which could serve as models for the industry.

MCN: Has anything major changed in the structure of Span Construction & Engineering during the past year, or are any changes anticipated in 1994?

King Husein, P.E.: SPAN has evolved from a regional builder to a national builder. Our geographic region has expanded as a result of working with national accounts in multiple locations. Consequently, we are adding to our basic company structure in all areas. We have, added engineering personnel, pro­ject managers, field superintendents and field erection crews.

Some of our key managers ‘were promoted recently. Keith Harris has been promoted to vice presi­dent, sales and marketing, George Goddard has been promoted to vice president, engineering and construction services, Doug Standing has been promoted to controller, and Dwayne Burns is now general field superintendent, in charge of field operations and he also manages the Span Shop and King Curb Shop. Other key management team members include Scott Clausen, registered architect; Richard Rodriguez, field superintendent; Max Howarth, general steel foreman; and Tim Pendley, safety director/field superintendent.

Our company philosophy is based on teamwork. Each member of our management team is a dedicated professional and is truly committed to the mission of the company. Each member of the management team is involved in the weekly coordination meeting held on Wednesday evenings. At this meeting the important aspects of each project are discussed and input is received from the man­agement team.

Last year I formed King Curb as a division of SPAN to manufacture insulated curbs, subframing and burglar bars. Controlling the quali­ty of the curbs was a significant factor in my decision to manufac­ture our own curbs. Roof penetrations are normally a major source of roof leaks on steel buildings. By manufacturing our own curbs we were able to incorporate several improvements in the design and fabrication of the curbs and this has allowed us to improve the weather tightness of the Varco­Prnden standing seam roof system.