Adapting for success: what does it take to rise to the top of the masonry industry—and then maintain that position?

Masonry Construction, Sept, 2003 by Diana Granitto

"The area that has always set our company apart from others is the ability to adjust," said Robert V. "Buddie" Barnes Jr., president and CEO of Dee Brown Inc. (DBI), Dallas. "We are constantly cross-training our people and can do cast stone, cut stone, mammy, brick panels, stone panels, thinset stone work, and architectural precast. If you can hang it or lay it, we can do it. We are not afraid to tackle the unusual or difficult project."

Although the company performs many types of masonry work, panelized brick and stone could be considered a specialty. "Panelization gives us the flexibility to be working on the masonry while the structure is going up," stated Barnes. "The project goes much faster, saving time and interim financing."

Brick panels usually are built in the yard and trucked to the jobsite, but sometimes--as with the American Airlines Center in Dallas--they are fabricated onsite. Stone panels are plant-fabricated and then tracked to the jobsite. In a Chicago project, for example, DBI rented a steel mill with overhead cranes to make the panels. For another Chicago high-rise, 18,000 to 25,000-pound architectural precast pieces were shipped from Florida to be erected onsite.

The company readily adjusts its corporate structure by forming new divisions and alliances to capture changing markets (see the "DBI Timeline" sidebar on page 28). In 1989, for example, DBI expanded westward by joining forces with Los Angeles-based Hatch Masonry Inc. When owner Bob Hatch retired in 1992, DBI bought out his interest and continues to operate DBM/Hatch as a wholly-owned subsidiary licensed to do business in California and Hawaii.

More recently, DBI established a partnership with Kepco+Inc., a panel manufacturer and stone erector in Salt Lake City. The two companies teamed up to build the 24-story, 775-room, granite-clad Grand America Hotel, which served as headquarters for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kepco+DBI LLC currently is working on the Utah capitol preservation project and soon will start the Clear Creek Monastery in Oklahoma (see the "Project Portfolio" sidebar on page 28).

When Barnes joined DBI in 1969 as an estimator, the company was logging between $4 and $6 million a year--already a very large masonry contractor. As business soared during the 1970s, Barnes took the lead in integrating computer technology into the operations. Brown gradually handed over the reins to Barnes, who was named president and COO in 1990. Throughout the 1990s, DBI consistently placed among the country's top five masonry contractors, and last year completed $46.2 million of work and ranked #4 in MASONRY CONSTRUCTION magazine's 2002 listing of the country's top contractors.

The key to main "raining financial strength, according to Barnes, is "capitalize the company and keep it capitalized." He expressed concern about many masonry contractors' failure to put money back into their businesses to fund growth.

"These businesses withdraw the money at the end of each year personally and then, faced with a bad job or lack of work, can't weather the storm," he continued. "The mortality rate with masonry contractors is among the highest in the construction industry. If you don't have cash (net worth), you don't have bonding and without that you won't get the big projects." DBI has had more than $250 million bonded at any given time, and was one of only two contractors able to bond the J. Paul Getty Museum, a $66.2 million stone contract.

Barnes also is concerned that contractors aren't training enough qualified workers for future needs. While DBI has 26 apprentices taking a two-year masonry program offered through the Construction Education Foundation at the local community college, others have enrolled just a handful of students. "When the students finish that program, they still need to spend another two years on the job learning the more difficult aspects of stone, rock, brick, and precast," said Barnes. "There are not enough people doing the training. It will take the active participation of many more of our contractors to sustain the growth of the industry."

When he's not running DBI, Barnes dedicates his time to the industry and his community. He serves as state chairman for the Mason Contractors Association of America, and on the boards of three local industry groups: the Texas Masonry Council, the United Masonry Contractors Dallas/Fort Worth, and Quoin, the Northern Texas Chapter of Associated General Contractors.

Barnes also contributes his management and construction expertise to various community organizations. He is active in the nonprofit Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which stages the nation's largest fundraising golf tournament, which benefits underprivileged children. He serves on the board and chairs the camping facilities committee for the Boy Scouts Circle Ten Council, and chairs the architectural and construction committee of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, where he also serves on the board and executive committee. Barnes is board chairman of the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation and a board member of the Baylor Healthcare System Foundation.