Building & Construction Magazine - Spring 2009

A Changing Market

Bass Construction is depending on its reputation and experience in the Houston area to pull it through the current economic downturn.

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

Bass Construction experienced many changes in its Texas market as the city of Houston grew and expanded into the southwest suburb of Rosenberg, which is the location of Bass’ headquarters. When the firm was founded in 1957, Rosenberg and Houston – which are 36 miles apart – were isolated from each other, President and owner Bob Bass recalls. “As Houston grew closer [since 2007], it surrounded [Rosenberg], and changed our market considerably. It is harder to get jobs; therefore, we travel further and further away,” he says. “Instead of 30, we operate in an 100-mile radius.”

Bass Construction provides general construction, construction management and design/build services for the education, office, retail and industrial markets in the counties of Fort Bend, Brazoria, Waller, Wharton and Matagorda, Texas, as well as cities like Richmond, Rosenberg, Sugar Land, Missouri City, Stafford, Alvin, Pearland, Wharton, Katy and Bay City.

The area has been dealing with overcrowding, but that brought a lot of opportunity to Bass Construction. “The growth brought more business, but also more congestion,” Bass says. “But it has brought more retail and more residents, which has created a need for more schools to be built and other public services to support the community.”

However, the recession has caused the boom to slow down, he notes. “The private sector market is off considerably, but public work is still considerably strong,” he says. Typically, 60 percent of the company’s work is in the public sector and 40 percent is private.

Fast-Track Work
Bass’ longevity and reputation for quality work has allowed it to participate in several high-profile projects, Bass says. For example, in 2002, the firm built a concrete barrier around the Bay City Nuclear Power Plant in Bay City, Texas, as part of a security modification the plant was undertaking. At that time, all U.S. nuclear plants were mandated to implement similar measures as a result of 9/11, he explains.

The company’s scope of the project was to construct a concrete block perimeter wall – which was four feet tall, five feet wide and 10 feet long – stacked two-by-two around the protected area, which is several miles long. “The reason for it was to prevent [intruders] from driving through the security fences into the protected area,” Bass explains.

The project took 100 days to complete. The company had to pour concrete continually every day for 40 days to maintain the schedule, Bass explains.

This was the first time it performed this type of project, and the first time it worked at the nuclear power plant. “The [required] skills were the same as any cast-in-place concrete [project],” he explains, except with rigid standards and a tight time frame.

Bass’ specialty in school projects began in 2006 when it remodeled George Junior High and Terry High School, both in Rosenberg. Both projects were completed in 90 days, during the students’ summer break.

The scope of the projects involved removing and replacing all the floors and ceilings; installing sprinkler and air conditioning systems; and installing new carpet, Bass says. It also had to remodel the bathrooms.

The short timeframe made the projects difficult, he says. However, the company has performed about 10 similar projects since then. “It has become a focus for us,” he says. “Communication and scheduling are the key to the success of these projects.”

Family Focused
Bass’ father founded the company in 1957 to by perform home construction and remodeling work, but switched to commercial and industrial work in the mid-1980s. Bass expects the company to continue to be family-run. His two sons, Jay and Buck, are both project managers at the firm.

“They are very involved learning to manage projects and estimating,” Bass says. “They are doing well and, at some point, I’ll be able to hand the business off to them.”

- By Libby John