Business View Magazine | August 2020

27 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 J . F . WI LKERSON CONTRACT ING COMPANY , INC . equipment – which keeps our costs down. When you have zero debt, it is a wonderful place to be in. Everything’s based on cost, and debt is a percentage of whatever that cost is. And your costs are lower with no debt. It just makes us much more competitive.” “And we’ve been around so long that we’re known,” Patrick adds. “So, you get a competitive edge in materials pricing, sometimes, especially locally. We have a reputation of paying our bills very promptly, which helps in pricing with vendors for materials and even sub-contractors.” Regarding the company’s suppliers, Patrick says that it deals with two major vendors for its pipe: Core & Main and Ferguson Enterprises. “With Core & Main, there has been a long and productive partnership,” he affirms. “Their sales representative, Mike Driskill, is our partner from the bid process to solutions when challenges arise on the jobsite. Core & Main brings the local expertise with a national supply chain. “