Business View - November 2015 103
computers, we did it all by hand.”
Ken Suggs came to Allstate right out of high school,
started in the shop and learned all other phases of the
business before joining the head office. He was a gifted
salesman, intent on growing the company. By developing
relationships with contractors out-of-state, he expanded
the local reach, and increased both sales and revenue. To-
day, Allstate Steel employs 71 workers at the Jacksonville
shop, and provides a variety of highly-skilled services in-
cluding: single source Design Build concepts for structural
steel systems, Detailing and Engineering, and Fabrication
and Welding. Territory stretches as far north as Baltimore,
and as far west as Texas, with project specialization in
multi-story office buildings, retail centres, hospitals, and
schools; 60 percent of the work is retail construction.
According to Allstate Steel General Manager, Eddy Bar-
rera, the company is customer-driven. “After 53 years in
business, we have a big customer relationship database.
Almost every general contractor out there knows us, or
has heard of us. We make sure people understand that
even though we’re located in Jacksonville Florida, we do
work all over the country. Many of our customers have of-
fices and locations across the U.S., so we try to build an
extended relationship with their sister companies in other
regions.”
All projects are based on a bidding system done electroni-
cally. Invitations to bid are sent out to companies; contrac-
tors use multiple software programs to track the bidding
process and forward the plans. Barrera explains, “90 per-
cent of work is by invitation to bid. We receive and review
invitations, and make a decision as a company whether
to bid or pass. If we pass, it doesn’t necessarily mean we
don’t like the project - sometimes we just can’t get to it.
All depends on the schedule and when the bids are due.”
The other 10 percent comes from customers who want to
pair up with Allstate to help them establish a budget when
the project is in preliminary design. Suggs remarks, “Even
when we do all the leg work on the front end, that project
is still sent out for bids. Our relationship and participation
plays a role; we knowmost about that project, because we
worked on it with the client. But there are also two or three
other fabricators bidding along with us.”
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
Allstate Steel Company
WHAT:
A steel fabrication, steel erection, and de-
sign-build company
WHERE:
Jacksonville, FL
WEBSITE
:
MANUFACTURING
