ARB, Inc.

Family atmosphere, entrepreneurial spirit┬áARB has long been a contractor that major utilities and others turn to for power plant, pipeline and related industrial projects in the western United States. Keith Regan learns how the company is adapting to meet emerging opportunities in the renewable energy space. Since the mid-1960s, ARB has been a leading contractor to the industrial and utility sectors in the western United States, providing a range of construction and project management services on projects such as pipeline installations, power plant upgrades and new plant construction. Today, ARBÔÇöwhich consists of an Industrial Group and an Underground GroupÔÇöis part of Primoris Services Corp., a publicly traded holding company for a host of construction services companies. The company is uniquely positioned to provide a one-stop contracting service on even the most ambitious plant and pipeline projects. Tim Healy, president of ARBÔÇÖs Industrial Group, says the company is coming off an ÔÇ£outstanding 2008,ÔÇØ when the division posted more than $600 million in revenue. ARB is expecting a similar top line for 2009, with the focus now being on booking work during the second half of 2010. ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs no question that thereÔÇÖs a connection between the slowdown in the economy and the investments our clients are making in petrochemical and power generation projects,ÔÇØ says Healy.ARB expects to keep its future work pipeline full by adapting to meet the growing needs among its traditional clients for more green power and renewable energy type of projects. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre still optimistic that we will continue to win our share of work going forward. There is still a fair amount of activity out there, and we have strong relationships with our clients based on our track record and past performance.ÔÇØWith more than 60 years in business, ARB has a number of second- and third-generation employees in the craft areas and in the superintendent ranks. ÔÇ£ThatÔÇÖs a key differentiator for us in the marketplace,ÔÇØ Healy adds. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve got long-term key craft and supervisory employees who have spent years working up through the trade union ranks and have stayed with us, and that core group gives us a big advantage.ÔÇØGeneral superintendent Steve Darnell says clients also turn to ARB because it can provide a streamlined contracting and project management approach for project owners, with a single company able to provide a broad swath of services. ÔÇ£Not many of our competitors can offer the same range of capabilities.ÔÇØThe company also remains flexible when it comes to working with alternative project delivery methods. The traditional fixed-price contract approach is being supplanted in many instances with fast-tracked projects on which engineering is not finalized when work begins. In such instances, ARB will often agree to a target-price contract that shares both savings and risk between contractor and owner and eliminates the need for large contingencies. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre working to reduce the uncertainties because the clients are reluctant to pay the contingencies that come with those uncertainties.ÔÇØIn recent years ARBÔÇÖs Industrial Group has built power plants for all of CaliforniaÔÇÖs major utilities as well as provided services for most of the major oil companies on refinery retrofit projects. ARBÔÇÖs Underground Group has constructed mainline and distribution gas and products pipelines for many major oil companies and transportation companies. Major projects that ARB is currently working on include: a hydrogen reformer facility for Chevron in Richmond, California, and a combined-cycle power plant in the San Diego region.Many recent projects involve natural-gas-fired plants, mainly because they can be brought online relatively quickly. Meanwhile, regulatory changes, including requirements from the State of California, demand that utilities produce more power from renewable sources in the near term. With no new nuclear plants on the horizon, that leaves wind, solar, geothermal and biomass projects, all of which ARB is already equipped to tackle, says Healy. ARBÔÇÖs emphasis on safety and its safety track record are likewise a major selling point for clients. ÔÇ£Without the great safety record and programs that we have, we wouldnÔÇÖt be eligible to pursue a lot of the work we do,ÔÇØ says Darnell. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre always looking for opportunities to partner with clients to advance their own safety goals as well as our own. Usually ARBÔÇÖs safety program exceeds any of our customersÔÇÖ programs, and weÔÇÖre constantly upgrading.ÔÇØFor instance, the program got a major overhaul after a cultural gap analysis involving more than 1,000 surveys found a disconnect between the safety information being handed down from the foreman level to the crafts people and laborers on the work sites. In response, ARB created a program that designates safety observers from among the general workforce, giving them authority to recognize and address safety issues and giving them dedicated time to make those observations. Likewise, safety meetings are not just top-down events, but everyone is given a chance to teach a subject. ÔÇ£You can talk about safety all the time, but when you teach it and empower the employees to take action, it really drives it home,ÔÇØ Darnell adds. The safety focus reflects the companyÔÇÖs family business culture, which has survived even as the company as grown over the decades.┬áThat culture also leaves room for a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Healy says. The company hires carefully, often taking months to decide if a prospective employee is a fit with the culture, which encourages out-of-the-box thinking and searching for better ways to do thingsÔÇönew approaches that will save money or boost quality or safety. ÔÇ£ARB provides its employees enormous opportunity for growth,ÔÇØ Healy says. ÔÇ£Everyone knows that the skyÔÇÖs the limit and that they can grow as much as they want to. ThereÔÇÖs a sense of ownership on every level. Also, thereÔÇÖs a lot of understanding and a lot of grace extended to employees, which creates a lot of loyalty that flows both ways. The chemistry that has developed with longevity is invaluable, and that helps differentiate us from our peer group, which makes ARB not only a great place to work but also the best at what we do.ÔÇØ ÔÇô Editorial research by Jason Moore ┬á