Published December 2001

HCI eyes global opportunities for its buildings

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Global and local markets beckon to HCI Steel Building Systems, an Arlington plant that prides itself on being a leader in a fiercely competitive industry.

A manufacturer of pre-engineered building systems, components and conventional structural steel buildings, HCI continues to capitalize on the Alaskan market that launched the firm, yet it has markets from Granite Falls to Hawaii and China.

Founded 20 years ago in Anchorage by Joe Holden and Lee McDaniel, HCI has built everything from a steel-ribbed roof for the Granite Falls library and a horse stable in Snohomish to Super Bowl-sized stadiums, large convention centers and a Boeing 747 hangar for Continental Airlines in Honolulu.

Clients include Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.; Westrans, a Canadian lumber products company; Western Recreational Vehicles in Yakima; the Fort Knox gold mine in Fairbanks; Bayliner/US Marine in Arlington; Bellingham's Dawson Development; and the Kauai Community Performing Arts Theater in Hawaii.

The company’s success comes from working with both quality steel and quality workers, Holden said.

Because efficiency is also a key ingredient in success, one of HCI’s newest pieces of equipment is a computer-controlled processor of large, long steel sheets. Rather than moving the welding gantry along the plates, a series of rollers moves the steel through the welding station where beams are formed and parts such as sheer plates are precisely cut out by super-heated plasma torches.

“We use only the top grade steel and sophisticated equipment to produce precision beams and parts that fit together smoothly,” Holden said. “When a contractor is working 100 feet in the air assembling steel and pieces don’t fit together, he can get awful grousey on the phone. We like to avoid that.”

HCI is one of only 25 companies in the United States certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction and one of only six firms certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau for engineering and fabrication of steel building systems.

“We just spent close to $3 million on outfitting and retrofitting our shop technology, an investment to increase our sales volume. We’re focusing on partnering with contractors who will be our exclusive selling agents in various parts of the United States, Canada, the Pacific Rim, China and Russia,” said Holden, company President.

America’s economic slowdown is being felt at the plant, but orders continue to flow. Although the privately-held company doesn’t release specific financial information, Holden predicted HCI would grow revenues at around 15 percent annually for the next several years.

“We’re bidding a job in China now,” he said, “Unfortunately, there’s now a 27 percent duty to bring our products into China. In the early to mid-90s, we were able to sell more easily into free-trade zones in that country. But a billion-plus population of industrious people is still quite a market.”

He also expects the company to be more involved in “power generation projects in the western United States and Pacific countries,” and HCI will be pursuing “projects in the Alaska and Alberta oil and gas industry, which are on the grow right now,” Holden said, adding that HCI continues to operate an office in Anchorage.

In addition to current projects, HCI is advancing into a new market niche it has been developing — computer-designed, multi-storied steel buildings that feature the best of both pre-engineered and traditional structural steel construction techniques.

“Other companies have tried (small scale) multi-story steel buildings but couldn’t make a profit at it. We’ve figured out how to do that,” Customer Service Executive Ron Kowalski said.

In September, HCI finished its first multi-story project, a three-floor, 30,000-square-foot Bellingham office structure built by Dawson Construction near I-5’s Exit 252. The $2.6 million facility features split-face block on the ground floor and traditional red brick for the upper levels. Dawson has moved its headquarters into the building and leased the other two floors to Western Washington University.

“We work a lot with design/build teams,” Kowalski said. “We’re a partner in the work, providing stamped engineering drawings approved for each local project jurisdiction and delivering the steel for a very high-quality building.”

Much of the company’s work comes from referrals and those who have heard about its sterling reputation for quality products. That kind of word-of-mouth promotion began traveling at hurricane speed when Iniki roared through the Hawaiian Islands in 1992.

“We had just finished building an 83-foot-high performing arts center in Puhi, Kauai. The hurricane never damaged it,” Holden said. “But other structures in the area were destroyed. Ours was the only one in the area left standing.”

When word of that got around, HCI landed contracts to re-roof every school on the island and build 16 new buildings.

For more information, call Kowalski at 360-435-8871 or 800-255-6788, send e-mail to ronk@hcisteel.com or visit the company’s Web site, www.hcisteel.com.

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