How To Take a Building Firm Across Borders

Founded in 1981, Conalvías gradually earned leadership status among building firms in its home country, Colombia. Twenty years later, branching out into bordering Panama and Peru under the direction of its executive president, Andres Jaramillo, the firm became one of Latin America’s largest construction companies. In 2010, the firm opened operations in the United States, still specializing in heavy civil-infrastructure projects. The US division is actively pursuing work in Florida (its North American base) and Puerto Rico, and it has bid more than $400 million dollars in its first year of operations and has already been awarded three contracts totaling $31.4 million. Conalvías’s five-year plan in the United States includes expansion into Georgia and Texas and continued development of key alliances with top-tier local companies and influential government entities. Jaramillo spoke with American Builders Quarterly about the measures Conalvías took (and is taking) to manage its international growth in a competitive marketplace.

By Ruth E. Davila

1. Strategize and form relationships

Entering the US market during a recession, in a climate with fewer project prospects and declining prices, has been Conalvías’s greatest challenge in achieving brand recognition, Jaramillo (pictured above) says. So, from the start, the firm considered it critical to map out decision-making responsibilities and a detailed business plan.

“It is of utmost importance to clearly identify markets and activities through which competitive advantages can be gained, as is identifying opportunities for strategic alliances within the selected market,” Jaramillo says. “[Creating a foundation of trustworthy suppliers and subcontractors] has been the formula for success we have employed for more than 11 years to expand internationally to gain strength and compete in the markets of Panama and Peru.” The company has set out to repeat that tactic in the United States.

2. Hire right

Its field staff is Conalvías’s major asset throughout operations. “We strive to create groups of people who are committed to an overall philosophy of quality and to the company’s promise to deliver,” Jaramillo says. In addition, each staff member must not only have expertise in his or her area of focus; he or she must have the desire
to grow and evolve professionally, too.

The complexity of Conalvías’s projects demands a variety of personnel with specific skill sets. For example, an ongoing $5 million road expansion of State Road 35 in Lakeland, Florida, requires specialized personnel and equipment to widen the existing highway from four to six lanes across a three-quarter-mile stretch. The year-long project, commissioned by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), includes roadway, drainage, signage, lighting, and paving.

3. Seek financial security

Every contractor has unique needs, and a healthy bonding capacity helps meet those needs.

“We have found bonding companies to be great allies when evaluating projects,” Jaramillo says. “We consider them our strategic partners in evaluating opportunities, and we feel very comfortable with their support and with the trust that they have instilled in us.”

While Conalvías works to establish a foothold in the United States, it continues to do massive heavy-construction projects in its home country of Colombia, including this concrete-face rockfill dam on the Rancheria River.

4. Keep credentials current

Although accreditation varies across borders, maintaining the proper credentials with different agencies helps keep an open door with potential partners interested in collaborating to develop projects.

“Accreditation is a critical step because each country and each state within the United States—as well as each government or business entity—has specific qualification criteria which must be met adequately and opportunely,” Jaramillo says.

5. Follow up diligently

The work doesn’t just stop once Conalvías submits a bid for approval. “Following up on bids is a mandatory daily activity for the growth and consolidation of the business,” Jaramillo says.

Even before establishing operations in Florida and Puerto Rico, Conalvías monitored, from Colombia, all the projects that were in open bids or were within the five-year scope of different businesses. This helped the firm identify opportunities, risks, and prospective associations.

6. Bid actively

Bidding is an involved process, and the outcome depends on the time and effort invested. Conalvías worked arduously to win a bid at Big Cypress National Preserve, a site of roughly 720,000 hectares about an hour west of Miami. The bid was for a recreational area with parking, piera and boat ramps, and entrances and exit ramps on I-75 with boat access.

“Whenever we decide to participate in a project, we conduct technical, economic, and financial analyses in detail to guarantee the best-value offering to our clients,” Jaramillo says.

One of Conalvías’s latest wins is the widening and repaving of State Road 688 from Seminole Lake to Ranchero Boulevard. This FDOT project includes improvement of signage, pavement, drainage, lighting, and utilities, and it runs on a 1,150-day schedule. Through the pursuit of such opportunities, using time-tested strategies, Conalvías is cultivating its international platform—and it plans to grow its US division to represent 30 percent of its future revenue. ABQ