The Large-Project Mavens

Ask Brown and White, Inc. founder Peter Granillo about the inspiration behind his multimillion-dollar construction firm, and he is quick to answer. “Lack of employment,” he says.

It was the early 1980s, and Granillo was finishing projects for his boss, an Arizona contractor soon to be out of business. “The clients were eventually asking me to take on more projects,” he says. In response, he opened the doors to Brown and White.

It’s this talent for seizing opportunities that has enabled Granillo to build Brown and White into one of Arizona’s premier construction firms. “We have developed into a specialty firm by winning projects that other firms might otherwise turn down,” he says.

On average, the firm completes 45 projects per year with revenues ranging from $5,000 to $9 million per contract. These come from projects planned for remote locations or ones requiring special materials or construction techniques beyond the expertise of Brown and White’s competitors. Parking lots with unique customer specifications are a specialty of the firm.

Consider Brown and White’s BCT-3/CAB project at Fort Bliss in Texas, where the firm used 52 trucks on a daily basis to meet a tight construction schedule requiring the pouring of 2.4 million square feet of concrete over 50 parking lots. “The military was building a community for returning overseas personnel,” Granillo says. “So we had to move quickly using quick-drying cement and coordinating our work with housing and other contractors.”

The Brown and White team also had to expedite construction of a tourist parking area for the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. “Tourists had to be carefully directed around construction,” Granillo says. “It also necessitated features such as a pedestrian barrier to direct visitors from the canyon’s edge, and customized bus shelters.”

Brown and White has even helped install specialized fencing along the United States border with Mexico for the US Army. “Since the project was so remote, we had to set up special camps for our employees to live in during the construction,” Granillo says.

The fencing project highlighted one of Brown and White’s most important priorities: the well-being of its workers. “The work required that employees be away from their families—their wives, children—for many months,” Granillo says. “So our human resources staff were sure to make themselves available to help with any personal concerns.”

Brown and White places such emphasis upon its employees because, simply put, they are essential to the company’s success. “We have people who have been with us for more than 20 years,” Granillo says. “They’ve taken care of us by consistently doing the best job possible, so we strive to take care of them. Their strong work ethic, expertise, and longevity have been vital to our progress.”

Looking ahead, Brown and White is seeking even further expansion. “We’d like to see our average revenues per job increase to $5–25 million while, at the same time, realizing a greater share of international business,” Granillo says.

The founder is confident that such goals are feasible, given Brown and White’s winning formula. “It comes down to quality and workmanship,” Granillo says. “Everyone here is committed to the highest level of excellence. It’s why our clients tend to be long-term and why we continue winning over new customers.” ABQ