AlliedBean Demolition Inc.

Kevin Bean established AlliedBean Demolition Inc. (AlliedBean) in 2012 as the result of newfound industry partnerships. “I guess it started when I was a kid,” he recounts. “I was always fascinated by the demolition business. There was a natural attraction, although I’ve found it is a little different in reality.” While he still enjoys knocking stuff down, Kevin is privy to the intricacies of the industry. Startup was not easy, but he says it was worthwhile and he loves his job.

“A few years back, my first thought was to take a few struggling demolition companies and merge them together,” he explains. “The SWOT analysis looked amazing on paper, but as it turned out that was not going to work. A lot of the people I wanted onboard were not prepared to make the changes that would allow us to build a successful business and that would mean trouble.” Instead, he worked alongside a close friend who is now an industry peer. Kevin wanted to test out his abilities and pitch a project for another company. His friend obliged and the project came through successfully.

“That was when I knew I could do this,” he explains. “I knew that building customer relationships would be an important part of the business. Soon, I took things a step further and decided to put together a project on my own.”

He gathered the required talent, which constituted of key personnel, including his wife Liliana, who is the majority shareholder of AlliedBean and Anthony Erale, vice president of operations. With the combined experience of the small team, the business launched.

Focused growth

In 2015, Kevin serves as company president. He employs 20 people, working out of a headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The business serves mainly southern Florida, though Kevin explains that for select repeat customers, his crews will travel outside the typical service area. For a range of commercial and industrial projects, typically working under general contractors, the AlliedBean team offers total structural and selective building demolition.

Already in the first quarter of 2015, AlliedBean has successfully contracted over $1 million in projects with $2 million in additional projects awaiting awards. Due to this high demand, Kevin has already begun to make necessary changes for further success of the company. This includes a new corporate site that is already under lease and a forecast of the companies head count to grow to 35 men sometime in 2015. AlliedBean’s expected growth in 2015 is predicted to increase by 40 percent from the prior year.

At the end of 2014, AlliedBean successfully selectively demolished the elevated Metro Transit station that is part of the new Brickell City Center Tower project. “This was one of our more high profile projects that included removing the concrete canopy that covered the station platforms which were some 60 feet from the air,” Kevin states. “Squire’s BCC project I believe is one the largest active construction sites in the United States right now.”

Other recent work includes several country club projects, including work at the Ibis Country Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The large selective demolition project involves removing the back end of a two-story clubhouse. The company also performed demolition on Terminal 4 of the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal in Broward County, which has been another large and complicated project. In 2015, the team is set to perform work on a conference center in Naples, Florida, as well as a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Staying ahead

As a fairly young company, AlliedBean missed out on many of the misadventures other companies faced during the recession. While the country makes a slow but steady recovery, Kevin says his crew still faces some challenges related to the downturn. “We came in at just the right time,” he elaborates. “Many of the large contractors lost their go-to bidders when the economy sank. We were pretty fortunate, although we still find the money is moving slowly.”

To stay ahead and maintain efficiency, Kevin keeps most of the work in-house. While the company will occasionally subcontract concrete cutting, this work goes to a select handful of reliable and loyal strategic partners. Management is key in this business and Kevin works exclusively with contractors who are onboard with tight schedules and difficult tasks.

“Our success hinges on several factors,” he explains. “First, you start with bid opportunities and follow that with the actual success ratio in landing projects. Then, it becomes a case of managing these projects effectively, making sure they are profitable, monitoring your recycling, so on and so forth.”

At the end of the day, however, customer satisfaction is the key performance indicator Kevin and his team monitor the closest. The AlliedBean crew does not strive to be the biggest demolition contractor in the area, but rather aims to build and establish lasting relationships with general contractors. Kevin’s main goal is to build and maintain repeat business, a mission he has seen significant success with in such a short time. As the economy recovers and South Florida continues on a strong trend of construction growth, AlliedBean Demolition Inc. will continue to stand out as a strong demolition partner for contractors throughout southern Florida.