Flythe Construction Inc.

With 1.21 million residents and a population growing at an estimated 3.8 percent, Raleigh N.C., recently ranked number six on Forbes list of fastest growing cities in America. And it’s more than just the population on the rise in North Carolina’s capital; the city is also expected to see more than 3.7 percent projected economic growth through 2016.

One Raleigh born-and-bred company that’s been supporting this economic growth and the development of new industrial, commercial and institutional construction for more than 50 years is happy to see its home city shine. Flythe Construction Inc. (FCI) has been a trusted name in design-build general contracting since 1961.

“My father, Jim Flythe started it [FCI], I’m continuing it and my son, George Flythe, is now in the business with me,” shares Jimmy Flythe, now president of the Raleigh-based, family-owned operation. “We’ve always been in Raleigh.”

After tough times through 2008 and on, Flythe says it’s nice to see more people making Raleigh home and the resurgence of the building market. “We had to cut back through the downturn and things were lean, but now there are more people from the north coming to Raleigh, especially for retirement,” he tells.

FCI serves approximately a 50-mile radius of the city. “We have licenses in South Carolina and Virginia as well, but in an effort to cut back we’ve honed in on Raleigh and there’s enough work here to keep us busy,” explains Flythe. Currently, FCI employs 25 people, but Flythe says the company is in the process of hiring more to support the market.

Design-build advantage

As an industrial, commercial and institutional general contractor, FCI’s strong suit is in design-build delivery. “Unlike a lot of contractors who do a lot of bid work, most of ours is design build and people come to us to get their buildings done more efficiently,” says Flythe. “We used to do more bids, but now we have so much work that it makes sense to keep things in-house and offer a design-build platform.”

From design to occupancy, FCI’s goal is to drive economic solutions that provide owners with the best possible value in the desired project while delivering on-time and on-budget. This method offers key benefits such as single-source responsibility, giving the owner one entity for all his questions and needs. Also, guaranteed project cost -the owner knows the investment before costly design services are complete.

“Time is another key benefit,” cites Flythe. “The total time from the concept through design and construction is significantly shortened, reducing finance costs of construction loans and temporary facilities, resulting in quicker occupancy that will meet the needs of the owner. FCI also delivers balance, between aesthetics, functionality, and affordability using all the key team members working together on the initial project concept.”

From design to execution and expansion, FCI is a go-to for turnkey projects. The company’s construction teams have in-house assets including carpenters, metal workers, iron workers, concrete and masonry workers as well as supervisors and project managers. “We do not depend on subcontractors to provide all of our resources, but we have longstanding relationships with the subs we do work with,” assures Flythe. “That’s another reason we’re trying to hire more people, so we can keep our services in-house.”

Forward-thinking design

Flythe says FCI is always operating from a forward thinking perspective. “Our project designs always consider the need for the owner to expand his business in the future,” he explains. “Careful master planning is a prove technique to lower overall costs, construction time and create effective use of the site now and down the road.”

Two years ago, FCI completed the $36 million North Raleigh Christian School with more than 180,000 square feet of design-development. “We worked with the owner and the architectural firm to provide a state-of-the-art private school campus, which we completed within budget and ahead of schedule,” reveals Flythe.

For Pylon Inc., another Raleigh-based company, FCI created and constructed an industrial park over the course of several years. “This project involved our design-build abilities and the owner to provide this office and warehouse complex at competitive lease rates,” shares Flythe.

FCI has delivered forward thinking design for more than 100 church projects over its history, as well as schools, university buildings, municipal and medical facilities across the Raleigh-Durham area. From offices to churches and commercial space, Flythe says although funding is still tight, the company has been receiving more inquiries lately than in years past; “We are fortunate to have a lot of repeat clients but people also come to us who have either heard from a neighbor or someone else we’ve worked with.”

As the Raleigh-Durham area continues to flourish and economic gains are realized, Flythe Construction Inc. is helping to build a bright future.