Framaco International

In 1992 brothers Paul and Gilles Kacha founded Framaco International (Framaco) to provide procurement and logistics services to contractors working internationally. The company is headquartered in Rye Brook, N.Y., with branches in Turkey and Qatar. The business employs approximately 30 people full-time, with company size growing to as large as 400 for larger projects.

Paul, president of Framaco, is proud of the progress his organization has made in the last decade. “When we started out, we were providing materials to international construction companies,” Paul says. “We have branched out and become a major design-build contractor for the U.S. government.”

In 2003 Framaco added a construction arm to its business activities; the new division bid and won its first international project with the Department of State. Since then, Framaco has constructed major U.S. government and private sector projects for clients in more than 40 countries around the world. The operations offices in Ankara and Doha support the construction and procurement projects.

A growing portfolio

Framaco has attracted several major repeat clients over the years. “Our construction projects are with organizations, such as the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations [OBO], the agency that directs worldwide overseas building program for the Department of State,” Paul explains. The USAID and USCOE are also active clients of Framaco. The team has been involved in a number of major construction and renovations projects with said organizations.

“Our largest project has been the design-build U.S. Embassy in Serbia,” Paul recounts. “We were involved from start to finish on this $122 million contract, a real banner project completed in March 2013 and that was the first LEED-certified building in Serbia.” At peak, Framaco had 400 people working on the project, which was celebrated with a dedication ceremony in July 2013.

Another recent project is a $70 million contract at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. “The project scope covered construction of new barracks for 584 personnel; single-occupant sleeping rooms with connected bathroom facilities,” Paul explains. “The building will house diplomatic staff.”

Framaco has several ongoing construction projects with OBO in Kabul. “We also have an ongoing project in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo where we are executing the renovation of an existing office building for USAID,” he continues.

Staying ahead in an international market

Framaco has had major success in the construction market, despite setbacks throughout the recession. “There was certainly an impact,” Paul notes. “But we adjusted ourselves and weathered the poor economic environment well. Now the activity is on the rise. We landed several projects for 2013 and we have more on the way for 2014. We are very optimistic.”

The business has been able to retain stability by maintaining diversity in services. The team still performs the same procurement and logistics services it started with. Of note, Framaco successfully completed its largest procurement contract on the $3 billion Sidra Medical Center in Qatar. The company has built strong relationships with international builders and will continue to help other contractors put together successful contracts while pursuing its own.

“On the construction end, our integrated model with key construction partners, such as Kolin and Epik located in Turkey, results in quality, as well as competitive execution for our awarded projects,” Paul explains. “We have an integrated organization: New York is responsible for managing the contract with the clients, as well as handling major subcontracts and U.S. procurement requirements; Ankara acts as our technical office and assumes the subcontracting and staffing requirements for all trades. Finally our site is the heart of our integrated model where all activities are coordinated to result in safe and quality construction projects.”

Relationships are important in construction, as well. Beyond providing excellent services to clients, the team often works with subcontractors abroad. “Our loyal management team typically stays the same and we hire subs as needed,” Paul explains. “To make decisions about building a team, we look at the strengths of the country where we are working. If there is a strong civil contractor, we will team up with them. We only sub out work when the location we are working in offers skilled labor, otherwise N.Y. or our Ankara partners will provide the qualified resources.”

Reliability is important, especially given the nature of sometimes delicate government work. The relationships Framaco has built in the United States and around the world have allowed the company to succeed internationally. A strong reputation for performance has set the business up to expand its procurement and logistics, as well as its construction program, in a number of areas.

“In the coming years, we see a lot of opportunities,” Paul explains. “We see a lot of potential working on projects with the OBO, USCOE and USAID. We are setting ourselves up to become a premier international government contractor.” With a long list of projects in the pipeline, Framaco International is well on its way to becoming a premier international construction management organization.