Zwick Construction: Core Values Fuel Company Growth

Darin Zwick, owner and founder of Zwick Construction, is proud of the fact that his company has been thriving in these difficult economic times. One of the most common tales in the construction industry over the last couple of years has been the downsizing of firms as they have struggled to find work. Zwick Construction has not only bucked that trend, but also grown during the same timeframe. Darin attributes his company’s growth to its commitment to working with developers and owners that complement Zwick Construction’s core values.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company specializes in preconstruction, construction management and general contracting for commercial clients. “We align ourselves with the right client,” says Darin. “We work in a lot of market sectors but we target clients who share our core values of passion, integrity and team work. People get hurt on projects when they don’t see eye to eye. We take a good look at clients up front before we engage in a project with them.”

Zwick Construction was founded in 2007 and has since grown rapidly. Darin was able to quickly establish his company in the community, as he is the third generation of the Zwick family in the construction industry. In four short years the company has already successfully completed projects in the commercial, retail, healthcare, higher education, multifamily and hospitality industries.

Darin says Zwick Construction now employs 30 personnel, is licensed in a number of western states, and grossed over $65 million in 2011, which is an increase of $15 million from the previous year. Darin outlines the details one of the projects that is fueling Zwick Construction’s growth as follows.

Office Building Yields Surprises during Construction

“We just completed a $12.5 million interior renovation and remodel of an existing four-story, 144,000-square foot office building, including new mechanical and electrical systems in Salt Lake City,” says Darin. The West Office Building project required over $4 million in seismic and structural retrofit alone. Zwick Construction’s project manager oversaw the construction of the new two-level post-tension concrete parking structure and the refurbishment of an existing parking structure across the street.

“We didn’t include it in our original design, but once we got in there and gutted the building we found out it wasn’t sound and essentially had to build a new structure inside the façade,” says Darin. The project was successfully completed on time and on budget.

Religious Building Reflects Team’s Abilities

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a “stake” is an administrative unit comprised of multiple congregations, similar to a Catholic diocese. An increase in LDS growth in Prescott, Ariz., has caused the necessity of an additional stake in the region. Zwick Construction was proud to be the general contractor selected to construct the Pronghorn Stake Center.

“It’s going to be a beautiful building,” says Darin. “It’s going to have a full indoor gym, a chapel for religious instruction and our crews are currently framing the facility.” The 21,023-square foot stake has a budget of $2.8 million and Darin is confident that his team will complete the project within the one-year deadline. The facility should be completed in August 2012.

Brent Montierth, stake president, was quoted as saying, “We are particularly excited that this new stake center design includes an advanced audiovisual, Internet-based webcasting system. This will provide the ability to webcast conference sessions and other meetings to outlying buildings in the stake.”

Solidifying Success

Students at Brigham Young University (BYU) have long speculated about the purpose of the campus’ network of underground tunnels. Darin debunks some of the more outlandish claims with the revelation that the tunnels, where Zwick Construction has performed work, merely house BYU’s underground utilities.

“We recently completed an underground tunnel at BYU in Provo,” says Darin. “It was a complex cast-in-place eight-foot by eight-foot concrete tunnel that will be used for hot water.” The $6 million project was not an extension of the widely rumored network of “BYU student-eating underground tunneling worms,” the most common rumor for the network of tunnels.

As Zwick Construction starts off 2012, Darin is confident of his company’s immediate future. “We’ve had a steady steam of business throughout the downturn, and while we expect 2012 to mirror 2011 we’re confident that the economy will rebound fully by 2013,” he boasts.

Zwick Construction has defied the national trend for lowered profits and has instead managed to increase revenues and production during the same time frame. Darin has carefully managed his company and matched suitable clients with the Zwick Construction’s employees in order to be a success. The company has increased revenues by $15 million in one year allowing Zwick Construction to only continue to get bigger and better.