Earning profits while keeping clients happy can be a tricky balancing act in the building industry, where the adage of “jobs can be only two of three things: good, fast or cheap,” rings true for many companies. But after nearly three decades in the industry, Paul Wieckowski of Schipper Construction Co. believes all three are possible and stands by the company’s mission of quality without compromise.
Raised in Freemont, Wieckowski began college at California State University at Chico before transferring to UCSB. He pursued a degree in business economics while moonlighting as a construction worker to pay his tuition.
“When I graduated, salaries in my field were around $14,000, but construction paid double that, so I stayed on and never left,” Wieckowski said.
While he began as a basic laborer for several construction companies, he continued to work his way up over the years and landed at Schipper Construction, in 1987, as a superintendent. The company has grown from six employees, when Wieckowski began, to its current 54 with Wieckowski as chief operating officer. While the company has felt the market constriction during the past few years of the recession, Wieckowski said it restructured to stabilize and even increase revenue in certain areas.
“We brought in-house several of the jobs we traditionally sub out, like cement pouring or electrical, which allowed us to keep the fees and ensure quality work,” he said.
During his 25 years at Schipper Construction, Wieckowski has ridden numerous recession waves, but he believes this is the most severe. Because many of Schipper’s clients are nonprofit organizations, it ran into issues when clients lost endowments, which were invested largely in the stock market. Other projects were canceled because loans were challenging for clients to secure during the banking crisis.
A business degree gave him a strong accounting base, so Wieckowski has been able to monitor the company’s books and help guide the business to profit over the years. Recently, Schipper Construction has partnered with several architects on design-build projects, an increasingly popular trend in the industry. In this configuration, both parties share costs (and risks) to build something on speculation, which is sold upon completion.
Schipper Construction works with numerous local nonprofit organizations, including the Music Academy of the West, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Direct Relief International, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care and the Santa Barbara Zoo, where it recently completed several exhibits (California condor, California Trials, island fox and desert tortoise).
Wieckowski said the company faced challenges when building at a facility in use, such as the Music Academy and the zoo, but that it’s a critical part of the job-planning process to consider the owner’s needs.
Most of the company’s work comes through referrals or repeat clients. Because Santa Barbara is a relatively small community, Wieckowski said their reputation has to be positive.
“We must do work we’re proud of, because we’re going to see that business owner or board member at the local market or sitting next to us in a restaurant next month,” he said. “We won’t cut corners.”
Schipper Construction has completed a wide range of projects under Wieckowski, including churches, hotels, retirement homes and, most recently, a mausoleum.
Wieckowski said he prefers being on the job site to anywhere.
“I like the variety of jobs and always welcome a project with new problems to solve; it keeps it interesting,” he said.
Wieckowski sits on the board of the Ventura County Contractors Association. He’s looking forward to the grand opening of the recently completed Luria Center at the Music Academy of the West in August.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Jenn Kennedy can be reached at jennkennedy@noozhawk.com. Click here to see more of her work. Follow her on Twitter: @jennkennedy.