Commercial building and construction.

• Position: Industry Outlook - Panel Discussion

FOR our second annual roundtable on building and construction, we invited a group of leaders to discuss the changing shape of the construction business in Utah. Topics included issues from insurance challenges to ways of attracting and bolstering a new workforce in the industry.

Participants included John Cameron, Cameron Construction; Randy Emery, Acordia Insurance; Dan Burton, Burton Lumber; Mike Madsen, Interstate Rock Products; Jack Wixom, Jacobsen Construction; Guy Fugal, Niels Fugal Sons Company: Clegg Mabey, Sahara, Inc; Matt Clark, Clark Mechanical; Kip Wadsworth, Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction; Alan Rindlisbacher, The Layton Companies: Richard Watts, Watts Construction; Jack Parson, Jr., Staker/Parson Company; Orluff Opheikens, R&O Construction; Rob Moore, Big-D Construction; Tom Case, Granite Construction; Paul Clyde, W.W. Clyde & Company; Rob Campbell, Wheeler Machinery; Todd Hughes, Hughes General Construction; Dave Grubb, Jr., Bud Bailey Construction; and Randy Okland, Okland Construction.

Special thanks to Richard J. Thorn, president/CEO of Associated General Contractors, for moderating this month's discussion.

This is a great opportunity for us to showcase what I think is one of the best industries in the state of Utah. How is Utah's commercial construction industry today? Dan, what do you look at from the supply end of things?

BURTON: Well, this year has been a terrific year in the lumber business. It has come from the residential side. And as most of you know, you would probably prefer steel and concrete jobs to lumber jobs, just because of the volatility of that market. And we've certainly seen huge increases in lumber prices over the last half of the year. So, we look for next year to be a terrific year, too, and we look for it to come from the residential side as well. [But] let me just add--we would like to see some stability in the lumber market so that we're not as concerned about those wood jobs.

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PARSON: I think we feel like maybe we've reached bottom and we're kind of climbing out. I'm really concerned about what's coming. I'm anxious to see, when the governor opens up her budget, where the money is going to come from for education. It seems like that's always something we have to guard against. The Centennial Fund was set up to build the highways for the next several years, and I just want to be sure that's protected and not raided. We all need to be conscious of that.

As we look toward the future, where do you see the hot spots and the cold spots? I think hospital construction has been pretty strong. Is that going to continue? Geographically speaking, are there areas of the state that look like they are going to be strong?

WATTS: I think that Southern Utah is very strong. St. George continues to grow, and Cedar City is beginning to work its way into the mix much stronger than they have in the past. We just signed a $2 million contract for a new plastic pipe manufacturer that is coming into St. George. But we can't survive commercially with the opportunities that are afforded us in Southern Utah, so we do an awful lot of work in Nevada.

MADSEN: Well, from the ready-mix standpoint, we've seen a lot more demand in residential and commercial work, and there are a lot of plans for what St. George and the surrounding area is supposed to do, including a lot of infrastructure in what they're going to. There's talk about a new airport, and about developing toward Hurricane. A lot of roads need to be built and a lot of other things to happen before that can all come to pass.

OKLAND: I think that we've seen something interesting--over the past years, we'd usually see a lot of volume in one particular area or another, but we're seeing it kind of widespread from Logan down to St. George. And I think that's going to be the same this coming year. There's going to be a volume throughout the state, not concentrated in Salt Lake or Provo or any particular area.

CLARK: We're optimistic about the power industry, especially south of Utah County. There are some power plants that are being built in Payson and some other talked about in Mona and in some of the rural communities. We're optimistic about some good work coming up down there.

CLYDE: We're in the ready-mix business in a number of different communities, and we can see hot and cold spots throughout the state. Park City has been slow this year ... St. George has been hot. Salt Lake valley has been pretty good with ready-mix also.

WIXOM: I'd just say that I'm seeing a rise in energy. I'm in the business development end, and I'm seeing there are people who've been on the sidelines starting to look and do something, so we're optimistic.

MOORE: Throughout Utah, retail is becoming a...