A winning team: Neeser Construction continues its record for getting the job done well, on schedule and within budget.

• Author: Campbell, Melissa
• Position: Company Profile

In nearly 30 years of operations, Neeser Construction Inc. has never gone over budget nor has it ever been late on a project, according to President Jerry Neeser. The company has never been taken to court for poor quality nor has a lien ever been taken out on the group.

It is a boast few contractors in the nation can proclaim. It is what has made Neeser Construction one of the most preeminent contractors around, whether it's for putting up a 40,000-square-foot school in the remote, cold village of Stebbins or building a 330,000-squarefoot shopping complex on an Air Force base. Neeser can work on up to eight major projects at any one time, in just about any combination of urban and rural sites.

"I've worked very hard to stay focused on the company and what can get it in trouble," Neeser said. "The economy in Alaska has gone up and down, but we haven't; we've been in a steady growth spiral. I think because of our excellent standing, we're sought out."

Jerry Neeser entered the industry in the early 1960s, working with his father on projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 1969, the young Neeser moved to California to put up high-rises and parking garages. Five years later, he moved to Alaska and began to build the quality team that has put Neeser Construction on the contractor A-list.

Gary Donnelly was among the first to team up with Jerry Neeser, joining the company in 1977.

"Jerry has kept people who have worked well for him," Donnelly said. "Everything he's done, he's done a quality job so that people come back. And he's been wise at forecasting what would sustain the business, not necessarily growth, but staying alive through the leaner times."

Neeser knew when it was time to switch from residential to commercial building. In the early 1980s, he foresaw the economic downturn, suspecting it would hit urban construction especially hard. He turned the company to building schools in the Bush, Donnelly said.

"That carried us through those years," he said. "Over the past 20 years, I could tick off 20 contractors that started business with a bang, out of the gate, and then they're gone. He's taken his, and our, adult lives to grow the company to where it is."

Another essential element in the company is working closely with everyone involved in the project--owners, architects and engineers-to ensure the building's quality meets expectations.

"That's something I've noticed with Neeser," said George Tuckness, a project manager who has been with...