Being a partner with customers is a common theme in business. But when you add the word "trusted," you add depth and meaning to the idea, according to Bilfinger Westcon CEO and President Mark Parsons.
"Being a trusted partner means putting our customers' success first, with the knowledge that their success feeds our own," he said. "It means building relationships based on integrity, reliability, mutual respect, transparency, and making and meeting commitments. It means asking, 'How can I help you succeed in your goals as you help me achieve my goals?' Without understanding and respecting each other's goals, how can either party be a true partner?"
A tradition of helping customers succeed
Legacy Westcon was founded in North Dakota in 1981 as an open-shop industrial construction company driven by the idea of "Pride through Performance," which meant seeking a proactive approach to serve customers and help them be successful. For more than 38 years, Bilfinger Westcon has provided the services clients need, where and when they need them. This ranges from maintenance in plants and refineries to an industrial constructor delivering high-performing facilities and services to power, petrochemical, oil and gas refining, agricultural/food processing, bulk pharmaceuticals and other various manufacturing processes.
"Westcon was a service provider for coalfired power plants and built a reputation for managing turnarounds and capital projects for the power industry in North Dakota," said Parsons. "During the ethanol boom, Westcon joined the emerging biofuels industry and completed several greenfield facilities around the U.S. We've served the power generation industry for over 25 years, providing construction- related services for existing power plants and new builds ranging from traditional coalfired generation to renewable energy generation. When the shale gas revolution arrived, it proved to be a great fit for the company. We've probably built over 40 gas plant projects."
Westcon was acquired in late 2012 by Bilfinger, a multinational industrial services company and worldwide leader serving the process industry with solutions for safety, plant expansion and optimization of industrial assets.
In 2015, the company was integrated with another Bilfinger acquisition, Deer Park, Texas-based Tepsco, which provided construction, maintenance, engineering, electrical and instrumentation services to the energy and heavy process industries along the Gulf Coast.
The combination of Westcon, Tepsco and other North American Bilfinger companies specializing in industrial services, government services, support services and continuous presence solutions -- including maintenance, optimization of assets, turnarounds, technology, and soft services such as scaffolding, painting, insulation and corrosion under insulation -- gives Bilfinger Westcon's clients access to an array of capabilities.
"There are very few services that we don't offer under the Bilfinger Westcon umbrella, giving us the ability to provide clients with a more comprehensive offering," said Parsons.
A partnership approach to managing projects
Since joining Bilfinger Westcon over a year ago, some of the most gratifying things Parsons has discovered are the capabilities of its project managers.
"I would put our project manager leadership up against any of our competition. I know that sounds bold, but it also underscores how much pride we have in our confidence to deliver," he said. "They understand the importance of knowing the true costs while actively managing our contracts, resulting in a trusted partner relationship with our clients. Our project managers apply the same proactive approach whether the project is lump sum, hybrid or cost reimbursable.
"That's why we're able to offer multiple hybrid contract options where we have skin in the game. If we don't perform, we share in the downside risk with our clients. When we do perform, it's a win-win for both client and contractor. This culture our project managers possess is born out of a lump-sum mentality that translates to every contract approach available to our clients, and we embrace that approach regardless of whether it's lump sum or cost reimbursable."
From the beginning, Bilfinger Westcon's strength in project execution and keen client focus has delivered a high level of repeat business: Around 85 percent of business is repeat or based on referrals from existing customers, providing consistent growth year after year.
Much of this has to do with Bilfinger Westcon's relationships with clients. On every project, the goal is to develop a relationship where there is a healthy, transparent dialogue at all levels of both organizations, thus eliminating surprises. The project teams get to know the clients and their needs, while being as flexible and accommodating as possible and keeping the clients' interests in mind. That's why clients return again and again, often with negotiated bid opportunities. The ability to negotiate a large majority of the work has resulted in long-term relationships that have endured downtimes and "hot markets" because clients know Bilfinger Westcon is there for them.
"I can recite many examples with clients when, due to our relationship, we were awarded additional scopes," said Parsons. "These scopes range in size from simple increases in quantities to complete units, all based on our trusted relationships where the clients know that having Bilfinger Westcon on-site is the quickest, safest, highest-quality option available to them to complete their projects successfully."
Designing a client-focused future
So, what is in Bilfinger Westcon's future? "We want to continue to focus on what we do well, which is execution excellence combined with superior safety and quality performance," said Parsons.
Safety Works, Bilfinger Westcon's behavior- based safety program, uses real-time data, transparent communications and ongoing assessments to drive accountability, continuous improvement and a "zero incidents" safety culture.
"The Safety Works program is successful not because of one thing we do, but everything we do as an organization -- from executive leadership to the field," said Parsons.
Bilfinger Westcon's quality program is designed to work hand-in-hand with its Safety Works program. Experience shows the quality of execution is fundamental to working safely. Eliminating rework reduces most construction injuries, increasing productivity and ensuring a successful outcome. To this end, Bilfinger Westcon's proactive approach of self-monitoring and observation drives quality through the craft levels and ensures every component of a project meets the goal: "Do it safe. Do it once. Do it right."
On the business side, Bilfinger Westcon has three focus areas. One of them is growing the continuous presence and small cap side of the business.
"Continuous presence is a very crowded field, but together with our parent, Bilfinger, we're able to bring tools and ways to help the owners look at their assets and assist with the predictive and preventative side of the business instead of just being a labor broker," Parsons said. "This will happen out of our regional offices in Deer Park, Texas; Bismarck, North Dakota; Canton, Ohio; and a fourth that will be opening in Hobbs, New Mexico, in order to stay close to our customers."
The second focus area is to provide an EPC offering, which is what customers have asked for. Bilfinger Westcon continues to work with key engineering companies as strategic partners as it continues to look for the best execution model for its customers.
The final piece is innovation, advancing the technologies to streamline and enhance execution. The benefit is twofold: better accuracy of data and elimination of double input. In addition, innovation helps attract a younger workforce to a more technologically advanced future.
"It could be something as simple as having iPads in each foreman's hands to review models and capture data, or having drones setting pipe in the pipe rack," said Parsons. "It's an evolving market, and we continue to look at what best fits our business as we move forward."
The strategy is not only to grow the business but also to grow sustainably while continuing to adapt to markets as the world shifts, making sure there is a differentiating service where Bilfinger Westcon can make that difference and provide a better offering to clients and employees.
"We want to be a trusted partner. Every project has bumps in the road. I haven't found or heard of a perfect project yet," admitted Parsons. "Being a trusted partner means you're able to have the difficult discussions earlier in the process and more transparent conversations throughout. Not just executing the job, but also understanding what keeps customers up at night and finding ways to solve their problems create bonds and relationships that attract repeat business. That's what our company was built on, and it continues to be one of our biggest success stories."
For more information, visit www.westcon.bilfinger.com or call (346) 298-6821.
