At The Top - March 2003

PENTA BUILDING GROUP

Three Partners Combine Talents

The success of Las Vegas-based PENTA Building Group should be an inspiration to risk-takers everywhere. Jeff Ehret, Ken Alber and Blake Anderson left high-level jobs at another construction company to launch The PENTA Building Group together in May 2000. The trio used collective experience they had acquired over the past 20 years and built a company that now has 50 full-time employees, along with 70 to 90 craft/hourly employees.

The general contracting firm specializes in commercial projects and also performs construction management services, design/build and project management for its clients. Pre-construction services include: correspondence with regulatory agencies; coordination with architecture and engineering firms; project scheduling; budgeting; value engineering; and preparation of bid packages, contracts and purchase orders. PENTA has achieved a balanced workload from clients in a variety of business segments, including hospitality, gaming, distribution, retail and commercial.

One of the ingredients in PENTA’s success recipe is that at least one of the company’s three principals is intimately involved with the direction of every project from concept to completion. The company maintains a "flat" organization, where there is, at most, only one layer between any employee and a principal of the company. President Jeff Ehret acknowledges having three principals can be challenging, but having three sets of eyes at the top has helped PENTA achieve its business model in less than three years. PENTA had $9 million in revenues in 2000 (after its first six months of business) and $38 million in 2001. PENTA’s projected 2002 revenues are in excess of $80 million, and the growth continues.

PENTA’s road to success has not been without obstacles. The company had a scare in its early beginnings. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the resulting immediate impact on the Southern Nevada economy, some of PENTA’s ongoing and pending projects in the gaming/hospitality industry came to what Ehret calls a "screeching halt". The principals forged ahead, but admit they had some sleepless nights and accelerated their efforts to get more aggressive in pursuing additional business avenues. While retaining gaming/hospitality clients, PENTA also pursued and performed projects for clients such as Enterprise Car Rental, Abercrombie and Fitch, a national art retailer, and the Fashion Show Mall Show Central Stage and Modeling Runway.

PENTA is currently performing general contracting, construction management and project management services on a four-phase, 1,200-unit timeshare condominium project on Las Vegas Boulevard for the Hilton Hotels Corporation. It acted as a consultant for the $1.4 billion Aladdin hotel/casino resort facility, as well as performing project management services on the shell construction for the Aladdin’s new spa facility. It acted as a project manager for the Park Towers high-rise and was general contractor for the complete remodeling of 600 rooms at Bally’s Hotel Casino, commencing with pre-construction services.

The company handles projects as far away as New England for long-time clients, including a Fortune 500 transportation company for whom PENTA builds freight terminals nationwide. "If it is a client we value, we will go anywhere, anytime, anyplace," said Blake Anderson, who has been spending a lot of his time in Palm Springs on PENTA’s casino project for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

While PENTA has extended its core geography to include much of the Southwest, Director of Business Development Jeff Manning, who also serves as project manager on some jobs, states that PENTA’s goal is to remain focused as Las Vegas’ "hometown" contractor. PENTA also has a satellite office in Phoenix. Alber, Anderson and Ehret look with anticipation toward the future. "We want to be an excellent, mid-sized commercial contractor with a balanced workload and diverse blend of project type, project size and client mix," said Alber.