IMC Construction: Building Business
Construction
Written by Liz Jones   
Monday, 01 October 2007
rp IMC Construction: Building Business - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
This construction management firm is nurturing relationships formed decades ago to build a bigger, stronger business.

Malvern, Pa.-based International Management Consultants (IMC) was founded in 1976 with a vision to become a nationwide construction management firm. According to Pat Paro, director of business development for IMC, the mid-1970s marked a period of change for the construction industry in which clients began looking for more professionally managed projects versus general contracting services.


“Even in those days, the terms general contracting and construction management overlapped, and today they are synonymous in some circles, but there is an inherent difference: while general contractors often self-perform certain trades, such as dry wall or concrete, construction managers do not. They only manage projects.”


IMC Construction: Building Business - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Pat Paro, Director of Business Development
For the next 30 years, the company grew with a strong focus on construction management, but today it blends the responsibilities of a construction management firm with those of a general contracting firm to create a seamless environment for clients. “We often act as the construction manager during the pre-construction efforts, such as scheduling and budgeting, and later become the general contractor. We still don’t self-perform any trades, but our superintendents and project managers are on site working directly with subcontractors. We play a dual role to not create another layer of management between the owner and the general contractor, which is what the construction manager has done historically,” said Paro.

Taking this dual-role concept to the streets, IMC diversified over the years into a variety of markets, including corporate, retail, education, health and fitness, multi-family, industrial, and institutional. Having a diversified portfolio base allowed the company to weather several storms, such as the most recent commercial/office space slump in suburban Philadelphia precipitated by the tech bust of the early 2000s.

Today, the company is creating a niche in mall renovations, re-capitalizing on retail projects it contributed to 15 to 20 years ago. “Customers such as Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, with whom we worked for many years, are calling on us again to transform, perhaps, an enclosed mall into an open-air plaza,” said Paro, adding that IMC is actively targeting recession-proof markets such as healthcare and education. Its efforts are already paying dividends with an Ambulatory Surgical Center recently completed for Main Line Health and a new Athletic Center for the Baldwin School underway.

As IMC passes the $150 million mark in 2007, Paro gives credit to a diversified portfolio and to the company’s willingness to follow its clients wherever their businesses take them. For instance, although the company and most of its projects are based in Pennsylvania, it has recently completed a 100,000-square-foot project for Comcast Cable Communications in Sacramento, Calif. and is providing construction management services for a $150 million mixed-use development in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

As a result, the company has long-standing client relationships—some for more than 20 years. “Those companies may have changed, but the individuals at those companies, as they move throughout the industry, have brought us with them,” said Paro. “We have gone from doing $1 million to $3 million projects 20 years ago to $30 million projects today with the same clients. Being able to follow them and help them achieve their goals is one of the primary reasons we are successful today.”

As more and more clients turn to sustainable design to help protect the environment and save on escalating energy costs, IMC is eager to assist. Paro explained that sustainable design and construction efforts have exploded in recent years.

About two years ago, Jim Kerr, an IMC partner and senior contract manager, became LEED accredited. Paro and Kerr sought the expertise of architects, engineers, lighting consultants, and manufacturers of flooring and paint to learn as much as they could about sustainable design and construction. They later shared their knowledge with the IMC team.

Today, IMC is an active member of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, one of the largest chapters of US Green Building Council, of which IMC is also a member. Several other members of the IMC team are now studying to become LEED accredited, and the company has set a goal for all of its project managers and superintendents to become certified by the Green Advantage program.

IMC also recruited an instructor from the US Green Building Council to teach a class to staff and clients on the role of the general contractor and construction manager in the LEED certification process. IMC has several projects currently in the works that are registered to achieve an official LEED certification, and many green principles make their way into every project. “We have made a commitment as a construction company to approach each project as if we are trying to achieve a LEED certification, regardless of whether or not that is the formal objective.”

IMC has made a commitment to become a steward of the environment and a community activist. Paro explained that several members of senior management are currently training with Business on Board, a program designed to build and sustain strong, effective boards for nonprofit arts and social service organizations. The program matches individuals to particular nonprofit organizations based on their strengths and interests. “They may be placed on a philanthropic board or get involved with a theater arts group,” he said. “That is one way we are giving back to the community and exposing IMC to the broader business community.”

In addition, IMC will be hosting its fourth annual charity golf outing this year, the proceeds of which will benefit Community Volunteers in Medicine, which provides health and dental insurance to the under- and uninsured in Chester County, Pa. and the Wissahickon Hospice, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

“Over the past few years we have donated to other well-deserving charities, but we like to spread the wealth. Combined, our tournaments have raised more than $100,000,” Paro concluded.

 
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