President Greg Force says the ability to cultivate new markets while staying true to its core beliefs is the key to this company’s success
Written by Kevin Doyle | Produced by Shaheen MohammadipourOne of the hallmarks of operations at Tindall Corporation is the company’s willingness and demonstrated ability to adapt and take on diverse projects in sectors it previously hasn’t worked.
The Spartanburg, SC company has, in recent years, become a major provider of pre-cast concrete cell modules for use in prisons nation-wide. Last month Tindall unveiled the innovative Atlas CTB™ Concrete Tower Base at the National Wind Energy Conference in Chicago that allows for taller, more productive turbines as the nation’s wind energy footprint grows and the global demand for alternative energy sources accelerates.
At the time of purchase by the Lowndes family in 1963, Tindall was a pre-cast pipe manufacturer. Today, the company employs approximately 1,000 at multiple plants and generates more than $250 million annual gross revenue. Tindall designs, manufactures and erects pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete systems for various types of construction projects, primarily in the Southern and Middle Atlantic states.
“We have evolved into one of the largest providers of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete systems in this country. I think that our willingness and eagerness to tackle jobs that are out of the norm distinguishes us from our competition. We see ourselves as a provider of solutions to the various markets that would benefit from the many benefits afforded by this type of construction,” says President Greg Force.
“Our owner (William Lowndes III) is focused on the core business but has the foresight to invest in the development of new markets like the prison cell modules. Now we are entering the wind power business and that’s because of the strategic vision of the owner and the technical capabilities within the company,” adds Vice President of Business Development Chris Palumbo.
Structure and Operations
Tindall Corporation has six divisions operating under the corporate umbrella with additional locations in Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Virginia. In total, Force says the company has approximately “a half million square feet under roof.”
“Tindall has historically capitalized on allowing its divisions to remain relatively autonomous. That allows them to respond best to the needs and demands of their respective geographic regions,” explains Force, who holds degrees from Lehigh University and Georgia College and State University (MBA) and has been with the company for 21 years, the last five as President.
“Corporate provides strategic vision and a synergy of effort in terms of capabilities and leveraging technology. We have more than 80 engineers on staff, including 30 who are registered professional engineers,” he says.
The business is generally limited to a specific geographic region due to the 250-mile radius of cost effective truck hauling. Tindall executes between 40 and 50 percent of delivery with its own standalone company, Tindall Haul and Erect, Inc., while remaining deliveries are contracted out.
“That is the reason we are set up to run contiguous. Virginia overlaps South Carolina, which overlaps Georgia, which overlaps Mississippi, which overlaps Texas,” Force notes. That set-up, Palumbo says, allows the various divisions to provide project support when a scheduling conflict occurs.
The Corrections Division is the exception with product distributed nationally by rail. Force says corrections work represents a large part of the company’s focus with upwards of 60,000 cells in place across the country. The company also performs a significant amount of institutional work, especially education-related projects.
“We’re well-positioned to ride through the recession. We had a strong backlog of work when it hit, enough to give us impetus well into this year. Bookings this year aren’t to the degree they were but we feel we’ll be in a strong position when the economy rebounds,” Force says.
Tindall closed its heavy highway division several years ago and, as such, isn’t likely to receive much of a boost from federal stimulus money, the bulk of which is targeted for rebuilding the highway system. “There could be some indirect applications. The challenge is to ferret those out,” Force says.
The Atlas CTB™
Force says The Atlas CTB™ was well-received and generated quite a buzz when it debuted last month. The new solution is designed to allow for the capture of strong, steady winds at higher altitudes, thereby generating power more efficiently.
According to the company website: “The Atlas CTB Tower Base is designed as an answer to the specific challenges encountered in the need for higher unit power output in the wind farm, with enhanced return on investment. Furthermore, its design is scalable to accommodate the next generation of high-output turbines.”
“At this point it’s premature to say we’ve made great inroads into the wind market but it’s certainly a market we are interested in,” says Force.
LEED and green initiatives
Tindall Corporation is embracing the United States Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines.
“We are doing everything we can to be as knowledgeable as we can in that area. Being able to give any of our team members, from designers to contractors, the information they need to know how to achieve LEED certification is crucial to our business. From our standpoint, there are things we can do with our mix, how we batch and the materials we use,” Force says.
Palumbo says internal quality improvement teams monitor production processes in every plant. “One of their missions is to oversee energy conservation, water conservation and recycling. Every process is constantly monitored for improvement and any efficiencies we can develop, green or otherwise,” he says.
Capital expenditures
The company brought its state-of-the-art $26 million facility north of Moss Point, MS online in January 2008. The 165,000sf plant replaced the Biloxi location that suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina. Force says it is one of the most automated plants in the country.
At the official ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the plant, Tindall CEO and Chairman William Lowndes III said: “The relocation and construction of this facility reiterates Tindall’s commitment to its employees, customers and the Gulf Coast area.”
Tindall opened a new production facility in San Antonio, TX this past year to aid in the production of prison cell modules, and has also recently expanded its Virginia facility.
Safety and people
Tindall runs a drug-free operation and safety is stressed daily, yielding an accident rate well below the industry average. Weekly safety meetings are held at each facility, leading experts are brought in for periodic seminars, and mock OSHA audits are held regularly.
“We are always driving for zero accidents and we have had no lost time due to injury at any of our facilities this year. That’s a tribute to the safety engineer and managers at each division. They’re active on the job sites and in the plants and safety is stressed to all of our sub-contractors as well.
The company has developed strong relationships with colleges in each of its regions and, Force says, “We’re very proud of the initiative we started to recruit engineering folks out of college.”
An intensive training program includes three weeks each in production, quality and in the field learning the nuts and bolts of the business. “After that, we throw them into more specialized training with the corporate vice president in the area of their discipline and they apply what they’ve picked up and learned. This approach has been very well-received and we feel we’ve done an excellent job of training the next generation of managers,” says Force.
Moving forward, expect Tindall Corporation to remain in the forefront of the pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete business.
“We will continue to apply our technical expertise to our owner’s vision of looking for growth opportunities. The use of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete has grown substantially in the last 50 years and we want to continue to be in the vanguard,” Force concludes.