MBN USA

April 04, 2024

UnFollow View Profile Send Message Copy Link

UnFollow View Profile Send Message Copy Link

TCM has provided PM services on three continents

Q: Can you tell us a little about your background and your company.

A: We [Troi and Kelley Taylor] are first-generation entrepreneurs. We received undergraduate degrees from Prairie View A&M University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) and have graduate degrees in business.

Kelley has a professional background in executive human resources with a focus on talent management. Troi has a background in project and facility management for health care and life science institutions.

Taylor Construction Management LLC (TCM), based in Houston, Texas, was founded in 2011 to fill a void in executive-level project management support services for clients engaged in capital improvement campaigns where facility improvement projects are not their core business model.

To date, TCM has provided project management services across three continents and managed a combined project budget of more than $4 billion (USD).

Q: What is the state of the construction industry in Texas, and how does that impact your company?

A: The construction industry is booming. In Texas alone, the anticipated local construction GDP [gross domestic product] is expected to exceed $12 billion (USD) over the next 24-month period.

There is a wide range of approved diverse projects on the horizon such as:

• A Texas A&M Space Institute next to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

• A six-year, multiphase expansion at the Houston Zoo.

• A shopping and entertainment venue in Manvel, Texas.

• A second biotech incubator at Generation Park in Northeast Houston.

• Multiple K-12 school bond construction projects.

• A Terminal ‘A’ modernization at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston; and

• A $1 billion hospital replacement project at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital on the east side of town.

For firms with savvy and readiness, the opportunities exceed the current capacity. This bodes well for TCM since we anticipated most of these opportunities, work to ensure our portfolio and personnel match the job criterion, and continuously foster strategic relationships with potential teaming partners. The sky is the limit in Greater Houston.

Q: What are your biggest challenges and opportunities in the construction industry?

A: Legislation has aimed to reduce and potentially eliminate minority-owned business certifications to ensure equity in contracting practices. For firms that have historically been marginalized, certifications have been an equalizing tool to maintain — not necessarily make up ground — footing for smaller firms pursuing contracts with public dollars.

Last year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, signed a law banning diversity offices in Texas higher education institutions. Under SB 17, DEI programs that promote certain groups based on historical discrimination related to race and gender will come to an end.

This is one of several cases nationally where diversity programs are facing expulsion via lawsuits. The impact is staggering. In Houston, the city has a 35% goal on construction contracts — meaning that 35% of the work must be completed by certified disadvantaged businesses. Of the aforementioned forecast, without established mandates being enforced, there is a very serious possibility that the local small and minority-owned business community will only see marginal increases due to not having a seat at the table of such a strong local economy.

Q: What role has certification played in your business’ success?

A: Certifications are the topic of the day. Most often, when we negotiate a role on large projects, the first question is regarding whether our firm is certified. Regardless of experience and qualified personnel, there is an unspoken ideology that legacy “prime” contractors could do the work themselves and keep the profits inhouse. Reluctance is at the doorstep of every subcontracting conversation where it is obvious that the prime contractor is doing what they are required to do via inclusion of qualified small businesses just to win a particular contract.

If the program is eliminated, the vitality of many of our celebrated certified businesses will be at stake. TCM has been careful to diversify our portfolio to ensure solvency even if certifications are not considered. As mentioned earlier, our international clients don’t acknowledge certifications and only care if you provide value for their investment.

I would describe certifications as a driver’s license versus a passport. Most people will request and accept the driver’s license, but the passport gets you into more places. The qualifications, relationships, diversity of portfolio and geographic reach have served as a passport for our firm.

Q: What’s your outlook for the construction industry over the next three to five years, and what does that mean for your company?

A: The construction outlook is extremely promising. We’ve only described Greater Houston. Only second to California, Texas has the strongest construction forecast in America. Certifications often extend statewide (like the Historically Underutilized Business “HUB” and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise “DBE” certificates), and others extend nationally (like the 8(a) and Economically Disadvantage Women-Owned Small Business “EDWOSB” certificates). Most of the programs that we pursue are upwards of $1billion (USD) and have a three to five-year lifecycle.

Currently, we are in pursuit of more than $4 billion (USD) in contract value in Greater Houston alone. Those projects would end around 4th quarter 2028. Our model is to pursue projects of similar size and complexity annually to ensure our backlog is stable, diverse and without geographic restrictions. Because of our strong commitment to this model, we have weathered socioeconomic peaks and valleys and experienced growth each time.

To learn more about TCM, visit tcm-llc.com.

To view or download full article, please click here.