Tradewinds Construction President and CEO Jeffrey Vilkin says his company is unique.
In a town where construction companies – both general contractors and subcontractors – are a dime a dozen, Vilkin believes his company has distinctive qualities that set it apart from the rest.
Vilkin, 42, learned the construction trade as a carpenter in Telluride, Colo. in his early 20s. “I got my education in the building trades,” Vilkin said. “I worked as a carpenter until I was 29. My experience was unique. Telluride was a boom town at the turn of the 20th century, so I was doing a lot of remodeling of designated historical Victorian buildings.” The buildings on which he learned his craft were each very different from one other, providing the opportunity for Vilkin to gain experience in just about every aspect of the construction industry. By the time Vilkin wanted to launch his own business, he already had 10 years of experience in concrete, wood framing, finish carpentry, drywall, painting, cabinetmaking, masonry, door fabrication and roofing under his tool belt.
Ironically, it was during that time – the late 1980s – that Las Vegas itself was well on its way towards becoming a boomtown. Vilkin brought his experience and ambition to Las Vegas in 1987 and launched Tradewinds Construction. The company began as a small office at his home. At that time, Tradewinds employed about a dozen construction workers. In 1990, Vilkin brought in partner Kelly Cooper, “the best carpenter I ever met,” Vilkin said.
As Las Vegas began to grow, so did Tradewinds’ business. The company moved to its first real office in 1992, and in 1997, built its own 15,000-square-foot facility in the Hughes Airport Center. Today, Tradewinds boasts a roster of 250 employees and performs about 400 construction jobs each year. It has worked on such projects as Wal Mart, Albertsons, Smiths, Vons, Home Depot, Big K Mart, Alexander Dawson School, Anthem Country Club, National Vitamin, Nevada Color Litho, JCPenney and Spring Mountain Youth Camp. It has also done work at McCarran International Airport and Southern Nevada malls.
What continues to be unique about Tradewinds is that it serves commercial and residential customers either as a general contractor or as a subcontractor. No matter which proverbial hat the company wears, there is a roster of 250 employees, including designers, carpenters and building professionals with unique talents, to get the job done. About two-thirds of the company’s business consists of subcontractor services. The other third involves serving as a general contractor for tenant improvement projects.
When a ground-up building project is launched, the owner hires a general contractor or construction manager, who then hires subcontractors. “We perform as a subcontractor for big commercial and industrial projects in Las Vegas,” Vilkin said. “And with multiple divisions consisting of a cadre of skilled craftsmen at Tradewinds, we offer wood and metal stud framing, drywall, painting, acoustical ceilings, panelized roof systems and design/build tenant improvements.”
Tradewinds does not competitively bid ground-up projects as a general contractor for one reason – integrity. The company and its staff know that its clients, who are usually larger general contractors, are the ones who help keep Tradewinds in business as a subcontractor. Tradewinds instead specializes in tenant improvement projects. “As a general contractor, we handle a high volume of tenant improvement projects that large general contractors are typically not interested in,” Vilkin said. “And we’re able to come in and do this without taking work away from the general contractors who are hiring us as a subcontractor.” Such projects often come in the form of multi-tenant buildings that are turned over to a leasing company that leases out the space to multiple businesses. Tenants have individual build-out requirements, and that’s where Tradewinds comes into the picture.
“We offer free space-planning and conceptual estimating,” Vilkin said. “We often have a prospective tenant come into our office and design his or her own floor plan on the computer with our AutoCAD designer.” Tenants’ requirements may include placement of walls, ceilings, plumbing, lighting and other fixtures. Then it’s up to Tradewinds to make sure all specifications are up to code. Tradewinds provides all the working drawings, as well as all performing all construction work. “We’re often doing the designing,” Vilkin said. “Sometimes the tenant or owner has already hired an architect and we’ll do the job from their documents.”
“People want (construction) good, fast and cheap,” Vilkin said. “It’s hard to provide all three, but self-performing so much of the work creates such an advantage that we’re often able to meet these difficult criteria.”