Being big is not what Breslin Builders is about. In a day and age in which companies strive to deal with the country’s precarious economy, Breslin Builders is content controlling its burgeoning business of providing general contracting and design-build services for commercial developments.
“I don’t want to be the largest. I don’t want to be known as the biggest contractor. I like the fact our reputation is built on quality of service. I’m proud our clients are repeat clients,” said Jack Breslin, president and owner of Breslin Builders. “We’re more oriented toward quality than being the biggest and seeing how many projects we can get done.”
The company’s history began in the 1970s. Breslin worked as a framing contractor and gradually progressed to becoming a general contractor. By 1980, he realized his dream of being his own boss and created the company that would eventually grow to 65 employees, grossing $30 million to $50 million annually.
Today, Breslin credits longevity to his core management team, most of whom have been with the company since the beginning. Turnover is low – approximately 60 percent of the staff have been with the company for at least 15 years.
Breslin averages 100 commercial projects per year, ranging from retail to warehouses to office space. Notable projects include PF Chang’s China Bistro, the Rebel Oil/Unocal convenience stores and the Roadrunner Casino. Westward Ho also recently hired Breslin for a design-build project for its expansion – a new country store and casino slated to be complete by December 2003. Another project scheduled for this year is the St. Rose Business Park, owned by Victor Park. The class A office park will contain 180,000 square feet of office space spread out over 12 buildings.
Out of the hundreds of projects he has worked on over the years, Breslin is proudest of the work completed for the Bali Hai Golf Course on the Las Vegas Strip in the summer of 2001. “It was a 160-acre project, and we took it all the way from start to finish and managed the entire project,” said Breslin.
As for the most unique project, Breslin is responsible for building Nevada’s tallest structure – KVEG-FM’s radio tower, which is approximately 1315 feet high. “We built the tower right in the middle of the Nevada desert. It’s even taller than the Stratosphere,” he said.
Although that project ventured outside of Las Vegas, the company does not plan to go much further. It will accept projects in various parts of Nevada, but turns down out-of-state requests (which flood the office) almost every time.
For Breslin Builders’ future – the path is clear. Its management wants the company to grow, but at a controlled rate. Breslin believes growth may compromise the foundation upon which the company was built.
“We have a niche in this market. We have upper management and field supervisors who have been with the company from the beginning. That brings us the consistency we like,” said Breslin. “The other reason I think we’re unique, is that we’re brought in at the beginning of a project and it’s single-source responsibility from start to finish. That provides the quality, the cost-control and delivery time that projects demand.”
Family may eventually take the reins once Breslin retires. His son, Ryan, is currently a field superintendent and is being groomed for the possibility of someday running the company. “It’s entirely up to him,” said the elder Breslin. “He’s working in the field and has been with us since he’s been out of school. I guess we’ll wait and see if he wants to move on with the endeavor. The option is open to him.”