ConstrucTech is a by-paid-subscription-only magazine that covers the intersection of the construction industry and technology, including software. When you make a list of "survivors of the dot-com collapse," ConstrucTech magazine belongs at the head of the list.
In recent years, the publication has taken to selecting an annual list of the "hottest" companies in construction technology. McCormick Systems elected to enter the competition this year, for the first time -- and we were honored by being the only company named to BOTH the Residential and Commercial "hottest" lists for 2007.
In truth, McCormick Systems is a "hot" company! Here are excerpts from the ConstrucTech citations:
Residential citation: "In 2006, McCormick continued its run of supplying customers with new and innovative technology through the release of ABS (automated building systems). This set of CAD-estimating; time and material billing; and change orders are ideal for electrical contractors entering such budding areas as automated home technology and building control automation."
Commercial citation: "ABS is just the latest example of McCormick’s commitment to meeting the demands of its growing customer base. As the only electrical software provider to be named ‘hot’ in both the commercial and residential market, the editors of ConstrucTech believe McCormick serves this segment of the market in a highly unique manner."
From Todd McCormick, president, after learning of the twin honors from the magazine: "We are excited about being named to the ConstrucTech list at all, and being placed on both lists is certainly a thrill. We entered this competition because we want more people to know about the products we have, the electrical and ABS estimating software lines, and the like. We're very happy that the magazine's editors saw the merits of what we're trying to do.
"But when you get down to it, our company's basic responsibility remains the same. We got up the morning after we learned about these awards with the same determination we have had since my dad founded the company in 1979: To listen to our customers, and to find ways for contractors to estimate faster, smarter, easier, and more accurately. We may be "hot" -- but we're the same people, doing the same things we've always done.
"We are very proud to receive these two awards, and we will continue to better our company and it's products".
What's In The Media
Proposals Made Easy for McCormick Software Users
One unusual feature of McCormick Systems’ annual User’s Conference sees company representatives provide details to customers on “extras.” But these aren’t plug-in modules with add-on costs. Items such as scheduling, graphing, and proposal sheets are included in the basic software package.
“Estimators, project managers, and contractors are too busy to explore the entire system,” said Todd McCormick, President. “It’s not unique to estimating software. It’s commonly believed that the vast majority of Microsoft Word users apply only 10% to 20% of that program’s capabilities.”
This year’s focus – the Proposal Sheet – won attention from the Conference’s 100 attendees. Why? Simply put, many were using other software to prepare proposals for clients. That required getting numbers from their McCormick estimate and re-typing them.
“That creates the potential for mistakes,” McCormick explained. “With the Proposal Sheet embedded in our system, there’s no chance of making an error in transferring the numbers from the estimate to the proposal.”
“And, best of all – it’s already there, in our system, ready for electrical or automated building systems contractors to put to use immediately.”
Guest Comment: 6-Month Construction Spending
(opinion posted 8/2/07 to www.electricalcontractor.com)
On 7/31 the USG emitted the "Construction put in place" report on the year's first six months (they do this monthly, and most people refer to what's in there as "construction spending"). There's a headline number that's seasonally adjusted, blahblahblah -- but I cut to the chase, which in this case is UNadjusted numbers (Table 2 in the report). Here's what's in there:
Total construction in the year's first 6 months -- $549.96 billion, down 3.5%.
June '07 vs. June '06 -- down 2.6%
Private residential construction, first six months -- down 18.3%
Private nonresidential construction, first six months -- up 18.2%
Total public construction, first six months -- up 11.0%
In essence, because Residential is (or was) so freakin' BIG, the down in resi outplays the UP elsewhere to produce a negative number for the total.
EleBlog take: Is this report bad or good? It's probably GOOD for electrical contractors, who put a lot more workers and material to work in nonresidential buildings than in houses.
I see a bit of worrisome news in here. The first six months of 2007 saw $163 billion in nonresidential construction, of which nearly a quarter -- $39 billion -- was in the "commercial" subcategory. As delineated by the Census Bureau (which produces these numbers), "commercial" includes a lot of things (it's a "junk drawer" of nonresidential construction) . . . but it's about 65% retail construction.
Commercial is up 15.8% at the 6-month mark. I would guess, given the parlous condition of retail spending these days -- and the fact that people on or close to the margin are finding that they can't convert more home equity into cash -- that there might be a pull-back in retail construction some time soon (in Q4? In Q1 of 2008?) . . . and perhaps the nonresidential tide will subside.
FINAL NOTES - INFLATION --
a. As I've repeatedly said, I don't believe the "official" inflation data. I think inflation in the general economy is running closer to 5% than 2%.
b. Construction inflation is running higher than inflation in the general economy. For our purposes here, tho, let's tag it at 5%.
c. If year-over-year construction inflation is 5%, then total construction isn't down just 3.5%. It's down 8.5%, in real terms.
d. According to this report, "Total Private Construction" is down 7.2%. Add the inflation in there, and it's down more like 12%. Note that private construction in the first six months of last year was $455 billion -- or almost exactly 80% of the total.
e. I am mystified at how construction employment can "hold up" with private investment in construction down a REAL 12%.
Where You Can See Us In 2007
Here are our scheduled appearances at industry events this
year:
Sept. 10-13, Las Vegas, NV -- BICSI Fall Conference
Oct. 6-8, San Francisco, CA -- NECA Convention & Show
Oct. 24-27, Houston, TX -- IEC Convention & Expo.
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