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Like everyone else, Harris is concerned about financing. “We are in tough times for project financing in build-to-own projects or general construction where you’re building for others,” says Harris. “Requirements for financing projects continue to get tougher. Everyone is adjusting to doing business with less resources and learning new ways to finance projects,” he adds.

He’s got an eye on how general construction regulations could affect light commercial builders. Harris closely follows safety and legislative activities and has represented NAHB on issues such as the impact of a pending OSHA crane rule, which covers cranes weighing more than 2,000 pounds. He has urged OSHA to consider the difference between the use of mobile cranes and large industrial cranes when rewriting the Federal Crane Safety Standard.

“The small cranes we use in residential and light commercial construction are more similar to forklifts than the huge industry cranes that have been collapsing and making news,” says Harris. “It’s not logical to make one uniform standard for small mobile cranes that lift 2,000 pounds and large stationary cranes that lift 200,000 pounds.”

Harris wants to raise the visibility of the Commercial Builders Council. “Being in the Commercial Builders Council has made me more professional in my business dealings and more open to other opportunities and ways of doing business,” says Harris, who has been a NCBC member for six years. “The amount of knowledge and success around the room at our meetings is humbling.”

Thus, as chairman of the council, he wants to ensure that council members and the entire NAHB membership are informed about the opportunities in light commercial building.

He keeps his business operations small, but mighty. Harris is the vice president and general manager of the Carl Harris Co. and has about 20 employees. His wife and sister are office managers and he also has a project manager/estimator on staff. All other employees are skilled craftsmen — which include his father and brother-in-law.

“We do a lot of things from bidding work, negotiating projects and meeting with architects and planners, to emptying the trash and buying the toilet paper,” says Harris. “We all work as one unit.”

Typically, the Carl Harris Co. builds about 30 projects a year, which cost about $5,000 to $600,000 each. The jobs are primarily local and state contract work to build schools, FEMA shelters, water/sewage treatment plants, city offices and fire stations.

“As a specialty contractor involved in structural steel and pre-cast concrete construction, we have a thorough knowledge of what and how to accomplish our work faster and safer than others,” says Harris.

And his meticulous work pays off. In 2006, his company won the first NAHB Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) for their Light Commercial Contractor Safety Program.

Recently, Harris’ company built the upper and lower bowls of the INTRUST Bank Arena — a sports and entertainment venue with 15,000 capacity seating. The arena opened in January 2010.

Read the full story about Harris to find out about his light commercial construction outlook, business management skills and the benefits he gains from his NAHB and NCBC membership.

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