HCI was formed in 1997 by George Harkins and his son David, following the success of its sister company, Harkins Concrete Construction, Inc. a subcontractor specializing in design-build, post-tensioned concrete frames and medium to large flatwork. The impetus for HCI was encouragement from key architects and repeat customers of Harkins Concrete Construction, Inc to extend the company's management techniques, organizational skills, and urgent pace into the expanded role of general contractor.
Already familiar with the workforce available in the greater Salisbury area and equipped with a lifetime of managing concrete construction projects, the pair agreed they were ideally positioned to expand. The region appeared poised for a building boom and it made sense to expand their services into general contracting. Unlike Concrete Construction, Inc., however, a general contractor requires not only access to skilled craftsmen but an experienced administrative staff with different skillsets.
Fortunately, George Harkins’ five years of subcontracting had familiarized him with the best specialists and regional contacts in the business. The company’s success and reputation made it an attractive place to work so attracting talent even from the region's small pool was not a problem. Today, HCI is staffed by degreed experts with an average of 25 years’ experience in the construction industry. Their expertise includes subcontractor selection, negotiating, insurance coverage, accounting, safety, concrete framing, finishes, bonding, scheduling, state and federal regulations, inspections, and other jobs that fall to the general contractor.
In addition to identifying projects for which they are best suited, and lining up the perfect subcontractors to get it done, it is this crew that is responsible for the detailed reporting promised to owners by Harkins Contracting. All projects get a schedule update every three weeks; reports on progress, manpower, and weather are completed daily. Reports to owners go out Friday afternoon. They contain photos describing progress and work scheduled for the following week. This is the kind of detail and transparency Harkins’ customers have come to expect and one reason they keep coming back.