As Good as His Word
Kenosha's Larry Biehn builds reputation the old-fashioned way
By Sandra Whitehead For Small Business Times
As published December 1998
When Kenosha-based Biehn Construction won its bid to build the Martin Business Group's new corporate headquarters in Lake Geneva, the design/construction company poured the footings before it had a contract. When it put up the walls, its client hadn't even closed on its loan. Patrick Martin's word was good enough for Larry Biehn.
Biehn, 41 is reputed to be an old-fashioned businessman reminiscent of his grandparents' generation. He commits resources on a handshake and is as good as his word, clients say.
"Because Larry trusted us and got started on a verbal OK, we are moving into our new facility this month," Martin said in November.
Biehn completed Martin's 10,000-square-foot headquarters in four months to the day of being chosen for the job. Grass was seeded before the ground froze and the Martin Business Group, a copier, facsimile, and printer supplier/servicer, settled in its new location before the holidays. That most likely wouldn't have happened if Biehn had waited for the paperwork to catch up, said Martin.
"The reason for selecting Larry's company was his willingness to do a lot of work up front," added Martin. "He stuck his neck out. He put his staff through a lot of preliminary work to come up with numbers. Other contractors we talked to didn't want to do anything until we signed on the dotted line. That would be basically signing a blank check."
Even though Martin had a good feeling about Biehn from the start, he was still surprised when "everything happened exactly as we were told it would. The job was done on time and on budget. That's unusual these days," he said.
Larry Biehn is the kind of guy who returns his phone calls, said T.S. Schueler, president of Voss, Jorgensen & Schueler, a Milwaukee construction managing firm for whom Biehn has two jobs in progress. He invited Biehn to bid on one of the jobs because "he comes through on time with quality work."
Biehn's work ethic also led Villani & Becker S.C., a Kenosha C.P.A. firm, to engage the contractor to build its new office when it expanded four years ago.
"They are organized, efficient, and deliver a quality product," said managing partner Donald J. Becker.
Firm on the fast-track
Doing business the old-fashioned way has put Biehn Construction on the fast track. In the past three years, the company doubled its gross sales each year, up to $14 million last year. This year's sales, while slower, still show a 50% increase over last year, putting the contractor at $21 million. On average, Biehn Construction has grown about 50% every year since it opened in 1981. The staff has grown in 18 years from a one-man operation to having 110 full-time employees and about 20 seasonal workers today. Biehn helped foster that growth by opening a satellite office in Germantown, giving it a presence in that fast-growing area of southeastern Wisconsin.
Biehn has proven himself by working up through the ranks, said Becker. "He started as a carpenter. He knows how to hang a door." On the other hand, he knows little about computers, Biehn admitted to a reporter visiting his Kenosha office.
"Fortunately, I have employees who know how to use them. I've surrounded myself with good people," said Biehn, who says he trusts his instincts about people, both employees and potential clients.
In the office which sits on the corner of what was his father's farm, across the street from the home he shares with his wife and four children, Biehn answered questions about his unique climb to success. His friendly manner and folksy way of talking reflect his farmboy roots. So do his work habits. He's into the office around 4 a.m. "I still think I have to get up to milk the cows,'" he joked.
His crisply-pressed shirt and immaculate office (glaringly missing a computer), probably stem from his mother's early training, he said. "Every spoon had its place," he said of his childhood home.
Like his mother, Biehn likes to know where everything is at a glance. "It makes it easier to get things done. But that's either built into a guy or it's not. I can't take credit for it," said Biehn.
What he can take credit for is building one of southeastern Wisconsin's fastest-growing design/construction companies from scratch with no business background.
"Believe me, it wasn't the easy way," said Biehn, who education has been completely on the job. Fresh out of high school, with no strategy other than to work hard, Biehn signed on as a carpenter's apprentice and began his career.
Five years later, when his employer laid off all but three of his 103 workers, including Biehn, he decided to go into business himself. "I liked the idea of being my own boss, but I didn't really know where to start," he said.
On the advice of a friend, he went to a bank to open a business account, not realizing he would be expected to make a deposit, he recalled. "When they asked how much I wanted to put in the account, I gave them the $67 I had in my pocket."
Under the name L.B. Construction, he began doing residential work - building porches, pouring patio slabs, ripping off roofs - until he "got a belly full of it."
Repositioned the company
In June 1983, he incorporated and changed the company's name to Biehn Construction.
"I wanted it to sound like a company that could handle something bigger," said Biehn. Biehn became a contender for large, complex projects after building the Kenosha Northside Library, now a city landmark complete with an atrium lobby, vaulted ceilings, an arched entry and a covered arcade. "We used it to say we aren't just kitchen remodelers," he says.
The job also helped the company demonstrate its ability to finish ahead of schedule, said Biehn. The library was completed seven months ahead of schedule, sitting vacant for some time because the city wasn't expecting Biehn to get done that quickly, he recalls.
Biehn Construction finishes projects ahead of schedule by design. Over the years, the company has added a variety of crews that now allow it to do about 65% of any project in house. Biehn employs excavation operators, sewer and water specialists, concrete finishers, bricklayers, carpenters, painters, sheet metal and HVAC technicians and other tradespeople. "That gives us more control over construction scheduling and quality," said Biehn. "We don't work with subcontractors who promise to be there tomorrow, but don't show up. And you can't fool yourself."
Biehn's not one to fool anybody, say those who know him. That's one reason he doesn't think much of contracts. "Contracts are for lawsuits," he said. "You can tell a lot more about people by shaking their hands than from a signature on a piece of paper.
"Contracts can be broken and when they are, it's usually not worth pursuing. Contractors know that. The only contracts that hold up are the ones both sides want to honor," Biehn says.
"Too many people concentrate on getting a good contract, but that's not where to put your efforts. Developing mutual trust and working hard are what get jobs done."
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