Wade Perrow and Friends Celebrate 30 Years of Construction Excellence
Wade and Beth Perrow and WPC President Dan McKinney celebrate the firm’s 30th anniversary
Wade Perrow Construction celebrated its 30th anniversary on Oct. 1 with more than 200 people including former and current clients design firms engineering firms and subcontractors with whom the company has built solid lasting relationships.
At the event WPC friends and employees shared stories of past experiences and accomplishments…and there was plenty to talk about. Over the years WPC has won 21 AGC of Washington Build Washington Awards for Construction Excellence. Among the firm’s more well-known award-winning projects is the Pantages Theater restoration additions at Sun Mountain Lodge and the remodel and renovation of Madigan Army Medical Center.
WPC was established in Gig Harbor in 1979 by Wade and Beth Perrow. Since then WPC has built over 500 projects in 11 states totaling more than a half billion dollars.
Although much credit for the firm’s success certainly goes to CEO Wade Perrow for his “think outside the box” attitude it is WPC’s commitment to providing “Best in Class” construction services that has kept the firm prosperous even in tough times.
“Our focus on customer satisfaction fostering relationships with subcontractors and supporting the professional development of our employees has been an important factor in our success” Perrow said.
Over the years WPC – which first joined AGC in 1983 – has built a resume of diverse award winning projects ranging from complex Design/Build research laboratories to historical renovations. “Our success relies in part on having a staff of innovative individuals with talent and problem-solving skills” Perrow said. “Having a staff of diverse personnel helps our company succeed because it promotes new ways of finding solutions to the challenges of an ever-changing industry.”
(Editor’s note: Below are excerpts from an article from Peninsula Gateway News published just before the anniversary event. It gives more background on WPC and its innovative CEO Wade Perrow.)
WPC celebrates three decades in Gig Harbor
Company credits versatility quality and employee value
By Susan Schell of the Gateway
Published: 11:59AM September 30 2009
Wade Perrow Construction will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Oct. 1. The company will invite colleagues clients subcontractors and employees to join the commemoration of the milestone.
“We’ll be holding this event and ask them to share that moment of achievement and recognize their contributions” project executive Bill Ecker III said.
WPC has forged a name for itself both locally and in other states by establishing lasting relationships and performing quality work. Since 1987 the company has earned 21 awards from the Associated General Contractors of Washington for excellence in construction and customer service. One of those projects was the refurbishing of the Pantages Theater in downtown Tacoma. The company has long-term contracts with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and local repeat clients like Rainier Pacific Bank Puget Sound Energy and the University of Puget Sound.
The most visible WPC projects in Gig Harbor are the original Russell Family Foundation building and the Harbor History Museum both on Harborview Drive.
The company’s success is due largely to the man behind the wheel CEO Wade Perrow who began as a carpenter and knows the ins and outs of the industry.
Ecker said Perrow’s understanding and attention to employees contributes to the company’s longevity as one-third of its employees have been with the firm for more than 10 years.
“He started as a craftsman in the union and came up through the ranks and founded the company in 1979” Ecker said. “He has genuine knowledge of their issues. He can communicate with them and stay involved. He speaks their own language.”
As the company took off over the years Perrow managed to keep his feet firmly planted in the community.
Ecker said Perrow’s creativity and “out-of-the-box thinking” provides the foundation underneath WPC’s decades-long success.
“He likes oddball jobs” Ecker said. “The secret to his success is the ability to be adaptable. He creates opportunities that others overlook that others thought couldn’t be done. He goes places others won’t go.”
“The bottom line is diversity” marketing coordinator Carol Vose said. “He’s a brilliant businessman. He’s a visionary who always stays one step ahead of the game.”
Through the recession WPC has survived by rolling with the punches. “A lot of contractors drink from the same well but then the well dried up” Ecker said. “Companies that drink from different wells and have versatility are the ones that survive.
“Wade is exceptionally resourceful. He always has another stone to turn over.”