One Project. One Supplier. One TAMCO.
What BBL Construction Services and Kasper Electrical needed was a single electrical supplier during the construction of the Courtyard by Marriott Port St. Lucie Tradition. Just a half-mile from the new hotel, they found TAMCO.
“For the project, everything fell into place with TAMCO and we used them for all the lighting fixtures, devices, receptacles — pretty much all the lighting in the building,” said Brian Pesavento, Assistant Project Manager at BBL Construction Services (BBL).
How did everything fall into place? BBL toured TAMCO’s 400,000-square-foot facility during their grand opening and were impressed by what they saw.
“We must’ve given 20 tours during our grand opening, and BBL was one of them,” said Anthony Moorhead, Sales Director at TAMCO. “Seeing our manufacturing, talking with our product developers, hearing the support we can provide — it just filled them with confidence.”
And it was that confidence which led to TAMCO winning the job.
“We always look for someone who can provide the full lighting package for us,” said Brian Pesavento at BBL. “Plus, with everything manufactured right here in the U.S., we could get the materials faster without waiting weeks or months for shipments to come in from overseas.”
TAMCO also got a jump on scheduling product deliveries right away thanks to their made-in-the-USA products. No wait necessary.
“As soon as we won the project, our project coordinating team staged as much product as early as possible,” Moorhead said. “We set expectations early with estimated delivery times on everything.”
With the expectations set, both BBL and Kasper Electrical knew they made the right choice.
“One vendor, one supplier, one submission package — that’s key,” said Jeff Campbell, the Commercial Division Project Manager at Kasper Electrical. “That’s what we always try to accomplish on a project. With TAMCO, there wasn’t a lot of back and forth. You knew what they were supplying, when they were supplying it.”
A Little Help from a Friend
While it’s true that TAMCO provided most of the lighting products, they also got a little help from the City Electric Supply Treasure Coast District Manager Joe Pietre when nobody could find a square commercial downlight.
“The customer was very specific that they needed a square option, but we just couldn’t find one,” Moorhead said. “Thankfully, Joe found alternative solutions for the customer, and they got the downlight they needed.”
That just comes back to the flexibility of being right there. Not only was the hotel only a half-mile away from the TAMCO facility, but they were also in the middle of a network of City Electric Supply branches that could pitch in to help.
Plus, being right around the corner from the job site only amplified the personal service they could provide.
“The hands-on attention we received was critical,” said Campbell at Kasper Electrical.
“Often, we personally delivered products to the job site,” Moorhead said. “So not only were we manufacturing products, but we were also taking it to them. If there was an issue, we could go back to the facility and custom design a solution. I think we made a fan for life.”
“Top-notch service,” Campbell added. “They were on-site multiple times, answering our questions and concerns immediately. TAMCO addressed our problems, asked us for feedback, and resolved them very quickly. They took really good care of us.”
Big Problem? Easy Solution.
TAMCO was so far ahead of the challenges that when an issue came up with the occupancy sensors, they were able to engineer an off-the-shelf solution with wireless controls.
They even programmed each control and labeled them for each room. With all the hard work out of the way, Kasper Electrical just had to wire it up.
“As a company, that’s where you build your most loyal customers, that’s where you build your reputation,” Moorhead said. “If contractor needs support one time on a project and you can’t provide it, it hurts. We always go above and beyond as much as possible and give solution if we’re able to.”
It’s those little solutions that translate into big, successful projects. From the warehouse manager delivering products to engineers designing solutions on the weekends, the people behind the scenes at TAMCO helped guarantee the project’s success when it mattered more than ever.
“It always comes down to the people,” Moorhead added. “Most jobs go smoothly, but when something goes wrong, that’s when a company shows what it’s made of. We managed to build a hotel during a pandemic that shut down the world and we managed to complete the project on time, despite all these obstacles that popped up.”
And despite what might’ve gone wrong during an unprecedented pandemic, TAMCO did a lot of things right.
“General contractors are very concerned with scheduling,” Campbell said. “TAMCO kept up with anything and everything, supplying us with what we needed so we could install it as fast as possible. They stepped up to the plate for us. We look forward to many more projects with TAMCO.”
Success, Trust, & Community
Behind a big project like this, the secret to success always comes down to just working together.
“There’s a lot of coordination that goes into a project like this,” Brian said. “From design to construction, everything went smoothly, and we achieved our goal at the end. TAMCO and CES will definitely be on our list and hopefully we can partner again in the future.”
And now that the hotel is nearing completion, it’s yet another big project for TAMCO to add to their portfolio.
“There’s nothing nicer than throwing big names out to customers,” Moorhead laughed. “Customers think, ‘If they trust TAMCO, surely, we can trust TAMCO.’”
With that trust, TAMCO is looking forward to doing much, much bigger things in Port St. Lucie.
“This project made us realize that we have the chance to do something really special in our community,” Moorhead said. “We can’t wait to become a bigger, more active voice in our community and drive progress, growth, and more business here in Port St. Lucie.”