BRADENTON
Bob Smith and his brother, Rocky Smith, can live with the mess their Bradenton business is in right now.
Inside the 10,000-square-foot showroom of Universal Window Solutions, a remodeling project has created the typical inconveniences that accompany construction: noise, dust, along with equipment and materials everywhere.
“Now I know why some people say they can’t live in their home when it’s undergoing a remodel,” said Bob Smith, chief executive officer at Universal Window Solutions.
But the Smiths acknowledge it’s a good mess to be in given what the Great Recession has done to new home construction.
In 2007, new home starts in Manatee County plunged 62.8 percent to 1,162 from 3,120 new home starts in 2006, according to MetroStudy, a housing market research and consulting firm.
Sarasota County new home starts dropped to 923 in 2007, a 55.1 percent decline from 2,056 new home starts in 2006.
Universal Window Solutions, a window and door supplier and installer, saw business shrink, too.
At the time, new home construction made up about 95 percent of the business’ annual revenue.
As a result of the decline in new home construction, Universal Window Solutions’ annual sales dropped to about $4 million from previous highs of about $15 million, said Rocky Smith, company president.
And its workforce went from 75 to 25 employees.
“It was literally overnight,” Rocky Smith said.
“We became very nervous that all our eggs were in one basket,” said Bob Smith.
The business plan had to change.
Universal Window Solutions worked to expand the remodeling side of its business with the addition of retrofitting services.
“About five years ago, we started doing retrofitting,” Bob Smith said.
“Over time, especially because of the economy, people don’t have the money to replace their windows but at the same time they want more energy efficiency.”
Retrofitting now makes up about 50 percent of the business.
In August 2009, Universal Window Solutions acquired a local 3M retail dealership which has given the company the ability to sell and install 3M security and solar window films.
The 3M films make up about 10 percent of its business.
And now, new construction accounts for about 40 percent of its annual revenues.
“Without diversifying, we would have been very challenged to survive the economic downturn,” Rocky Smith said. “We’re now a turn-key solution. We can do it all for our customers.”
As a result of the changes, sales increased 30 percent at Universal Window Solutions last year, and the Smiths are projecting another 20 percent growth this year.
“We think we’ll reach $5 million this year,” Bob Smith said.
John Cannon Homes and Neal Communities are among local home builders that work with Universal Window Solutions.
T.J. Nutter, chief operating officer of John Cannon Homes, said he’s seen many businesses associated with new home construction have to retool to survive.
“The ones that have weathered this market have had to diversify and realign,” Nutter said. “The ones that didn’t were an unfortunate casualty of the market. We’ve been working with the owners of Universal Window for more than 16 years and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them.”
By tweaking the business plan, the Smiths have since been able to make major investments in the business.
Over the past 18 months, Universal Window Solutions has invested $75,000 to add a door shop, spent $75,000 to open a Longboat Key showroom, is investing $50,000 on a remodel of its Bradenton showroom and purchased $50,000 worth of new computers and software.
“We don’t think the industry will come roaring back,” said Bob Smith. “But we can get a bigger piece of every opportunity.”
Statistics at MetroStudy show local home starts are on the upswing. In Manatee County, new home starts totaled 1,138 in 2010, a 24.5 percent increase from 2009.
Sarasota County had 541 new home starts in 2010, a 93.2 percent increase from 2009.
As more clients begin to return to the market, Bob Smith believes its remodeled showroom in Bradenton will play a key part in the purchasing process. The showroom will be expanded to display as many options of window and door supplies as possible.
“We’ll have choices for homes in the $120s to the $6 million home,” Bob Smith said. “The customer today is very educated and they want to be engaged in the product they are choosing for their home. We’re going to triple the size of our showroom. That will gives us the flexibility to show the customer every option there is out there.”
