Bukackek Construction enters high-end hardware market
By Charles Rathmann, of SBT
Income stream diversification. Hitting ’em where they ain’t. A new venture from design-builder and construction manager Bukacek Construction, Racine, is an example of both business strategies.
The contractor has formed a new division – BCI Group, which will broker high-end commercial and residential hardware. Acting as a manufacturer’s representative of sorts, BCI will sell about 15 different domestic and imported hardware and fixture lines through architects and contractors involved with luxury homes and resort properties nationwide.
According to company president Nick Bukacek, the market for those products is fragmented geographically, and a nationwide supplier should be able to get the price advantage.
"I got the idea when I was building a spec home in Colorado," Bukacek said. "As I was pricing the products for the house, everything was so much more expensive out there. We found a local supplier here and just the geographic difference from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains was 20%. Our local guy said he still had a 40% margin. It seemed to me that nobody is taking this model nationwide."
BCI rolled out its product line in April at the Kitchen & Bath Show in Orlando, Fla.
While architects and contractors in the residential market are still busy, Bukacek said that BCI will help his construction company, which spends most of its time on commercial, industrial and other non-residential projects, strike a balance across different markets.
"It’s been a slow March," Bukacek said. "And that’s one reason we are doing this. This is a way to diversify our revenue stream."
BCI will market its product lines – including spa tubs from Bouvier Hydro and bronze door hardware from Rocky Mountain Hardware – will be sold on-line and through phone and in-person selling.
May 2, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
