The success story of Saliba Construction dates as far back as 1947 when the company began as a family-run business in the residential market.

Currently leading the company is president Richard Saliba, the third generation of Saliba’s to be at the helm of this great ship. Richard’s grandfather, JD Saliba, and great uncle, HD Saliba, are credited with founding this noteworthy company in Dothan, Alabama. Today, Saliba’s influence stretches into Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

JD Saliba was the first to bring their services to commercial projects, their first in this new sector being a sanctuary for a Methodist church. This was, perhaps, a glance into the future of things to come for Saliba.

In the late 1950s, the two founders each had two sons who, perhaps inevitably, became involved in the company’s success. The 1960s saw the incorporation of Saliba as it is known today and the company continued to stay focused on local commercial projects. In 1986, Richard was working in Atlanta for a different company when his uncle became ill and was no longer able to fulfill his role for Saliba. Richard was faced with a choice: to watch his family business close or move home and take over the reins. He chose the latter.

This decision has been an intrinsic part of Saliba’s propulsion to their current place in the construction industry. Richard is seasoned in the industry which is perhaps best exemplified by his service as state president of AGC Alabama in 1998.

“Healthcare and churches, that’s what got us here,” said Richard. Today, the company remains dedicated to these sectors while also working heavily on Atlanta-based educational projects. With 39 employees and an annual revenue of $28.5 million, Richard has certainly brought much success to his family’s business.

Saliba holds concrete work, carpentry, engineering, steel, and miscellaneous hardware work in house. They rely on subcontractors for finishes, cabinets, major site work paving, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical work.

The business makes a point to negotiate 80 percent of their projects rather than attain them hard bid, a practice they are relying on more today given the state of the economy. With the price tag for bid projects becoming increasingly lower, they are no longer profitable for Saliba: “At our last bid there were 12 or 13 bidders, some bidding very cheap. I can lose money sitting at home,” joked Richard.

Projects

Saliba’s niche, by definition, means they serve local neighborhoods at the most intrinsic level, constructing buildings that are requirements for each community. The company often goes the extra mile, using new methods to cater this service for each client as much as possible. One recent example of this is their project for Twin Rivers Middle School in Atlanta which they hope will serve as a prototype for future projects.

The 231,000 square foot project is a mainly one-story structure with one end having three stories. Typically, such a project would be constructed with concrete block and brick veneer on the exterior, and concrete block on the interior. Saliba was the first to construct the precast model for the Gwinnett County School System in Georgia. Once they stood the walls and placed the roof panels the building only required infill to be finished. The greatest benefit of this method is for the client: being completed three months ahead of schedule, the school now has the entire summer to prepare for the fall influx of students.

Seeing the success of this project, Saliba hopes area counties will choose to employ this method in the future. With the cost of the precast method being less per square foot as traditional methods, the price tag is an extra incentive to achieve this goal.

When Saliba builds, they envision their work remaining for generations. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is their service to the Northview Christian Church that has been deemed as “near-absolute protection” from F-5 tornadoes and Category 5 hurricanes, and is being submitted to FEMA to become a federal evacuation shelter.

The ceiling, termed the Monolithic Dome, is deceiving at first glance, appearing to be a rather typical and light-weight structure. In reality, the exterior fabric alone weighs 15,800 pounds. Five inches of insulation and six inches of concrete only add to this strength. As the second Monolithic Dome in the state of Alabama, there will be four domes when the church is complete. Phase one alone was comprised of two of the domes totaling 49,000 square feet. This will give the church the capacity to protect over 1,000 people in the event of threatening weather.

Saliba’s renovation of South Carolina State University’s Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium is another impressive show of the company’s talents stretched across a larger-than-usual project. They added seating boxes, new concessions, improved drainage, and renovated the home side of the field. The stadium today has a capacity to seat 22,000 fans with renovated and larger press boxes and new suites for distinguished guests.

Saliba was also recognized with the National Safety Award in 2000 from AGC, and Build Alabama Award from AGC for their work on the Javelin missile plant for Lockheed Martin in Alabama. The 3,863-acre missile site in Troy, Alabama is described as the safest and most advanced plant of its kind in the world. Located six miles northeast of Troy and 30 miles south of Montgomery, Alabama, the facility employs 220. At this site, workers perform the final assembly, test, and storage of Lockheed Martin systems.

Safe, “So Far”

Despite the roller coaster ride the world is taking in the financial markets, Saliba is staying dedicated to their plans for the future: to maintain their status quo. “We are at the point now where we are either going to get a lot bigger or we are going to stay where we are,” said Richard.

For now, the status quo is the verdict, unless the economy has an increased impact in the coming months on Saliba’s niche market. With their two offices dealing with different sectors of the market, their Alabama location tackling medical and office projects and their Georgia location completing mainly school projects, their diversity is an asset at this point in the current market. Saliba also attributes much of their current stability to their church projects: “the churches are taking advantage of the low interest rates,” said Richard. Saliba currently has a Catholic and Baptist church projects in the works, ensuring business for the foreseeable future.

Aware of the trends in the construction industry, Saliba is also planning to incorporate LEED projects into their portfolio and hopes to become more involved in green technology, knowing it is a benefit not only for the client but the global community.

Regardless of the country’s economic future, Saliba Construction, under the leadership of their optimistic president, is sure to flourish and continue to build with innovative technologies, setting the tone for new construction methods while staying grounded in their dedication to service their local neighborhoods.