Project Diversity Helps Light Up Helix Electric
Helix Electric Nevada Inc., a Las Vegas-based turnkey electrical contractor, has quietly become an industry giant with a 400-employee work force and $83 million in revenue last year. The company anticipates 10% growth in 2014 due to a recovering economy and demand for solar power and multifamily housing. Helix attributes its success to a combination of business diversity, strong customer service and employee training, and little turnover.
“Roughly 70% of our revenue comes from repeat business by approaching client issues as partners and problem solvers,” says Victor Fuchs, company president. “We supported many of our clients during the recession, and that loyalty has paid dividends as the economy recovers.”
Loyalty didn’t occur overnight. San Diego-based Helix Electric began working in Southern Nevada during the early 1990s, opening a full-time Las Vegas branch in 1995. Six years later, Helix Electric Nevada Inc. was formed as a standalone company. Today, the firm does 90 public and private projects annually, ranging in size from $300,000 to $35 million. Its success is partly due to a flexible company structure with divisions that handle everything from high-rise buildings, airports and hospitals to shopping centers, offices and warehouses. The company also has a service department with 40 trucks for smaller jobs, including tenant improvements, repairs and LED retrofits.
“We provide services that other companies don’t, with scheduling, BIM and design-build,” Fuchs says. “We also have a 25,000-sq-ft prefabrication facility with 147 full-time employees.”
Embracing Project Diversity
Helix pre-assembles components under factory controlled conditions, thereby increasing product quality while reducing field labor time for fast-track project delivery. Lump-sum services have produced a diverse company portfolio that includes the $470-million, 200,000-sq-ft Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in downtown Las Vegas in 2012. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. was the general contractor. The project entailed extensive computer modeling and trades coordination for electrical lighting and sound work across three theaters in two buildings.
“Helix displayed unwavering dedication and work perfection from custom chandelier lighting to back-of-house electrical equipment,” says Tom Urbanski, Whiting-Turner assistant project manager.
The company displayed similar know-how with the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational Campus, helping the 14-acre, 480-student private school capitalize upon its nonprofit status for a $1-million electrical-power rebate. The company installed a 4,000-amp main service backed by a 150-KW standby generator, while placing conduit and wiring to 38 new electrical panels for equipment and 4,000 light fixtures.
Specialty wiring was also required for the gym’s new indoor swimming pool and the theater’s light-dimming system.
“Helix’s staff was able to adapt and overcome all of the challenges that the project presented,” says Paul Schiffman, head of school. “We have done two major projects together, and they’re on our list for any future work.”
Helix is currently finishing work on the $1-billion Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, scheduled to begin operation later this year near Tonopah, Nev., about 190 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The 110-MW concentrating solar powerplant consists of 17,000 computer-operated heliostats—reflective mirrors that track and concentrate sunlight to a receiver atop a 538-ft-high tower to generate electricity. The project, which works like a lighthouse in reverse, requires roughly 200 miles of electrical wire with 10 miles of conduit. Helix has a standalone unit for solar work, with 1.2 GW of generation capacity installed to date.
Charting Work Force Solutions
Helix, a staunch nonunion advocate, has flourished partly through a reliable and skilled work force. The company provides more than 100 training courses annually, covering a myriad of management and technical topics. Helix offers opportunities for constant learning by staying busy with a complex, diverse and challenging array of work. The firm also encourages employee growth and advancement within the company while giving back to the community through staff-led charitable involvement.
“We have committed, long-term employees who share our company philosophy of delivering profitable performance and exceptional value,” Fuchs says. “We hire people that make the company successful.”
Success also comes from efficient project delivery through lean construction, which eliminates waste in design and construction-process waste though BIM, collaboration and prefabrication.
The company additionally uses technology for greater efficiency and reduced overhead costs. Helix, for example, has employees undergo a daily vehicle checklist on their phone that can be monitored by the fleet manager. Also, customers can sign off on work in the field using an iPhone form linked to the company’s database. Technicians can attach work progress photos and instantly e-mail signed work orders to both customers and office staff.
“This removes all paper forms from the field for the service department,” Fuchs says. “It has really helped streamline things and greatly improve service.”
