Coast Contractor Program Teaches Good Business Practices
In late October, Roy Anderson Corp, the South Mississippi Contract Procurement Center (SMCPC), eCom Direct, the Mississippi Development Authority and the Surety & Fidelity Association of America started the Model Contractor Development Program (MCDP) in Gulfport, Mississippi. Running through December 16, the program will teach small construction contractors the good business practices needed to improve their company’s operations, increase their bonding capacity and help take advantage of the ongoing construction boom in Mississippi.
Developed by the Surety & Fidelity Association of America, the MCDP was offered last year on the Coast and at other locations throughout Mississippi. The program was even more successful than anticipated, graduating 35 companies, just in Gulfport; and the program director expects close to 50 Gulfport graduates this year and five graduates from Gloster, Mississippi. This session was the first time that attendees were able to participate in the Gulfport class through a virtual link. Classes were taught in Gulfport and attendees were participating in Gloster.
MCDP is being held free of charge, with a total of nine sessions, at Roy Anderson Corp’s corporate office in Gulfport. Founded in 1955, Roy Anderson Corp is one of the premier construction firms in the region with thousands of projects to its credit.
Roy Anderson Corp is not only opening its facility to the program’s participants, it has also provided six instructors, two of whom are vice presidents, one who is vice president and CFO, as well as a director and manager. The company has also provided several other workers as support staff.
Companies participating in the program must be enrolled in the Mississippi Contract Procurement Network system, and a representative of each contractor must attend at least seven of the nine sessions. The sessions will focus on business planning and management, construction accounting and financial management, estimating and bidding, bonding insurance for new and emerging contractors, banking and financing, project management and field operations, and claims and dispute resolution. The final session is “Success Stories: Why Some Contractors Succeed and Others Fail.”
The host contractor, Roy Anderson Corp, is a great success story itself. Started more than a half-century ago by Roy Anderson Jr. and his family, with just a single pick-up truck, the firm has grown to be one of the largest building contractors in the United States. Presenters of the MCDP hope that they can help more Mississippi contractors build their businesses and find lasting success.
To learn more about the Model Contractor Development Program or to become a client of the South Mississippi Contract Procurement Center, visit www.mscpc.com. For more information on Roy Anderson Corp, visit www.rac.com.
