Robert Fowler Sr. has many interestsFort Myers News Press Business and Money
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Father, son team up
in construction
Robert Fowler Sr. has many interests
BY TIM ENGSTROM
Robert Fowler Sr. has built his business around solving difficult problems, but he has never had to worry much about balancing work and family.
As the founder and chief executive officer of Fowler Construction and Development for more than 37 years, work has certainly been a large part of his life.
But the work is just as much a part of his family's life. His wife of 40 years, JoAnne Fowler, has been with the company for 25 years and is now the comptroller and a real estate broker for the company. Their only child, Robert Fowler Jr., has worked for the company since he was in high school and now is the president and chief operating officer.
"There really is no nepotism in the company," the elder Fowler said. 'We are so family-oriented that, quite frankly, all the company is like family to us."
Rob Fowler Jr. said the famiy relationship is integral to the business, which has more than 40 employees. 'We've known each other for a long time," he said, with just a hint of a smile. 'We've worked out most of the bugs."
The commercial construction company — which specializes in projects with extra challenges —has built landmark local restaurants, fire stations and office buildings. "The impression of our company, because we span some different areas, is that we are some large builder/developer," he said. "I'm always proud to say, `Nah.."' But the company has carved a niche by taking on projects challenged by difficult permitting requirements or construction approaches. One such project is the life-size Spanish galleon in Bonita Springs originally built to be The Ship restaurant. The original restaurant failed and the building is now for sale and facing possible demolition. "It's very sad," Fowler said.
Fowler sat down in his office overlooking the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in south Fort Myers recently to talk about moving from Philadelphia to Florida, learning how to face adversity, the joys of family, the tale of The Ship and the joys of ranching.
Getting started
"I was brought up in the building business. I have two brothers ... and one of them was in the building business. I worked for him throughout high school and I went to college and got my degree and went into the service, the Army. I completed my tour of the Army and I went to work with my brother, Dick.
"My wife, JoAnne, my college sweetheart, and I deemed we were rather independent and we packed our bags and moved to Florida in 1969. I didn't have a job but I felt that everyone needed me and I had all this expertise "It taught me one thing —anybody who walks through these doors looking for a job gets the utmost respect. I learned what it's like when you don't get it.
"I worked very shortly for a company in Broward, maybe a couple of months, and then I found an opportunity down in the Keys when we went camping with a very good friend of mine: There was no place to camp.
"The short of a very long story: We were able to fmd an investor and we built a campground that is there to this day, America Outdoors in Key Largo. We took that and built another one on U.S. 41 down in south Fort Myers."
Near failure
"We built a condominium in Cape Coral called the Anchorage back in 1973. "It was a 40-unit condominium ... and I was going to be the largest developer this state had ever saw. There was no doubt in my mind. "We built the first 20 units and guess what? I learned about things you have no control over — like a fuel crisis and a recession. We had 20 units and I couldn't sell a thing. "Probably the most influential thing in my entire life happened to me then. I was told to go see a man by the name of Jim Newton. Mr Newton owned a company called Newton Real Estate down on the Beach.
"I walked in there as a kid in trouble and I got respect. We sat down, and I told him my whole story and he kept staring at me and listening to me. I kept waiting for him to tell me what to do. I just knew this man must have that button. ... "He said, 'You just have to do something.. The answer will only come if you are trying something... "They bought one of our units and they staffed it at a time when you couldn't sell anything. And we sold the units and maybe made a couple of hundred dollars which, quite frankly, is a lot different than going out of business."
The Ship comes in
"We were challenged by a client of ours who we had built several restaurants for (Anthony Scialdone). "He said I want to build another restaurant and I have the land and I want it to be a ship.' "A ship? I laughed at him, but he was serious ..But the chalenge was kind of neat and we did a lot of research. "Through research, we found that back in the 1500s all these ships were built — not from plans or blueprints — but from scale models that were actually put together piece by piece. And we discovered there is one of these left in the world today ... in one of the national museuns in Madrid, Spain. We knew the answer before we asked if they could lend us this — no —but we found out through them that in the early '50s, this model had been borrowed by an Italian family that was into movies and they were going to build the ship and do a movie, but they went out of business. We were able to get the plans...
"My son comes out (of school) and he is complaining that he has this education and all he is doing is demolition and I say, 'Fine, here is a Spanish galleon' and it was his first project."
The family business
"I never once in our history pushed him (Robert Jr.) to come into this business, though I dreamed of it. "We went through all of his four years, never once any discussion of coming with the company until his senior year. We were driving back to look at an apartment his last semester and on 1-75 he looks over and says, 'Dad, we need to talk' "I said, 'OK' "He said, 'What am I going to do when I start with the company?' "I thought, 'The company. My company?' I had bubbles going through my legs I was so excited. I couldn't show it because we brought him up to know that we can't give him anything that he doesn't deserve or earn. So what's the only comment I can think of to my one and only son — who I was so excited about coming to the company? I could only say, 'Son, I think you had better set up an interview'"
The economy
"When things were, I hate to say; out of sight last year, it was not a very comfortable situation for us. We leveled off. There was so much happening — so much easy stuff happening — that the need for us wasn't as great as it is when times are more difficult. And I am not saying 'bad' because we are not in a bad economy right now.
"Those development efforts out there now require a lot more attention to detail. That is why our volume is three times what it was one year ago. "We love our competition —our good competition, like 0-A-K (Owen-Ames-Kimball Co.) — because as things get back to normal ... our ranks in the industry have been thinned out and we are back competing with the people and the reputable and ethical companies that we enjoy competing against. 'We are seeing much more of that than a year ago when we didn't know half of our competitors. And we don't know them now because most of them aren't here. They are back in Miami and Jacksonville or wherever."
The environment
"A real integral part of my life, my wife's life and my son's life is what is outside of this building. I was trained to have a true respect for my surrounding environment. 'Environment' right now seems to be a key word for everything, so I don't say I am an environmentalist. The truth of the matter is, even growing up, the greatest experience I have ever had is learning about the things that most people today don't ever see, especially young people. They don't see what is around them. They see what is in their hand. They only see that iPod or whatever....
"I was appointed to Smart Growth (the county's growth advisory committee). Because of many of the outspoken positions I have taken on that board, many in our industry think I 'hug the trees,' as the expression goes. I don't know if I hug the trees but I lean very heavily on them."
Green demolition
"We are trying something a little different in a couple of weeks with the old Moose Lodge in Cape Coral It's 19,000 square feet. Our challenge is we have to knock it down and it is a big building with concrete block, steel, stucco, asphalt and you name it. We took bids from companies to haul it away and it started bothering me. Where does all this stuff go? .... This is a good-sized building and I would be paying close to $100,000 to have this thing hauled off. We got a better idea, but it's a little out of the box. We thought, if there is green building, there ought to be some green demolition.
"We are going to salvage 80 to 90 percent of this building and we are going to recycle it on-site and use it for our project and make money doing it Because of those high fees, we are going to end up grinding all the concrete down to a degree that can be used as our road base. We are taking all of the asphalt, of which there is a ton, and it will be recycled into the road base. The steel is being carefully sorted and (sold) to a salvage yard. 'We actually come out making money by green demolition."
Back at the Ranch
"We raise horses, cattle and trees. I raise trees and sell them, my son thinks for too much money, to the Fowler Co. "I start from scratch and people will see me from time to time looking like Johnny Apple-seed picking up mahogany seeds from different trees in different areas so I have different strains of mahogany. We start the seeds in the greenhouse and then propagate them all the way up to 20 gallon containers. They become what is called 'code trees' because they are a native hardwood tree and when they get to a certain caliper and height our building business can use those and they qualify under the code as native plantings. Hardwood trees other than oaks seem to be very hard to come by, so I started growing them. We raise Brangus, the cross between Angus and Brahman, and quarter horses. My quarter horses are work horses, they are not pampered. "I love working the ranch. It is something I have always wanted to do and right now we are in the process of buying a ranch in Montana, which is my other dream."
The community
"We are very community-involved. Almost 50 percent of my time in past years has been on very sincere, somewhat low-profile efforts in the community. My son is following my footsteps in that and my wife has been involved. "The thing I am most proud of is that I founded a school locally called the Southwest Florida Marine Institute, a school for juvenile offenders. I chaired that for several years and we found the ground through the county. We and several of our contractors donated the dollars and effort to build the building, my company built it. I worked with kids for several years. 'The school resource officer program was not a brand new concept in the county, so I'll be very careful to say I initiated it in this county (in 1989) and it was quite a challenge because there
ABOUT: Robert Fowler Sr.
40 years. Son Robert Fowler Jr. is the company president and chief
operating officer.
Past postions and accomplishments:
ages 14 to 17 referred by Juvenile Justice.
GENERATIONAL CHANGE
The Associated Press
CHIEF EXECUTIVE DAD: You might think bigshot CEOs have little time to spend with their kids, but many of them are making an effort worth more than a goofy tie this Father's Day. According to a new survey of chief executive officers at Fortune 1000 companies, 80 percent of CEO dads said they spend as much or more time with their kids than their father spent with them. Nearly 70 percent said they would leave a late meeting to see their child in an event like a play or piano recital, and 59 percent knew the names of their kids' three best friends.
The survey revealed some room for improvement, however. Nearly three-quarters of CEO dads admitted to missing an important milestone in their child's life and 62 percent regretted it. Less than half knew their kid's bedtime.
While nine out of 10 CEOs said they wanted to spend more time with their kids, just under half said they were doing what was best for their children's future. That should earn dad a thoughtful gift or two.
The nonscientific survey, conducted by Ericho Communications, was sent to all the Fortune 1000 CEOs and B. percent were returned by CEOs identified as parents. Another 39 percent of the responses resulted from follow-up phone calls.