Are You Ready for a Hard Market?

Denise GillinUncategorized

Planning When You Don’t Need It Will Save You When You Do By: Kirk Rathjen, Regional Vice President, Contract Underwriting, Merchants Bonding Company Construction and surety have grown strongly over the past ten years with plenty of capacity, keeping the market soft, but it is always cyclical, so it’s just a matter of time before we start leaning toward a …

#BuildingRelationships

Denise GillinUncategorized

Construction Bonds, Inc. is a proud member of the Metro DC Hispanic Contractractors Association. We participated at the Sprint Tech Center, Reston, program where F.H. Paschen team members educated the crowd about their subcontracting process and the many different opportunities available. We enjoy getting out and learning more about our fellow subcontractors, but more importantly we get a chance to …

Surety Association of Canada Lauds Budget Infrastructure Investments

Denise GillinUncategorized

The 2019 federal and provincial budgets will assist in stabilizing the construction and surety markets, says to the Surety Association of Canada. One of the provincial budget highlights, according to the association, included Ontario’s Capital Plan Outlook for planned investments in 2019-20 totaling $14.7 billion and reflects the government’s commitment to invest about $144 billion over the next 10 years. …

Surety Bond Producers Keep Eye Out For Illegal Waivers

Denise GillinUncategorized

The surety bond industry regularly reminds state and local governments, politely, that public works in all states must involve surety bonds. That’s the law. And the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, the bond brokers and agents trade group, has been letting state and local officials know, in writing. Find out more >>>

Surety bond producers offer sound advice for construction firms

Denise GillinUncategorized

Commercial construction is a competitive business, and to succeed, contractors need to find the best support and advice possible. One way for a construction contracting company to ensure access to critical relationships needed for sound business advice and for qualifying for surety credit is to partner with a professional surety bond producer, according to experts at the National Association of …

The definition of a subcontractor, and why it matters

Denise GillinUncategorized

What is a subcontractor? The answer to this question seems obvious – a subcontractor is a contractor that contracts with the prime contractor to perform a scope of work on a construction project. However, it is not always easy to distinguish a subcontractor from a materials supplier (sometimes referred to as a “materialman”). That distinction is important in the context …

How to win construction bid proposals

Denise GillinUncategorized

Three simple steps to set your company apart from the competition. Everyone thinks the hard work in construction is in the actual building. But in fact, that’s the fun part – it’s what you signed up for when you first got involved in this industry. The real grind happens before a single shovel ever hits the dirt: the construction-bid-proposal process, …

FMI: Despite market growth, contractors should still ‘recession proof’

Denise GillinUncategorized

Sometimes, the longer a good thing lasts, the louder rumblings get that a reality check could be around the corner, and construction industry economics is no exception. However, it’s smart to prepare for a wide variety of economic conditions, and that’s one of the messages in management consulting company FMI Corp.’s 2019 forecast for the engineering and construction sectors. Read …

What can be gleaned from 2018’s highest-profile construction bankruptcies?

Denise GillinUncategorized

Bankruptcy is many contractors’ worst nightmare. For some companies, it’s a public declaration that it was not able to handle its business dealings successfully, and that it can’t pay its bills. In any industry, including construction, maintaining a reputation as solid and trustworthy is critical, and to onlookers, a bankruptcy filing – whether it’s liquidation or reorganization – could very …

Shutdown Affects Some, But Not All Infrastructure Programs

Denise GillinUncategorized

The partial shutdown of the federal government, which is nearing the end of its second week, will have an effect on some federal construction programs – especially those under the Federal Transit Administration – but other major infrastructure accounts, particularly highways, will continue with little change. Tell Me More >>>