Sunshine Structures has grown with solid, traditional values

EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY Rorie Wilson Rorie Wilson, 41, grew up in a rugged, blue-collar area of Canada. His father was a timber contractor and his mother a homemaker in Thunder Bay, Ontario. On first impression, Mr. Wilson's steady blue gaze, hard work ethic, priority toward his family — and most of all a neighborly demeanor — seem to reflect his origins in the same way you might think of someone from the Midwest as down-to-earth or a New Yorker as cantankerous.

Such a personable approach has served him well as the leader of Sunshine Structures Inc., a structural design/build firm that has outpaced many of its competitors. The work they do includes putting up concrete walls, foundations, structural steel, columns and masonry. Just a few of many structures Sunshine has built locally include the immense new Gulf Coast Medical Center, the Lee County Justice Center's new parking garage, retail stores, elementary schools, jails and large office buildings.

Sunshine specializes in "tilt-up" construction, a way of putting up concrete walls that is faster and less costly than traditional methods. The method is common in Florida.

"Have you ever seen a building where you don't see anything and the next thing you see, it's all up?" Mr. Wilson asked. "… We became very committed to being a big part of that."

The growth impressive, especially considering that Mr. Wilson moved to Florida from Canada in the mid-1990s with no background in construction. Since taking over as president seven years ago, he grew the Lehigh Acres-based firm steadily through a major recession to gain contracts as far away as Tampa, Miami, northern Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.

The keys to Sunshine's success include at least four components, he said — basic values like maintaining relationships and fiscal responsibility.

For instance, the company's good financial standing has enabled it to consistently secure bonding, a guarantee to a builder that a subcontractor like Sunshine will finish the job. That became increasingly important during the recession and set Sunshine apart from other companies.

Success has also been a result of maintaining good relationships with the builders and contractors Mr. Wilson works for, who then award him with new contracts in other areas.

"We don't chase to bid, but identify relationships with key clients," Mr. Wilson said. "They bring us along with them, which is great. It means they're satisfied and enjoy the relationship."

Sunshine Structures was already an established company under a different name — Sunshine Masonry — when the owner retired and handed the operation over to Mr. Wilson in 2002. Those relationships gave Mr. Wilson's company a steady base to grow on. Sunshine has about 120 employees and has grown at a rate of 30 to 35 percent per year in the last seven years, Mr. Wilson said, with revenues of $20 million to $25 million per year.

Planning and strategizing is a fourth component of success, he said. The future of the company includes further incorporating design and engineering capabilities into the structural services, all under one roof.

"Planning is critical for our company," he said. "We spend a lot of time looking down the road."

Although Mr. Wilson had no experience in construction when he moved to Florida in late 1995, he had a wealth of business experience. In Canada, he studied business at Lakehead University before earning an MBA from McMasters University. After that, he worked as a logistics consultant, helping streamline parts of the business operations of large communication companies like Xerox, Nortel and Dell.

In the mid-1990s, he and his brother decided to open a business consulting firm in Southwest Florida. They were familiar with the area because their parents had vacationed here since the late 1970s.

"Why not start it in an area you love and enjoy?" he asked, adding that he has never minded the area's infamous summer heat and humidity. "I like the heat. I enjoy it."

At the time, Sunshine Masonry was a key client for his company. And as Mr. Wilson started to spend more time there, he was eventually asked to come aboard.

"I quickly embraced construction because it tied in with the operations background I had," Mr. Wilson said.

He also saw the opportunities for construction in Florida, which in 2002 seemed to be booming everywhere. "I thought, when in Rome, do as the Romans do," he said.

As a former business operations consultant, Mr. Wilson implemented the core values which makes the company successful.

Other values include stressing on-thejob safety, and never stop improving.

"Good is never good enough," Mr. Wilson said.

In his time off, Mr. Wilson likes to work out, and take his two daughters to the European-American Baking Co., a coffee shop and café on an industrial stretch of Metro Parkway near their home. Each summer, the family organizes a trip to his wife Lisa's childhood home in Minnesota. Soon after that, they all meet up in Thunder Bay. It's a short reprise from the otherwise endless season of building in Southwest Florida.