Category: Construction Company

Qcells to Build $2.5B U.S. Plant

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The Demand for U.S. Energy Independence The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Coalition (SEMA), a group of top U.S. solar companies, was formed in early 2021 in recognition of the growing demand for renewable energy. A key aspect of SEMA’s mission was, and remains, to lobby and advocate for a domestic solar energy supply chain and the creation of incentives for domestic solar panel manufacturing. (In 2022, less than 20% of the solar panels installed in the United States were made in the U.S.) A stable domestic supply chain is essential to reducing or eliminating our reliance on China for key materials (particularly polysilicon and glass), components, and finished solar panels. SEMA’s inputs helped shape the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, by President Biden. The White House has described the IRA as the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s...

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HUBZone Contractors: Advantages and Federal Opportunities

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is the HUBZone Program? The Small Business Administration (SBA) operates the HUBZone program, which was created to enable qualified small businesses to compete for set-aside contracts and receive preferential consideration in competitive, open contract bidding. What is a HUBZone? HUBZones are historically underutilized business zones. The SBA designated them as such based on the most recent census data. HUBZone designations are re-evaluated and updated every five years. The previous review was in 2018, and the newly revised map will be released on July 1, 2023. The next review will take place in 2028. What Are the Qualification Criteria for the HUBZone Program? To become certified for the HUBZone program, your business must meet the SBA’s definition of a small business. It must also be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a community development corporation, agricultural coop, Alaskan Native corporation, Native Hawaiian organization, or Native American tribe. Your principal office must be located within a HUBZone,...

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Guide to Bidding on Government Work

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Government Contracting Government construction contracting can be rewarding. Many of the largest construction companies regard it as a mainstay of their business. Public works projects are available at all levels of government, from towns, cities, and counties, to state agencies, to the federal government. But when you’re first starting out, even if you have significant experience in private construction contracting, moving into this new territory can seem a little daunting. And to be honest, it can take a little effort to get your head wrapped around the ins and outs of bidding on government construction projects. Government contracting can be a complicated matter due to its highly regulated nature, particularly at the federal level, and some states have a comparably complex procurement process. The high degree of regulation, however, helps ensure the fairness of the bidding process and minimizes the risks to the taxpayer dollars that fund public works projects. It also requires contractors new to the government construction...

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How Construction Smart Sensors Are Changing the Industry

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Are Smart Sensors? Sensor technology has come a long way since the early days of factory automation when sensors made machine control of machine-controlled equipment possible. Back then, sensors could do little more than trigger an action by detecting the presence or absence of an item. Today’s smart sensors can gather a wide range of information and transmit it wirelessly. Some sensors contain onboard microprocessors that can act on the data collected before transmitting it elsewhere to support monitoring and decision-making. Some sensors are capable of detecting their own functioning and reporting the need for recalibration or maintenance. Advances in technology result in sensors that are smarter, smaller, lighter, and less vulnerable to outside forces. You can expect to see continued expansion of the possible uses of smart sensors, particularly in the construction industry. How Are Smart Sensors Used in Construction? These are just a few of the ways in which smart sensors are modernizing the construction industry:...

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How Carbon-Based Fuel Regulations Will Affect Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Renewed Emphasis on Elimination of Greenhouse Gas Emissions The Biden administration is engaged in ongoing rulemaking intended to move the U.S. ever closer to zero emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG) that have played a major role in global warming and climate change. This involves the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposing rules that reverse the previous administration’s rollbacks of fuel efficiency and emissions standards. Every sector of the economy is under scrutiny to determine the greatest opportunities for improvement and set priorities for reducing the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere. Strategies for Reducing Use of Carbon-Based Fuel President Biden signed an Executive Order including a schedule for developing standards governing fuel efficiency and multi-pollutant emissions for light-duty vehicles through model year 2030, with standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles starting with model year 2027. In December 2021, the EPA issued final gas emissions standards for passenger cars and...

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Benefits of Adopting a Supply Chain Risk Management Strategy in Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Potential Impact of Construction Supply Chain Disruptions The integrity of a contractor’s supply chain is critical to timely project completion with no cost overruns. Unfortunately, supply chains are vulnerable to disruption for a number of reasons and lead times can be difficult to predict. Supply chain management became more difficult during the pandemic, and while the situation is improving with regard to some construction materials, recovery is ongoing. External Causes of Supply Chain Problems The lingering effects of the pandemic are not the only challenges, either. Any number of factors can affect how long it takes for materials to get to a construction site. Some lead time problems stem from a supplier’s problems in obtaining raw materials for their own production processes. Labor shortages and labor disputes involving strikes and work stoppages can also cause problems, both for companies producing construction materials and for transportation carriers. Materials ordered from companies in some parts of the world may be delayed...

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Will Construction Costs Go Down in 2023?

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. A Burning Question It’s only natural for contractors to worry about the possible erosion of their profit margins due to unanticipated increases in construction costs. Bids based on today’s construction costs that would yield a certain profit today can turn out to be less profitable a few weeks or months down the line if those costs increase. So, it’s understandable that contractors, from independent operators to the owners of large construction firms, are eager for any information on the direction and magnitude of likely movements in construction costs. Questions such as will construction costs go down in 2023 are on everyone’s mind. Construction Cost Components In putting together estimates and budgets for potential construction jobs, contractors must include both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are the cost of labor and the cost of construction materials. Contractors have little control over these. Sure, they might be able to negotiate supplier discounts here and there. And some might try to...

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Why More Women Are Joining the Construction Industry

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Why Are Women Increasingly Seeking Employment in Construction? This question has a one-word answer: opportunity. More specifically, women are attracted by the range of career options, income potential, and opportunities for advancement in construction today. Additionally, societal attitudes toward women in traditionally male occupations have changed significantly in recent decades. Let’s take a closer look at these factors and how they have led to the current influx of women in the construction industry. Employment Opportunities With the billions of dollars the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is pumping into the construction industry, a 2022 estimate places the 2023 demand for skilled workers in the construction trades at 590,000 in addition to the normal pace of hiring. The aging of the U.S. construction workforce and a decrease in the number of young people choosing a career in construction is making it hard for construction companies to recruit enough new workers. The number of construction workers between the ages of...

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Why Are Women Important in Construction?

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The Construction Labor Shortage The current labor pool for construction jobs is too small to meet the demand for construction workers. With nearly twice as many job openings as people seeking employment in the construction industry, recruiting more women to meet that demand makes good sense simply from a numerical standpoint. It will take about 590,000 new construction workers to meet the demand anticipated for 2023. Women can certainly help to make up for the shortfall. Benefits of Increasing Gender Diversity in Construction The current labor shortage is only one of the reasons why it’s important to have more women in construction. There are other significant benefits. Creativity and Innovation Gender diversity adds another point of view to any discussion, which in turn increases creativity and innovation. Research has shown that groups that include women are better at collaborating and innovating than male-only groups. Effective Communication Nature has given women an advantage when it comes to communicating. Research reported...

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What You need to Know—2023 Women in Construction Conference

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. When and Where Will the 2023 Conference Be Held? The 2023 annual conference of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is scheduled for August 9-12 in Portland, Oregon. This will be NAWIC’s 68th annual conference. NAWIC’s stated purpose is to strengthen and amplify the success of women in the construction industry, and its annual conference plays an important role in carrying out that mission. NAWIC Membership To join NAWIC, you must be a woman working in some capacity in the construction industry for 20 or more hours per week. That includes project management, administrative, legal, insurance, or financial work or employment in any of the construction trades. The only other requirement to join as a voting member is to hold membership in one of NAWIC’s chapters. Currently, there are more than 115 chapters spread across 47 states, divided into eight regions: Northeast, South Atlantic, Southeast, North Central, Midwest, South Central, Pacific Northwest, and Pacific Southwest. Women who...

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