KPRS Construction Services Inc. is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
That means it survived economic slowdowns caused by the internet bubble burst, the 9/11 terror attacks, and the 2008 financial collapse.
The Brea-based company has now arrived in the good times. It reported 2017 revenue jumped 35% to $602 million, elevating it from 45th to 31st place on the Business Journal’s annual list of the biggest private companies (see list, page 29).
“Our growth is attributed to our clients’ confidence in our abilities to deliver a great product at a competitive price,” said co-founder and President Joel Stensby. “Our project size has gotten larger, so that’s also part of the component of the growth.”
Pushing a Broom
Stensby says he’s long been passionate about construction, learning about the industry from his father, who was a general contractor.
“I grew up on the job site from the time I was old enough to push a broom, so I’ve always been in construction.”
He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in construction management and has a long resume of big projects.
Stensby was the signor of the contracts for the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and Pac Bell Park in San Francisco when he was vice president/general manager at Kajima Construction Services Inc. He was also vice president of construction for more than six years for the developer at Playa Vista, a multibillion-dollar, 1,000-acre commercial and residential mixed-use project near Marina del Rey, and in the building of the 52-story Gas Company Tower in downtown Los Angeles.
In 1998, he formed KPRS with Paul Kristedja, who now provides client services in all areas of the business, and Lev Rabinovich, who oversees preconstruction services, including planning and estimates.
“We saw an opportunity to create a company that provided a diversified blend of products across most market sectors,” Stensby said. “The balance of clients, employees, families and community service all create a place where our employees want to be. This translates to great client service. The balance of all these elements created KPRS.”
Surviving Crisis
The 2008 financial crisis was particularly tough, as the firm took whatever jobs were necessary to keep employees working. Firm leaders are proud it didn’t lay off any workers during the slowdown, something that helped it quickly rebound.
“During the recession, KPRS actually grew our staff, including expanding our senior management and leadership capacity,” Stensby said. “After the recession, our teams were trained and in place to service our clients.”
Over the years, KPRS has built projects for Broadcom, Irvine Co., Beckman Coulter, Orange County Great Park and the Los Angeles Zoo entry and Sea Lion exhibit.
Stensby’s excited about “many projects in our future.”
He explained, “Our growth is continuing. Our volume in 2018 will continue to grow, as well as a strong backlog going into 2019.”
