As design-build and design-assist projects have spread across the region, construction managers and owners continue to tap Southern Air Inc. to help design and build projects. The Lynchburg, Va., mechanical, electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor’s design staff has more than 100 years of combined experience.
Paul Denham, Southern Air’s president, credits the firm’s 14% revenue increase from 2016 to 2017 to the company’s design-build capabilities on projects such the the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., and the Devils Backbone Brewing Co. in Lexington, Va. “We’ve been a design contractor probably since our existence,” he says. “We’re comfortable challenging design issues, whereas a lot of other [specialty] firms that don’t have the internal design experience are afraid to challenge a mechanical or electrical engineer and say, ‘Well, here’s another way to do it that may be less expensive.’”