Formwork Construction Business Plan

Target Markets and Market Description (information provided by Standard & Poor’s)

The housing industry has proceeded at a red-hot pace for several years running. An all-time record was set in 1998, when 886,000 new-site, single-family homes were sold. That represented a 10% gain from the robust total of 804,000 homes sold in 1997, and an 8.1% rise from the prior record of 819,000 units in 1977. Single-family housing construction accounted for approximately $48 million of the total $125 million generated in the industry.

Home sales were strengthened even further during the first ten months of 1999. In that period, new single-family home sales increased by 4.8% on a year-to-year basis, to 791,000 units, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Through October, 1999, seasonally adjusted sales had exceeded 800,000 on an annualized basis in every month since the start of 1998.

The record-setting string of home sales since the second half of 1997 has forced builders to pick up the pace of their construction activity. During 1998, total starts increased by 9.7% to 1.62 million units. Starts for single family units moved up 12% for the year, and those of multi-family units were ahead by 1.5%. As an indication of building activity at year-end 1999, housing starts in November, 1999 came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.6 million units.

4.1 Market Segmentation

Market size statistics–Single-family housing construction

General contractors primarily engaged in construction (including new work additions, alterations, remodeling, and repair) of single-family houses:

Market size statistics–Residential construction, nec

General contractors primarily engaged in construction (including new work additions, alterations, remodeling, and repair) of residential buildings other than single-family houses. This includes hotels, motels, apartments, and multi-family homes:

Market size statistics–Heavy construction, nec

General and special trade contractors primarily engaged in the construction of heavy projects not elsewhere classified. This includes canal, drainage system, athletic and recreation facilities, land preparation, rock removal, waste, water and sewage treatment plants, and trenching construction:

Market size statistics–Bridge, tunnel, and elevated highway construction

General contractors primarily engaged in the construction of bridges, viaducts, elevated highways, and highway, pedestrian and railway tunnels:

Market size statistics–Highway and street construction

General and special trade contractors primarily engaged in the construction of roads, streets, alleys, public sidewalks, guardrails, parkways, and airports:

Market size statistics–Nonresidential construction, nec

General contractors primarily engaged in the construction (including new work additions, alterations, remodeling, and repair) of nonresidential buildings other than industrial buildings and warehouses. This includes commercial, institutional, religious, and amusement and recreational buildings:

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

The Market Analysis table and chart represent the estimated number of single-family homes, other residential units, and commercial buildings within the state of Oklahoma. This information is derived from estimates given by the U.S. Census Bureau and represents the total number of possible clients within the local reach of Concrete Fabricators.

4.3 Industry Analysis

Market Size Statistics–Concrete work

Special trade contractors primarily engaged in concrete work, including portland cement and asphalt.

Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing portland cement concrete, manufactured and delivered to a purchaser in a plastic and unhardened steel.

4.4 Competition and Buying Patterns

Competition

Competitive threats come from other concrete fabrication companies in the area. Specifically, competitors include Jones Construction, James Boyd Construction, Jerry Manuel Construction, Quality Construction, and Charles Johnson, Inc.