Miron Construction Co. Inc. employees (left to right) Cory Krahn, Don Fournier and Dean Basten talk with Patrick Radtke of De Arteaga Inc., Fremont, Jan. 6 at the Milwaukee Job Corps Center construction site. Miron has a mentor-protégé relationship through the U.S. Small Business Administration with De Arteaga. Photos by John Krejci

Five years ago, Jim Hoffman’s company won a national award for mentoring a smaller firm.

It’s unlikely either company will sign on for such a partnership again.

“I’d say we had mixed results,” said Hoffman, president of Hoffman Construction Co., Black River Falls.

Hoffman Construction was named Wisconsin Prime Contractor of the Year by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2004 for promoting disadvantaged businesses through a mentoring relationship with South Star Inc., Milwaukee.

But the partnership broke down after Wisconsin Department of Transportation rules for mentor-protégé relationships tripped up the joint venture’s bid for work on the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee, said Eric Johnson, president of South Star.

“We did the best we could to make it work,” he said.

DeAngelo Jackson (left), president of Urban Construction Administration Inc., shares Madison office space with Charles Harris, vice president and project manager. The firm has worked with other Madison-area companies such as J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. and Tri-North Builders Inc. in mentor- protégé partnerships. Photo by Kevin Harnack

Hoffman and Johnson put together a business agreement and bought the necessary equipment, only to find that their agreement did not fit WisDOT’s mentor-protégé structure, Hoffman said.

“It was difficult for me as a prime contractor,” he said, “trying to take a business model that would succeed and fit it to the rules and regulations of the DOT.”

Mentor-protégé relationships are designed to benefit both companies involved, providing a bidding advantage for larger firms and offering guidance and opportunity to smaller firms. But finding a worthy partner and making that partnership work are not simple tasks.

“The first step has got to be mutual respect, mutual trust,” said Dean Basten, chief financial officer for Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah. “It has to be a good fit for both companies.”

Miron has a mentor-protégé relationship through the U.S. Small Business Administration with De Arteaga Inc., Fremont. The team has worked together on two projects: the Milwaukee Job Corps Center and a contract at Fort McCoy in Monroe County.

Construction workers create a temporary window seal Jan. 6 at the Milwaukee Job Corps Center site. Miron Construction and De Arteaga teamed up to take on the project. Photo by John Krejci

But it did not happen overnight, Basten said. Gaining SBA certification took about nine months, he said, and it was another nine months before the companies successfully bid on a project.

“You have to make sure you’re comfortable with your partner and be patient,” Basten said.

If a promising partnership is established, there’s no guarantee it will fit into the rigid framework of established programs such as those created by WisDOT and the SBA.

But working without the safety net of a fixed program carries such risks as security breaches through the free exchange of financial information. Such partnerships also leave more room for error without clear legal consequences.

“A standard contract would be helpful, or a step-by-step program laid out with an approach in helping people establish a business,” said Dave Beck-Engel, executive vice president of J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison, who has worked with Urban Construction Administration Inc., Madison, in a mentor-protégé relationship.

DeAngelo Jackson, president of Urban Construction, wants to work with the state to establish a better framework, he said.

“We were trying to work on something in writing,” he said, “trying to do something with the state of Wisconsin and form a formal mentor-protégé program.”

Until such a program is established, partner companies are left to find their own way.

When it came to brokering a relationship between Urban Construction and Tri-North Builders Inc., Fitchburg, the companies worked with Norman Davis, Madison’s contract compliance officer, to establish a formal plan.

Davis said an effective mentor-protégé relationship requires both businesses get out of their comfort zones and learn to understand each other’s priorities.

The relationship can be fruitful, he said, but both firms should be selective and consider their own goals.

“They both have homework to do,” Davis said. “At the heart of all of this is business. They have to decide whatever makes business sense for them.”

When a mentoring relationship works, as it is for Tri-North and Urban Construction and initially did for Hoffman and South Star, it can be an asset to both sides.

For Tri-North, taking on Urban Construction as a protégé instead of subcontractor, as initially set forth, kept

The Urban League Center for Economic Development and Workforce Training in Madison project on track when issues arose, said Tom Thayer, Tri-North president.

“Once we got involved,” he said, “and understood they were having some difficulties with scheduling, equipment — typical young company problems — we sat down with them and the city of Madison and came up with a plan for mentoring.”

Charles Harris, vice president and project manager for Urban Construction, said he and Jackson have learned a lot from Tri-North about estimating, bidding and other business functions.

“There’s a lot of micromanagement that comes along with the mentor-protégé relationship,” Harris said. “But in the end it’s for our good and very helpful.”

A Miron Construction employee uses an extension forklift to remove excess bricks from scaffolding at the Milwaukee Job Corps Center site. The project is one of two that Miron and De Arteaga teamed up to complete. Photo by John Krejci

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