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Press
"Building
Success from the Ground Up"
by
Tommy Walker, Wilmington Business to Business Magazine
 "If
I can't be a good guy and honest with people in succeeding, then
I don't want to do it at all." This pretty much sums up Ken
Dull's business and personal philosophy. Since coming to Wilmington
in 1987 and opening his business in 1992, he has operated with
this attitude and has done quite well.
Ken is the owner of McKinley Building Corporation Incorporated,
formerly known as McKinley/Kerr Building Corporation. He and his
wife, Vicki have two children, Madison and Catie.
A North Carolina native, Ken grew up in High Point, N.C. and graduated
from North Carolina State University earning a degree in civil
engineering with a construction option. After graduating from
State, he moved to Winston-Salem, N.C. to work with a design-build
contractor who was also an engineer.
"This gave me a chance to work in the best of both worlds,
the construction business and get engineering experience too,"
said Ken. It was a small construction company which gave him the
opportunity to learn all aspects of the business from the ground
up. His goal was to learn all he could so that he could open his
own business.
"I would have never made it in the military," says Ken,
"I'm not a conformist." He had interviewed with some
large companies but felt that he would wind up stuck in one area
of the business.
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WBB:
Why did you decide to move to Wilmington?
KEN: "I had worked with the construction company in Winston-Salem for about
four years and felt that I was ready to start my own business. I felt that this
area was destined to grow, especially with the opening of I-40. While many thought
that as soon as I-40 opened up, there would be this mad rush of people. I felt
that it would take some time so I would have to be in it for the long haul. The
proved to be true, but I was prepared for that."
WBB:
When did you start your business here and were there
any problems?
KEN: "My partner Greg Kerr and I started McKinley/Kerr in 1992. Although
the past five years have been good, the first couple of years were pretty tough.
We really had to beat the bushes for jobs. It really builds character when one
day you are out looking for clients and the next day you are finishing concrete
by hand. That's what I had to do in the beginning because I couldn't afford to
pay anyone else to do it. Even though the market has been good, I try always
to be aware that it could slow down. This is why I have tried to diversify with
some government contracts while staying in the private commercial building business."
WBB: How many people do you employ?
KEN: "I have about 30 who work full time. While I know that I can grow this
company larger, I have tried to keep it to a size that I can manage and can keep
each employee busy. I am very fortunate to have a great and loyal staff both
inside and out and because of that I have made a commitment to keep each one
employed. I never intend to be a contractor to hire for a job and when you're
done let go. I just don't do business that way."
WBB: What do you see for the future of this area?
KEN: "I see continued growth, but realistically, it has
to slow down some time. I feel that I-40's opening has been a
mixed blessing for many, but for me it has been positive. We
need to plan for this growth and build a better road system.
We must have better long range planning. For this reason I serve
on the county planning board. In this way, I hope to give something
back to the community that has been so good to me. Some may think
that with my construction background, I am biased. But, I have
to live here, too and don't like the heavy traffic anymore than
anyone else. I don't hide the fact that I am for growth, but
it has to be good growth and conducive to a good quality of life."
WBB: In promoting your company, have you gotten into promoting on
the Internet and a web page?
KEN: "Yes, as a matter of fact we have a new web page that
Builderspage.com is developing. We are very excited about that
and invite you to try it at McKinleybuilding.com. We hope that
this will add a new dimension to our marketing and allow us to
participate in e-commerce which will in turn offer my clients
better service and access to my business."
(Above section was extracted from an article by Tommy Walker
for the Feb/Mar 2000 Issue of Wilmington Business to Business
Magazine.) |
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