| SBA's Bonding Program Helps Metalite Inc. Obtain New Contracts in the Southeast Region |
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Roofing Fabricator Projects Sales of Nearly $12 Million this Year Oakwood, GA - The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program is catching on fast with small contractors that have reached the size where bonding is critical to winning a government contract or a subcontract with a major construction company. In addition to federal requirements for bid and performance bonds, many state, county and private-sector contracts are requiring bonding. However, many small contractors may not have the experience or financial backing to obtain bonds conventionally through commercial bonding firms. Marty Hortman is President and owner of Metalite Inc., a Georgia-based fabricator and erector of metal roof trusses for commercial buildings. His company, based in Oakwood, Georgia, has used the SBA’s Surety Bond Program for performance bonds on several million dollars in roofing contracts over the past year alone. “The SBA’s Surety Bond Program has definitely worked for us,” says Hortman who grew up in Doerun, Georgia, a small community in Colquitt County. “I would recommend the program to other small building contractors.” Metalite Inc. got its SBA guaranteed bonds through The Surety Group, a commercial bonding company in Atlanta. A surety bond is a three-way agreement between the surety company, the contractor and the project owner that ensures the completion of the project. The SBA guarantees surety companies, such as The Surety Group, against a percentage of losses sustained if a contractor defaults on a construction project. For Hortman, the SBA-backed performance bonds covered Metalite’s work in Georgia and several other states. These bonds ensure that the company pays subcontractors, related suppliers and successfully completes the project. The SBA can guarantee bid, payment and performance bonds for contracts up to $2 million for eligible small contractors. The SBA provides surety bond companies with a 70 to 90 percent guarantee to issue bonds on behalf of small businesses. Businesses in the construction and service industries can qualify for the SBA program if their average annual receipts for the last three years do not exceed $6 million. For additional information on the SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program, go to www.sba.gov/osg. Metalite posted sales of about $2.5 million in 1998. This year, the company expects to reach nearly $12 million in sales, with a backlog of several dozen jobs stretching from Mississippi into North Carolina and the Florida Panhandle. The company used its first SBA-backed performance bond last year for a contract to install roof trusses on the new Keenan High School in Columbia, South Carolina. Another SBA guaranteed bond allowed Metalite to land another contract for roof trusses on a new elementary school that is being built in Canton, Georgia. Hortman said his company will start work on this contract in about a month. Hortman started his career in the home construction business in 1977 in Douglas County. For several years he did home remodeling in Douglas County before starting his own roof truss design and engineering company in 1985. Later in 1989, he established Metalite Inc., and began to specialize in truss systems for commercial warehouses, shopping centers and other commercial buildings. After fabricating the steel framing on site, full-time personnel at Metalite operate their own cranes and fork lifts for erecting the roof trusses. The company has a branch office in Birmingham, where veteran employee Jeff Tapley is Chief Estimator and Mark Martin is Sales Manager. A resident of Flowery Branch, Hortman is a member of the Associated Builders and Contractors as well as the Hall County Home Builders Association and the Hall County Chamber of Commerce. Metalit is also a member of the Steel Framing Alliance and the Light Gauge Structural Engineers Association.
Marty R. Hortman, President & CEO Release Date: September 15, 2006
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