STACK Construction Technologies, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in late September of 2023 announced a strategic partnership with PCL Construction, the Edmonton, Alberta global $8 billion general contractor. PCL delivers building, civil and industrial projects from 32 offices through multiple project delivery systems including engineer-procure-construct (EPC), public-private partnerships, construction management at risk, design-build and integrated project delivery.
STACK will provide takeoff software to about 300 estimators in PCL’s preconstruction department. IRONPROS caught up with STACK CEO Phillip Ogilby and representatives of PCL on this development, the implications for preconstruction at PCL and what it means for STACK’s approach to the market going forward.
Initially, PCL and STACK say the estimating software will be used by about 300 estimators in PCL’s preconstruction department. IRONPROS caught up with STACK and PCL in the wake of the announcement to explore how software targeting subcontractors found a home with a major general and what PCL’s plans are for the software.
Expansion Beyond Estimating
In an earlier IRONPROS deep dive, we explored how STACK had grown beyond its initial footprint in takeoff and estimating into later process stages including field collaboration and construction management. This expansion was due in part to acquisitions, which also helps STACK expand its footprint beyond subcontracting to serve major generals like PCL.
While STACK Construction Technologies has focused largely on meeting the needs of subcontractors, the two acquisitions will expand the customer base beyond this core.
“SmartUse and K-Ops as well, were both, at the time of time of the acquisition, focused on generals,” STACK CEO Phillip Ogilby said at the time. “We will not ignore that sector, and are also seeing tremendous value with the owner market with the combination of SmartUse and K-Ops. We will continue to build everything through the lens of the subcontractor. We will not do what Procore or Autodesk do, which is primarily focus on generals.”
STACK, PCL and Homegrown Preconstruction Software
“It's exciting for us,” Ogilby said in the days following the PCL announcement. “I was the founder of a company called iSqFt in my younger days, which is now a big part of ConstructConnect. I remember in those days, when you've got a great solution, it's not enough just to have a great solution in the market. You'll get some, some early adopters that hopefully then down the road lead to some, some big recognizable names that carry a lot of weight. And we've got some big logos, you know, companies like CentiMark, and a number of big suppliers that have been using STACK now for some time. But this is our first big, general contractor logo that I think is really going to resonate with folks across the industry.”
While many construction software startups early on claim customer relationships with major general contractors, the footprint in that contractor may be small, or may primarily consist of a trial or beta project. But for STACK, with its early focus on subs, PCL is a full-blown customer in a net new demographic.
“GCs have not been our focus,” Ogilby said. “They continue, frankly, to not be our focus from a marketing standpoint. But lots of GCs are realizing, ‘Gee whiz, the software I'm using was written in the ‘90s and it's 2023. We should move on and join the New World.’ So we're seeing a lot of that and PCL is just a big recognizable logo that we're excited about.”
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