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Good Neighbor Podcast Live
E324: From Navy Seals to Michael Jordan: Building Florida's Landmarks
Building Excellence Through Generations: The Ahrens Companies Story
Few businesses can claim a legacy spanning over a century, but Ahrens Companies stands as a testament to enduring quality and family stewardship in Florida's construction industry. In this revealing conversation, Richard Ahrens—who purchased the company from his father in 1970 after graduating from the University of Florida—shares the fascinating journey of this architectural engineering and construction powerhouse that has been shaping Florida's landscape since 1902.
Richard dispels common misconceptions about pre-engineered building systems, explaining how these structures are far from "cheap metal buildings" but rather sophisticated, cost-effective solutions offering superior fire resistance and dramatically reduced construction timelines. With their own in-house architects and engineers, Ahrens Companies has mastered the art of streamlining complex projects—a capability that has earned them recognition as one of the nation's top 100 builders for three consecutive years.
The impressive portfolio Richard unveils includes projects ranging from the historically significant Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce to maintenance facilities for Michael Jordan's exclusive private golf course, and the hurricane-resistant Hinckley Yachts "Category 5" facility designed to withstand 240 mph winds. Perhaps most remarkable is Richard himself who, approaching 78 years of age, still dedicates 50-hour workweeks to his passion while lecturing at his alma mater and serving on multiple university boards. His story embodies the work ethic and commitment to excellence that has sustained Ahrens Companies through four generations of family ownership. Contact Ahrens Companies directly at 561-998-5443 or visit their website to discover how their 121 years of expertise can bring your construction vision to life.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an architectural engineer or construction company? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the good pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, richard Aaron with Aaron Companies. Richard, how's it going today?
Speaker 3:Good, thank you sir.
Speaker 2:Listen, richard. We're all excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about it.
Speaker 3:Okay, we're a family-owned company that was founded in well, it was moved to Florida in 1902. So our companies? There were three at the time a structural engineering company, building supply company and a construction company. Two weeks before I graduated from the University of Florida, they sold the fireworks facility off and they sold the building supply company off. So I was left with the opportunity to eventually purchase early 1970s from my father, who was the third generation.
Speaker 2:What are some of the myths and misconceptions of your industry?
Speaker 3:Well, people think that pre-engineered building systems, which is one of the things that we do a predominant amount of, is the old days used to call it metal building, but today they're a pre-engineered system. That's because we utilize multiple different composite materials. With a building system, it's cost effective, it's fast, it's fire resistant, it goes up quickly, obviously reducing construction time and interest for our clients and because we design it in-house with our own architects in-house architects we move the process along rather rapidly. Some of the myths is that pre-injured building systems are cheap, but they're not a cheap product, they're a cost of. I call them cost effective.
Speaker 3:I've been doing it for 55 years. This year I purchased the company from my father in 1870, the year I graduated with the university of florida. So, um, we, we do construction. Um of pre-engineers. They're fast, construction's faster, more cost effective, has incredible design flexibilities. We just came back from Hinkley yachts massive category 5 ribbon cutting this morning. Category 5, if nobody's aware, is an ultimate wind speed of 240 miles an hour and it's for lodging major yachts during a hurricane season. So we've predominantly done that. But you can mix majorly walls, tilt wall, composite walls, any kind of material with a pre-insured system. You have to have experience of having done it and obviously, like I said, I've been doing it for 55 years, some of them right. So I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:Some of the projects we've done is the bonzo company with 145 tall building that makes ground material.
Speaker 3:We've done the flanagan's and big daddy's chain restaurants and liquor store operations, mountain Blue Aviation in Miami, the Navy Seal Museum in Fort Pierce.
Speaker 3:We created that for the Navy Seals, for their presentation, that you can go through and visit and go see different kinds of things that the Navy Seals have done over the years since their inception, which they were incepted actually in Fort Pierce on the beach during the war. We've done palm beach gardens tennis facility, palm beach gardens part three, golf course clubhouse, a bobcat which is a bobcat distributorship, which we've done four projects for them. A massive hangar facility for the city of four piers at their airport. We've done print primeville, which is up in port st lucie, which is a massive maintenance facility, and one of the top things that we get to throw our hat on is things that we get to throw our hat on is we developed and built maintenance and catering service facilities for the road which was the michael jordan's private golf course, amongst others. We're also listed in the top 100 builders in the nation by tonnage of steel shipped and by square feet delivered for the past three years. So that's some of the things that our company has done.
Speaker 2:It sounds like you've been very busy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I stay busy. I'm soon to be 78, but I still do my 50-hour work.
Speaker 2:Listen, we know marketing is the heart of every business. How would you describe your target audience and how do you track them?
Speaker 3:have a marketing program that we're actually just started, but over the last 55 years a lot of our work has been done by referrals from clients or from clients who we built projects for previously and that's um incorporated 50 to 60 million dollars worth of business on a annual basis have you ever thought about doing your own podcast? No, I would like to do that, but I don't know if I have the time. Talk to me about that yesterday.
Speaker 2:I'm not as talented as you are doing podcasts this day. Listen, you sound like a very busy guy when you're not so busy running your business. What do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:I like to play golf. I live on a golf course. I'm deeply involved at the University of Florida. That's my other passion in life. I'm on the board of director of EDA Boosters, I lecture at the business school, two graduate programs in the real estate department and I'm on some other functional boards at the University of Florida.
Speaker 2:Listen. We're going to wrap up, but, Richard, I want you to tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Aaron's companies.
Speaker 3:How much fun I've had running the company and dealing with great people.
Speaker 2:Richard, our listeners probably have one thing on their mind right now, and that's the word how? How can we get more information on Aaron Companies?
Speaker 3:They can visit Aaron's Companies dot com, that's our website. Or they can call me direct at five six one, nine, nine, eight, five four three. That's five six one, nine, nine eight, five four three.
Speaker 2:Listen, Richard, it's been a pleasure having you in the show. We wish you and your company the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity, sir.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportsaintluciecom. That's gnpportsaintluciecom, or call 772-362-3840.