The Alaska Contractor: Fall 2006

MEMBER PROFILE
F&W Construction Inc. By JESSICA BOWMAN
Forward-thinking & well-established
– F&W Construction Inc.
The initials “F&W,” in F&W Construction
Inc. stand for Foresberg and Wiederholt. Ed
Foresberg and Al Wiederholt formed the
partnership in 1958 after their wives introduced
them.
While the men worked out in the fi eld, their
wives, Lou Foresberg and Dee Wiederholt managed
the Anchorage offi ce. Lou and Dee met while working
together for the Army Corps of Engineers.
When Ed retired in 1967, and Al passed away in
1988, ownership and management of the company
passed to Wiederholt’s daughter and grandson, Di-
Anne Heverling and Robby
Capps.
As a commercial building
contractor, F&W does primarily
public works projects,
Capps said. The majority of the
company’s work takes place in
rural Alaska.
“Currently, we’re working
on a project for the Department
of Transportation
at Chandalar Shelf along the
Dalton Highway, and a facility
for the Alaska Railroad in
Cantwell,” said Capps, who
has been with the company
since 1986. “It’s actually kind
of ironic since most of our
work is very remote.”
Remote construction work
is a tricky business that involves
creativity and longterm
planning, he said. The
pieces and parts are the same,
Capps said, but the logistics often add a new facet to
an otherwise typical project.
For example, mountaintop towers in Juneau, or
rural schools all over the state, require everything
to be transported to the site via aircraft. As a small
company, F&W is able to move around the state very
effi ciently, completing projects from Dutch Harbor
to Ketchikan and north to the Arctic Slope.
F&W has operated continuously in Alaska for 48
years, and now operates with four full-time offi ce
staff, four senior fi eld supervisors, and a crew of 15-
20 seasonal fi eld hands.
Modest and easy-going, Robby and DiAnne enjoy
a contented, busy atmosphere at their facility off of
Huffman Road. Their dog, Bentley, puts in a good
40-hour week as well. PHOTO: JESSICA BOWMAN
Asked about F&W’s “mission statement,” Capps’
response is “relationships and reputation.”
“We really value the relationship that we have
with the customer,” he said. “DiAnne and I are committed
to carrying on the traditions that Al and Dee
Wiederholt built the company on. We’re not ‘fl ashy.’
We are committed to providing a quality project, delivered
on time, to our customers.”
Capps said he values the relationship with the
entire team – the client, the architects and engineers,
the subcontractors and the hands. “Without all of
them working together it wouldn’t happen.”
Along with his responsibilities
at F&W, he is also the
2005-06 President of the Alaska
Chapter of Associated General
Contractors (AGC). When
asked whether this quality of
relationship corresponded with
his idea of the AGC’s vision,
Capps says fi rmly -“Of course.
Absolutely.”
For instance, a key issue
facing the industry right now
is the skilled labor shortage,
Capps said. Projects like the
natural gas pipeline will result
in greater labor shortages
in Alaska than in most other
states, he said.
“The AGC of Alaska has
taken the lead in our state to
reintroduce the school systems
to our industry, through
relationships with administrators
and faculty members at
both the K-12 level and the University of Alaska,”
Capps said.
AGC members are investing their time, energy
and fi nancial resources to develop the future workforce,
he said.
“If it’s not the No. 1 issue,” Capps said, “it’s one of
the top two or three areas of interest and effort.”
Born and raised in Anchorage, Capps grew up in
the construction industry and today is doing “exactly
what I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid.”
Capps said he places a high value on F&W’s
membership in the AGC.
26 The Alaska CONTRACTOR Fall 2006