Banking Veteran places artisan precast on firm ground: wall company makes turnaround after investor intervention.

JUST over a year ago, Artisan Preeast Inc., a manufacturer of concrete landscaping walls and fences, was on the verge of collapse. In fact, it couldn't even afford the costs associated with filing for bankruptcy.

But the 25-year-old Los Angeles company has achieved a major turnaround since its assets were bought in October 2006 by a small group of investors headed by Craig Lewis, a veteran of the banking industry.

"When we bought it there was nothing going on. It was in the ashes," said Lewis, now Artisan's chief executive. "We had to invest in all new Web sites, new tools. We had to create a whole new image and re-create the company's reputation in the marketplace."

Artisan, with about 25 employees, is privately held, but Lewis said annual revenues are well over $5 million.

Artisan designs and installs concrete fences for homeowners, businesses, government agencies and others. But these aren't standard poured or concrete block wails; rather they are cast off site, which allows the walls to look like wood, stone and other more expensive materials.

For example, the company recently installed a 560-foot-long, 8-foot-tall wall that resembles a wooden fence on the grounds of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek.

Stephen Reiland, a project manager for Yuba City-based contractor Hilbers Inc., which subcontracted with Artisan Precast for the job, said the wall, at $70,000, wasn't cheap, but it had advantages, chiefly its superior ease of installation and better appearance.

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"They did a heck of a nice job for us," said Reiland. "They were very responsive."

Customer resistance

Making precast concrete is not a simple process. The company designs the molds for its walls and fencing, and contracts with U.S. Concrete Precast Group, a San Diego subsidiary of U.S. Concrete Inc., for the manufacturing. The fences are poured and cured at the San Diego plant and then delivered to the job site, costing at least $70 per linear foot, which is competitive with concrete poured on site.

Just over a year ago, Lewis knew next to nothing about the industry. The 47-year-old executive had spent nearly a decade with MBNA America Bank before leaving in 2000 as senior executive vice president and head of western U.S. operations.

After several years flipping properties in the local real estate market, Lewis heard of Artisan through a friend. He had no plans to buy any company and no direct experience in manufacturing, but he liked the product.

"It's perfect for California," he said, noting the walls can be built more than 20 feet tall and withstand fires, earthquakes and winds of up to 140 miles per hour.

So in October of last year, Lewis--armed with financial knowledge, marketing savvy and other business skills he learned at MBNA, along with "maybe a little bit of foolishness"--invested about $1 million in the company.

(The company's previous owner could not be reached for comment. Lewis said the previous management team tried to grow too fast and did not have a firm grasp of its cash needs.)

Lewis quickly discovered that while he thought the product was superior, many prospective customers associated precast concrete walls with drab freeway panels and other commercial settings.

"Overcoming people's perceptions about precast is a struggle," Lewis acknowledged.

As a result, one of his first tasks was to develop new molds for the fences to improve the company's designs. And to open new revenue streams, the company has since started selling those molds to other fence makers.

Lewis also beefed up accounting, requiring that the company keep complete records of finances, business deals and virtually everything else that is measurable. Otherwise, he said, "it doesn't get paid attention to."

Christopher Miller, a company veteran and senior vice president of sales and marketing, said despite the new demands, morale has increased along with the bottom line, as employees focus on ensuring every order is properly filled.

"We really provide a service to our customers now," said Miller. "It's been a fantastic office atmosphere."

Lewis also has worked to improve the relationship with U.S. Concrete Precast Group. That relationship had nearly dissolved by the time Lewis took over.

"I think he's led his team to great things that they didn't know they could accomplish," said Todd Ebbert, general manager of U.S. Concrete Precast, which has worked with Artisan since July 2006.

By RICHARD CLOUGH 

Staff Reporter