We are excited to announce that Toki & Associates has expanded its operation.  We now have a branch offices in Green Bay and Madison, Wisconsin.  We will still provide our same high quality services you know and respect.

Toki & Associates, Inc. lands FAA work

The Federal Aviation Administration recently selected Toki & Associates, Inc., a Milwaukee-based, minority-owned architecture and engineering firm, to assist in rejuvenating the agency's facilities.

Toki & Associates, Inc. is one of four firms that will be involved in FAA construction and renovation projects throughout the region during the next four years. The selection process began in July of 2002, when firm officials became aware of FAA's request for proposals.

Not willing to let the opportunity slip away, Funck began to work the phones, tapping into some of the relationships he has built during his three decades in the industry. He finally got the ear of a close friend, a senior vice president at Gensler, a world-renowned architectural firm based in San Francisco.

"I told him of the situation and asked him if they would like to come in as a mentor," he said. "They agreed to lend their credibility to us and mentor us through the project."

FAA approached

Toki and Gensler forged a relationship during the summer of 2003 when the FAA approached them. In order to be selected, firms had to demonstrate that they met the strict qualifications outlined by the FAA. These qualifications included the ability to build 60- to 400-foot aviation control towers, construct administration buildings at airports and renovate existing structures.

"To submit qualifications, you had to have done this kind of work," Funck said. "Toki has never done this kind of work, but Gensler has done this all over the world."

"Because of Gensler's capabilities, Toki was accepted."

Founded in 1987 by Theo Iyasele and his partner Olaitan Olapo, the firm employs 25 professional engineers.

"During the interview, they asked Theo Iyasele, our CEO, if he could handle a $28 million job, and boy, he nearly went through the ceiling," Funck said. "But, of course, Gensler piped right in and said it was a small job for them."

The FAA, which announced the four firms at the beginning of January, has a priority list of construction projects in the eight-state Great Lakes region, but the agency will not disclose any specifics until it has expected funding.

"I was told, but this is not official, they are hoping to have funding for these projects very shortly," Funck said. "As soon as they do, we will probably be getting a project very quickly."

"If a project needs a specialty that we don't have in-house, we will have to subcontract that out," Iyasele said.

Partnerships matter

Iyasele said the key to the firm's success has been partnerships such as the one formed with Gensler.

"We have to partner, because we are too small to do the big jobs," he said. "The big boys do it, why can't the little boys do it also?"

Although the FAA recognition is a major undertaking for the Toki & Associates, Inc., it is not the first time the firm has been involved in high-profile projects. The firm was instrumental in building Miller Park, providing construction and administration services for the $400 million project. Toki and Associates also had a hand in the $124 million Midwest Express Center, providing administration and inspection services.

"Milwaukee is a tough city to work in -- tough since we have a lot of good architecture and engineering firms and the competition is fierce, especially for minority firms," Iyasele said.

The firm has been able to compete by staying small and agile. This has allowed Iyasele and Olapo to oversee all projects, ensuring quality.

"As a head of a small firm, I call myself a working CEO," Iyasele said. "That means I stick my nose into almost everything. I trust everyone we have, but by having a small crew, we make sure the product the client gets is of the best quality."

Selective bidding

In addition to forming partnerships and hands-on participation from its principals, the firm's overall success formula depends greatly on seeking projects that it has a seventy-five percent chance in acquiring.

"We (can't) go after work in which we are out-manned and outgunned," Iyasele said. "We don't go after every job that comes our way because it is expensive to put a proposal and a good team together."

Iyasele, Funck and Olapo, as well as many of the firm's engineers, have spent their professional lives in Milwaukee. Iyasele received a master's degree in construction management from Marquette University. Olapo and Iyasele received undergraduate degrees from the Milwaukee School of Engineering while Funck is a Notre Dame product.

"We are probably one of the minority firms that has been here the longest," Iyasele said. "We keep reinventing ourselves and finding new ways to do business. One of the worst things you can do as a minority firm is not to grow."

Toki & Associates does not rely on its minority status to obtain projects. Rather, Iyasele and Olapo rely on the firm's abilities and experience.

"Toki & Associates does not want to be known as a minority firm," Funck said. "It wants to be known as an excellent architectural and engineering firm."