Long, Winding Road to Success for Ardor’s Milo
Date Posted: February 29, 2016
Posted In: News, Organizations,
by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum STL
It hasn’t been a straight path, or an easy one, to ownership of a successful fire suppression contracting business. But Carlos Milo, owner of Ardor Fire Protection, is living proof that being in the right place, having the right mind set, and doing the right thing will take you far.
Today his firm, which he started in 2009, has a new office in Lemay. He is working alongside his former boss Paul Woodward, who owned Fire Sprinklers, Inc. for 16 years, before selling it in 2010. Today Woodward serves in dual roles of business development and project management.
Paul Woodward and Carlos Milo
Ardor was certified as an MBE/Veteran-owned business in 2011. Today, Rubelmann Hall at Washington University, floors 7 and 8 of BJC’s South Tower in the Campus Renewal Project, and the million-square-foot Pillar warehouse that Schnucks is building in North Park are among the projects currently on Ardor’s list.
But far more important than any designation or project is the long and distinguished record that leads up to today’s success.
“Like most MBE firms we started out coming from the field. We experienced the shock of insurance, bonding, financing, having (sufficient) capital. Though networking opportunities have presented themselves to do bigger projects.”
In addition to Woodward’s 30 years of experience in the industry, Milo has been mentored by industry veteran Dave Behlman, who is currently corporate services manager with The UP Companies. “(Behlman) has donated his time,” Milo said.
Through the Ranks
An Air Force brat who served in the Army, Milo grew up “mostly in California.” After he mustered out he wound up at McDonnell Douglas, where he eventually became a material handler.
One day he was moving material near where Charlie Mueller, a foreman for Gateway Fire Protection Systems, was repairing an underground line break in the building. “We just chatted and he said, ‘I’m not trying to be funny, but we could use African Americans in our union,'” Milo recalled.
Fortuitous Layoff
When the development of the A-12 Avenger attack plane program, which was troubled by cost overruns and several delays, was canceled in 1991, Milo was part of a mass layoff at McDonnell Douglas. Remembering what Mueller had told him, Milo took advantage of a worker retraining program and completed the plumber/pipefitter program at Ranken Technical College.
Before he could try out his new skills after graduating, he was offered a job at the Burlington Northern Railroad yard in Shrewsbury. There he worked in maintenance and as a conductor switchman. When the railroad told him that they wanted him to move to South Dakota to run coal trains, Milo decided it was time to put his plumbing/pipefitter training to work.
He joined Sprinkler Fitters Local 268 as an apprentice. After completing the five-year program he worked for various contractors as a foreman running work. When things slowed in the recession of 2008, he decided to try his hand as a business manager.
Today his company — with Milo and Woodward in the office and 26-year veteran superintendent Otis Frazier III leading a core team of eight sprinkler fitters in field — handles everything in the fire suppression arena, from new construction through inspections.
Proactive Approach
One of Milo’s great frustrations — one faced by both MBE and majority contracting firms — is the inability or lack of will by the financial community to accept contracts in hand as collateral for lines of credit.
But Milo hasn’t come this far down the road by waiting on others to come up with solutions. He is actively involved in the industry. He serves on the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers Diversity Committee. He participated in the SBA Emerging Leaders Program in 2014.
“Every region has its ups and downs,” Milo said. “There are some people here that do want to see change.”