Ashley and Adam Collins are sons of builders.
Their father J.D. Collins began building homes in Jacksonville back in the 1970s. Collins likes to tell people he became a son of a builder the hard way. He brought his dad into the business in 1978. The elder Collins built homes for more than 20 years, specializing in high-end homes in Deerwood and Sawgrass.
J.D., who served as president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association in 1990, is strictly a developer these days and Ashley and Adam continue the building tradition with Collins Builders.
Ashley is the CEO, Adam is project manager and Wayland Wiseman is the chief operating officer. Other members of the Collins Builders team include Joe Wiseman, project manager; Paul Lippens, sales manager; Florence Lippens, on-site sales agent; and Mark Knowles, financial officer.
Even though J.D. was a highly successful builder, he did not try to talk his sons into becoming builders. In fact, at one time he was quoted as saying he wouldn’t want his boys to be builders.
“Dad realized the headaches of building can be rough, and he didn’t try to influence us one way or the other,” Ashley said.
Ashley did follow in his father’s footsteps - and his mother’s - when it came time to choose a college. Stetson University in DeLand is another family tradition.
“I was always some what interested in building,” Ashley said. “But I had in my mind that I wanted to work for the Secret Service. Then, I met the girl I wanted to marry and knew that I needed to choose a different occupation.”
Ashley said he watched how hard his dad worked to provide people with a home.
“He made people happy,” Ashley said. “And, I like working with my hands. I like producing something tangible, something that lasts.”
After graduating from college, Ashley went to work at Trademark Homes as an assistant project manager. The company was purchased by KB Home about two years after Ashley began working there, and he was promoted to project manager. He supervised the completion of 100 homes. Ashley met Wayland Wiseman while at Trademark and discovered they share shared similar characteristics.
Ashley then went to work at SEDA Construction Company.
“Working for Sandy Semanik was a great opportunity, too,” Ashley said. “I received training in online systems and budgeting.”
Ashley worked his way up to budgeting manager at SEDA.
Then in 2003, Ashley and Wayland decided to pool their talents and capitalize on their similarities. They began drawing house plans and formed a company.
“We’ve been in business just over a year now,” Ashley said. “In 2003, we closed one house. We expect to close about 50
in 2004, and we’ll double
that in 2005. I’m extremely proud of what our team
has accomplished in one
year’s time.”
Brother Adam, a 2002 graduate of Flagler College in St. Augustine, joined the company as project manager. Adam
completed homes in final phase of Plum Tree and currently oversees the construction of the Collins Builders model home in Old Plank Plantation. Adam is moving up through the ranks as he gets training, Ashley said.
Collins Builders is busy in Derris Creek and Livingston Estates in Mandarin and Plum Tree, Old Plank Plantation and the Trails at Bent Creek on the Westside. Next year, the company will be in two more Mandarin communities and a large development off Pulaski Road on the Northside.
“Neither Adam or I knew exactly what we wanted to do,” Ashley said, “but, we have all fit in. We treat our buyers and subs the way we would want to be treated. The quality of the homes we build reflects our philosophy.”
Ashley says technology is another factor in the young company’s success.
“We’re about 90 percent Internet based,” he said. “All our systems are online. Our scheduling programs follow the process from contract to closing. Everything is posted
to a template on the Internet and the subcontractors and staff can follow it every step of the way.”
Ashley said the company
is more advanced in this respect than most builders.
“Even home buyers can go online and check progress online on a real-time schedule,” he said. “The information is protected and requires a password to log on.”
An advantage of this type system is that homebuyers
are not left out of the process.
“When home buyers can see the progress of their homes online, they can see exactly what is happening, what is going to happen and what has been completed,” Ashley said. “Simply put, we want our
buyers to be well informed
on the progress of their future homes.”