Duane Shimogawa
Reporter-Pacific Business News
April 14, 2015

The international project management and cost consulting firm Cumming Corp. has big plans for the Hawaii market, projecting growth of nearly 30 percent in contract value in 2015, and growing its workforce by nearly 40 percent by the middle of this year, its managing director in the state told PBN.

The San Diego-based firm, which has nearly 400 employees and 24 offices focusing on the education, health care and hospitality sectors, has been doing business in Hawaii for more than 13 years.

“Our first assignments in Hawaii were initially though our national hospitality clients, however since opening a full-time office in Honolulu in 2006, we’ve seen tremendous growth across numerous sectors due to successfully bringing projects in on-time and on-budget,”Andrew Tanton, managing director for Cumming’s Hawaii office, told PBN in an email. “Doing business in Hawaii can have its barriers to entry, but we have found that respect, hiring the industry’s leading experts and focusing on cultivating top-tier local talent is key to getting established and accepted in Hawaii’s close-knit business community.”

Currently, it has 18 employees in Hawaii working out of its Honolulu office at 1132 Bishop St., with plans to bring that total up to the mid-20s by mid-year.

Cumming also is projecting at least a 28 percent year-over-year growth for Hawaii this year, based on its pipeline/upcoming projects slated for 2015.

Companywide revenue for 2014 was $73.4 million.

In addition to health care, education and hospitality, it provides project management and construction cost consulting in other areas such as retail, transportation and the public sector.

Cumming recently has completed work on the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Honolulu and the Hyatt Kaanapali Beach Residence Club and Hyatt Regency & Spa Maui.

“We’re very optimistic about Hawaii’s construction outlook and plan to focus on what we do best, helping our clients execute their vision, which will help us to sustain our growth into the future,” Tanton said.

Cumming also has done work for Kaiser Permanente, Marriott International, Universal Studios, Facebook, Hilton Worldwide and Walt Disney Imagineering.