Prior to Pentalon, Carl gained a comprehensive range of industry experience as a builder, contractor, project superintendent and manager. He maintains General Contractor Licenses in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington and Wyoming.

We recently sat down with Carl and talked to him about his life, the industry and what membership in ABC Utah means to him. The following are excerpts of our conversation. We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we did!

When and why did you decide to go into the construction industry?

Working in the construction industry was a default decision — it’s the way I put myself through college while supporting my family financially. In hindsight, it was a great default decision that I’ve really enjoyed. If I had to go back, I would pick this path again.

What prompted you to start Pentalon Construction in 1992?

I was working for a developer as a builder. The developer was winding down their development side, so I decided to go out on my own as a third-party builder. That was probably one of the better decisions I’ve made.

Where did the name of the company come from?

When I went out on my own, my previous employers asked if they could be my partners. There were five of us, and we decided that Pentalon was a fit. Pentalon is Latin for five turkeys — you can’t take yourself too seriously, and the name fits us well.

Your company has been creating and building for 40+ years; what do you think is the number one thing that has contributed to your company’s longevity?

Good people. Being able to surround myself with quality people is the key to success. We have been fortunate at Pentalon because we created a culture that attracts people that you want to be associated with. Additionally, I think people perpetuate that culture and then attract more quality people.

I have multiple people who have been with the company for over 20 years and 18 people who have been here for over 10 years, so we’ve got longevity in our favor as well.

When did you join ABC Utah, and what are the benefits of membership?

I joined ABC Utah in 1997. I remember feeling that I needed to get involved and be involved in the industry as a whole. You can be involved in a company and be isolated by only being involved in that company — I think that’s almost at the point of being self-centered. Or you can be involved in an industry — that is a much bigger picture.

Being a part of the bigger picture allows you to exert some control externally. Usually, we focus just on the internal controls we have in a company, but being part of an association, you can put some influence on the external controls. That’s a big factor in success. The ABC saying “Get into government or get out of business” applies to this — if you’re not speaking up, you’re not a part of the solution.

I’m a firm believer in getting to know your neighborhood. And when you talk about the longevity of a company, it’s getting involved in the construction neighborhood. Being in an association allows you to get to know your neighbors. Through my membership in ABC Utah, I’ve been able to become acquainted with a lot of our competitors, whom I’d also call friends and collaborators.

What is one thing that members/companies can do to get the most out of their membership?

Be involved. I see way too many people/companies who pay their dues and don’t participate. They typically last one or two years and say what’s the benefit of my dues? If you’re not involved, there is no benefit.

What is the biggest lesson you have learned in your profession and how did you learn it?

I’ve learned most of my lessons in life through the School of Hard Knocks. The biggest lesson I learned is that you have to empower people. I tried to do too much by myself in the beginning and recognized my limitations. I learned that we can be a better company by functioning as a company as opposed to a sole proprietorship. So, get people involved, empower people and let them put some creativity into their roles. This is one lesson that took me way too long to learn.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself earlier in your career?

I think one of the problems in the industry today is too many people are entering this field of work and want to be immediately involved in leadership and management roles. Although that’s admirable, we still need tradesmen, someone who has come up through the trades, learned skills on the job and has a well-rounded perspective. I’m not trying to discount the education portion of it, but part of that education is understanding what the field does.

If I were advising somebody, I would say, “Go learn the aspects of each job.” That’s a continuation of that education process. If you want to go out and do your own thing, that’s great, but get experience and a real-life perspective — something beyond just an academic perspective.

What career accomplishment are you proudest of?

The people are what I’m proudest of. I love who I get to work with, and the fact that I get to work with them is probably my biggest accomplishment.

Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on?

I would say my favorite project would be building Pentalon as a company and the people I get to work with.

What three pieces of advice would you pass on to someone new to the industry?

1. Educate yourself at every level, find perspective and work hard.
2. Love what you do because life is too short to spend time on a career you don’t love.
3. Dream of what you can do, don’t get stuck in the present, and always look forward.

Any last thoughts?

We are all pretty fortunate, no matter what circumstances we might find ourselves in — we are blessed that America is a great place to be and that construction is a great industry to be involved in. The rewards and satisfaction that can come from this line of work exceed most other career paths.