Strong Teams Create Smart Solutions
Moon Construction: a leader in ingenuity for 45 years
It’s safe to say that many students dread the annual school science fair. But Cliff Moon thrived on the challenge. Instead of a homemade battery or volcano, as a high schooler he built a two-person submarine.
It should come as no surprise that he studied oceanography as an undergraduate in Seattle. On the weekends, he helped people with their home renovation projects, which nurtured Cliff’s love of building. While at graduate school for civil engineering, he started Moon Construction Co. The company celebrates its 45th anniversary this year.
“Every problem has a solution, of course,” says Cliff, President of Moon Construction. “However, what sets us apart is that we like to take on the projects that others don’t. Whether we need to be more innovative or take a new approach, we like to put in the time and effort to get it done. For instance, I remember bidding on a really difficult project to build a walkway at a sewage treatment plant. The request went out to 90+ contractors and we were the only ones that responded. We like that kind of stuff.”
Many years ago, Seattle’s legendary Post Hotel was being converted into luxury condominiums. However, when it came time to get a permit for final occupancy, the city of Seattle wouldn’t grant it because the revitalized structure was not earthquake-proof.
The developer called on Cliff for a solution, as the developer had previously worked with Cliff on other projects.
Moon Construction put a work platform on top of the building’s elevator, then took apart the inside of the elevator shaft and upgraded it to withstand a quake. The elevator shaft became the center of seismic connections for the building, providing the upgrade needed to secure the permit.
Solutions like these are the ones clients have counted on for years from the employee-owned company.
“I do my best to set the tone that we all need to think creatively to help our clients,” Cliff says.
After the success on the Post Hotel renovation project, he partnered with the same developer on a project in 1980. If you ask Cliff about the projects he’s proudest to have led, this one ranks high up on the list.
The challenge was to construct a warehouse park that would be located right next to a residential neighborhood. Specifically, the team needed to create a sound barrier to protect the nearby homeowners from the noise of the warehouses.
“We made several cost-effective suggestions, like using bales of hay or other kinds of vegetation. However, the client wanted something more permanent,” Cliff recalls.
His team collaborated on a creative solution, just like they had with other projects. Cliff’s inspiration for the design came from steel I-beams.
“We fabricated concrete panels that keyed into each other,” he says. Problem solved!
Three years later, in 1983, the American Concrete Institute called Moon Construction and asked Cliff if he had a patent on the design. The institute was quite impressed, and asked to use the design for other projects.
To this day, you’ll see interlocking concrete panels nationwide, thanks to the innovation that Cliff brought to a simple sound-proofing project.
Another standout project for Moon Construction involved the relocation of the historic customs building at the Sumas-Huntingdon Border Crossing, located on the Washington state and Canadian border. In preparation for a new customs building, Moon Construction moved the original structure 600 feet across the Canadian border, then turned it around and pulled it back into the U.S. using 18 hydraulic jacks and 128 wheels during a season of record rainfall, says Cliff. Even still, the building landed on its current foundation within 1.5 inches of its desired location without a single brick, wall or window cracked or broken during the move. “It was a bit of a fanfare, particularly crossing the border, but we did it,” recalls Cliff. The building weighed more than 1,000 tons.
Building an Excellent Company Culture
Cliff’s leadership extends to his team—and also across the world. He spends time teaching business and entrepreneurship skills overseas, with recent trips to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and India. While he’s sharing his knowledge with teachers and students, the team back in Seattle still has a company to run, projects to complete and clients to take care of.
“The team makes decisions while I’m gone,” Cliff says, “and we talk about them when I return. Sometimes I make suggestions for future decisions, but I never reprimand.”
Creativity is encouraged, ideas welcomed, solutions implemented. “Why not” or “let’s try it” are often his responses to critical and out-of-the-box thinking.
That type of confidence in his team inspires a lot of loyalty. In fact, he has five employee-owners who have been with the company for more than three decades.
For him, employee-ownership and investment in the company is key, which is why he rewards employees who choose to commit their careers to the company. After employees dedicate five years to Moon Construction, they earn a 1 percent stake in the business. While some team members have a 1 or 2 percent stake, Cliff is proud that one employee has a 9 percent and another has a 10 percent stake. Cliff sells ownership in the company to employees who decide to buy more.
Cliff explains, “It takes about 10,000 hours to earn that first stake. Once you’ve spent that much time with us, worked on many projects and created all those solutions for our clients, we truly have the cream of the crop.”
The Rewards of Hard Work
Cliff knows that his top-notch team makes all this success possible for the company and its clients.
“Our team helps clients turn operational,” he proudly explains. “They have the knowledge and skills to solve our clients’ problems and construct the finished product or install the elements they need to get their businesses up and running.” For Moon Construction, this is a point of satisfaction that is essential to each project, enabling the team to earn repeat business.
He counts Michael Romero at Shoreline Public Schools as one of many valued clients.
“Challenging projects seem to bring out the best in Cliff and his company,” Romero says. “I first worked with Cliff on a middle school renovation in 2014. The project had to bid twice and the completion date was delayed almost to the first day of school, but Cliff pulled out all the stops and worked graciously with the teachers, and everyone was able to start school on time.”
In the years since, Romero has partnered with Moon Construction on everything from site work to exterior renovations and repairs at the school district. The general contractor has handled footings, foundations, paving and utilities for installing portables.
“We’ve worked with Cliff on 20 projects or so,” Romero says. “Cliff and company did everything from interior renovations to managing the installation of portable classrooms. Most of our projects [at the school district] had very short schedules and hard deadlines, and Cliff made every deadline with good cheer.”
Romero explains how Cliff dealt with the first classroom conversion project they collaborated on.
“Moon Construction accommodated the needs of teachers moving into their classrooms before the first day of school, worked with the permitting agencies to get staged occupancy on time, and completed a very nicely put together, high-quality project with a lot of technical challenges—all while acting like it was the easiest thing in the world,” he says.
Creating a Lasting Legacy
While Cliff’s name is at the forefront of his company’s corporate title, he is humbled to have the team around him that truly makes Moon Construction what it is: a leader in ingenuity, quality, hard work and character.
“Our goal is to help our clients achieve theirs,” he affirms. That is the bottom line for Moon Construction—one challenging project at a time.
As he looks to the future, he is proud to point out that the business is primed to become a multigenerational family operation. One of his sons and two of his grandsons have recently joined the team, which Cliff says is a “great legacy to build on.”