OCTOBER 25, 2021 – DEVELOPMENT: DIGITAL COMPANY PROSPERS IN PANDEMIC
COVID Driving Gafcon Division Growth — Gafcon Digital, a division of the Sorrento Valley property development firm Gafcon, has been on a growth spurt thanks to the COVID pandemic as construction companies, architects and real estate investment firms go digital. In the past three years, Gafcon Digital had 50 projects but has about that many so far this year alone, said John Turner, who heads Gafcon Digital as vice president of innovative solutions at Gafcon. “We’re growing at roughly 60% a year,” Turner said. “Three years ago, we had five people working in this area. Now we’re up to 30. If we could find people fast enough, we could add them to the team.” Turner said Gafcon Digital is prohibited by non-disclosure agreements from revealing the names of its clients.
Risk Averse
Prior to COVID, getting people to go digital was slow. Construction is “a very conservative industry,” Turner said. “It’s been difficult to change the industry because people are very risk averse but COVID has pushed them over the edge.” That’s also changing as younger people who are accustomed to working with the technology enter the industry. “They’re experienced gamers. They’re very comfortable in this virtual environment,” Turner said. “Now we’re doing the same thing at work.” Gafcon Digital helps companies connect the digital world to the real world so that architects and building owners, for example, can see how a building is being constructed or how it’s functioning without ever going on site. Read More
