In a region where military readiness is increasingly critical, surviving as a Department of Defense contractor on Guam requires navigating challenges that many companies fail to overcome. CMS Corporation, which recently secured a $4.6 million contract to repair fuel facilities at Andersen Air Force Base, has maintained operations on the island for 15 years - a testament to its strategic approach in an environment where many contractors "come in and go fairly quick."
The Ohio-based company's latest project, awarded under the Air Force Worldwide Engineering and Construction contract, includes critical repairs to 13 fuel facilities, such as hydrant pump houses, standby generator buildings and bulk storage filtration buildings, according to a recent company release.
The Guam Daily Post reached out to Ernest Enrique, chairman and CEO of CMS Corporation, who spoke about the essential components for maintaining military readiness in a region facing rising geopolitical tensions.
"The fuels needs for the readiness of the military is critical to accomplishing that mission," Enrique said.
Challenges
While many contractors are drawn to Guam's military construction opportunities, CMS has distinguished itself by establishing a sustainable presence despite the island's remote location and limited resources.
"The biggest challenge when we first started in Guam was identifying the available capacity from local subcontractors or those willing to work on the island who were used to remote locations," Enrique said. "So mostly everything that we built in Guam comes from the outside."
This remoteness presents logistical hurdles that many contractors underestimate. According to Enrique, companies often fail to recognize "the investment they need to make in order to position themselves for a long-term sustainable presence."
For CMS, success has come through methodically building a reliable workforce and network of subcontractors over time. "Having a reliable, consistent workforce is something we have built through the years," Enrique said. "At this point, we benefit from the experience gained in overcoming challenges."
Unlike some contractors struggling with labor shortages amid Guam's construction boom, CMS has developed a different model. "We have a small in-house team that handles electrical work in Guam. For other trades, we subcontract from the reliable workforce we've built over the years," Enrique said.
Resiliency
Operating on Guam also means confronting environmental challenges that can threaten military infrastructure and construction projects. The island's susceptibility to typhoons requires contractors to implement specific design and construction standards.
"When we're doing a design-build contract, the requirements for wind loads and structural loads are designed to sustain the force of storms," Enrique said. "Having been on the island for so many years, we've experienced several of these events."
The company's experience with typhoons has shaped its approach to temporary and permanent structures. Enrique noted that during the most recent typhoon, damage was primarily limited to "our temporary facilities at the job sites, structured trailers and equipment," while permanent office facilities sustained minimal impact.
Strategic importance
The $4.6 million fuel facility repair project comes amid increasing military construction activity in the Pacific, aligned with the Department of Defense's Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), Enrique said.
"There is a... Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and that is taking a lot of funding from the Department of Defense into strategic locations for the buildup," he said. "We're seeing opportunities in Japan, the Philippines - where we're currently working - Wake Island, Guam and some remote islands that once had a military presence."
CMS Corporation's work on Guam represents a significant portion of its overall operations. Since 2010, the company has completed $227 million in projects on the island, including $117 million in fuel-related work. Guam now represents the "third-largest concentration of work within our company of active projects," Enrique said.
With approximately 20 to 25 full-time employees on Guam, CMS has established itself as a local contractor with the backing of a larger organization. "We are a local contractor," Enrique emphasized. "We're a registered Guam contractor, and we have been in Guam since 2010."
Sustainability
As military construction activity increases throughout the Pacific, CMS Corporation is taking a measured approach to growth that has allowed it to succeed where others have failed.
"Our strategy is to pick and choose the projects we can deliver throughout the Pacific with the resources we have," Enrique said. "And then don't go crazy taking on too much work and struggle to deliver. That's not our model."
This approach has positioned CMS well for future opportunities. The company currently holds a $600 million Guam small business design-build Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC) awarded in 2024, which extends through 2032.
With the growing strategic importance of Guam and other Pacific locations, contractors who can navigate the unique challenges of working in these environments will play an increasingly critical role in supporting military readiness and infrastructure development throughout the region.