MARTIN 8/7/08 3:29 PM Page 68
profile martin bros. / marcowall inc.
Catering to the Client
+ Complex commercial interior and exterior finishing
projects throughout the Los Angeles area keep Martin
Bros./Marcowall Inc. thriving. By Brooke Knudson
Martin Brother’s Marcowall
specializes in a number of
interior and exterior finish-
ing services.
> At Martin Bros./Marcowall – an
interior and exterior finishing contrac-
tor – success has been as much about
doing quality work for its clients as it
has been about having a savvy sense of
business in the competitive Los Angeles
market. Headquartered in Gardena,
Calif., Martin Bros./Marcowall has an
excellent reputation with many of the
top local general contractors, as well as
good standing with its banks, labor
unions, insurance companies and mate-
68 b&c southwest fall 2008
rial suppliers, Vice President Raffi
Ounanian says.
The company specializes in spray-on
fireproofing, gypsum wallboard instal-
lation, metal stud framing, sound and
thermal insulation, and interior and
exterior plaster finishes. The firm was
founded in 1932 as a family owned busi-
ness; it remained under family owner-
ship until six years ago when the compa-
ny was acquired by the current presi-
dent of the company. Since then, three
“We’ve always catered to the
client’s demands.”
> Raffi Ounanian, VP
Martin Bros. / Marcowall Inc.
www.martinbros-marcowall.com
Headquarters: Gardena, Calif.
Specialty: Interior and exterior finishing
Employees: 1,000+
more of its employees have been made
partners in the firm.
The company’s operating philosophy
has remained the same. “We’ve
always been a service-oriented com-
pany and our services have always
remained of the highest quality,” says
Ounanian, who joined the firm in
1996 after graduating from Loyola
Marymount University with a civil engi-
neering degree. “We’ve always catered
to the client’s demands and today we
continue to increase our services due to
market and client demands.”
With projects being more difficult
and more compressed for time, the
intensity of management and service
has increased over the years. A more
hands-on approach, both in the field
and the office, has been a must for proj-
ects being run by the firm in the
Southern California area.
Although its staff specializes in all
facets of interior and exterior finishing,
Ounanian says the company is essen-
tially has two divisions: core and shell
and tenant improvement.
“We do a lot of high-exposure proj-
ects in the greater Los Angeles area and
we do venture into the San Diego, Las
Vegas and Northern California areas to
do large projects,” he notes.
The key to a quality project, Ounanian
says, is an experienced work force.
Martin Bros./Marcowall employs a large
group of union workers while most of
the foreman have been with the compa-