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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper See Page 25
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www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 19 H Number 10 H OCTOBER 2017
Painting relationships
Standing by our word
Father and son, Gerry and Jay Elizalde of Santex Painting and Drywall Inc. are ready for another 40 years.
L-R: Paula Frost, CEO and Steve Frost, founder and operations manager of Frost Geosciences.
aised in a construction family and being around construction his entire life, it was only natural that Gerry Elizalde, president of Santex Painting and Drywall Inc. would pursue a career in construction. “Right after high school I went to San Antonio College for a few years. But life happens and I had a new family to support. I had no choice but to quit and it was a natural decision to go back into construction. I had a few odd jobs here and there but I couldn’t make ends meet,” says Elizalde. He knew he did not want to be a mason like his father, but wasn’t sure which direction to go. His brother was a painting contractor at the time so he decided to give it a try. As it turned out, it was the right fit for him.
In 1977, 40 short years ago, Santex Painting and Drywall Inc.. was established. “We started out of nothing, just hard work and dedication. In the beginning, it was a couple of guys and myself. We were painting for custom home builders and eventually for bigger home builders, all the while working out of my house. We did that for about two years until the neighbors started complaining because all my workers were parking in front of their houses. That’s when I decided to buy this place.” Elizalde says it was difficult getting started. “When you’re new, you don’t have the opportunities you have when you’re established because you don’t have the reputation. You don’t have the ability to open accounts at supply stores because you have no continued on Page 20
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ifteen years ago, Frost Geosciences opened its doors in San Antonio. Since then, the company has been progressively growing. During 2008 through 2010, the company, as did many, experienced a slowdown in business. While trying to figure out how to get through the economic slowdown and survive it, Steve Frost, founder and operations manager, says “We learned how to lean up. We made a special effort with the employees and they made a special effort back. That solidified the relationship between the company and the employees that I couldn’t have asked for and we’ve been sailing forward since. We got through that period and built a really unique sense of trust and relationship that we have with each other.
I can honestly tell you that I have never worked with better people in my life anywhere or in anything that I’ve ever done. I love working with these people. “Our philosophy is simple. We just want to do what is right and be the best. It doesn’t always mean we will be the most profitable, and it doesn’t always mean we are the best or that it was the best business decision, but at the end of the day, we all agree it’s the right decision. We try to give recommendations as if it was our property and we were spending our own money. I always tell people, all the simple properties have already been developed. Everything that is left has little ‘willeyboogers’ in them, which means sometimes we have to give bad news.” continued on Page 20
A fast-track success
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he Compass Rose Academy is a new open enrollment, tuition-free, 6-12 grade public charter school in San Antonio located in the Brooks community on Outer Circle Road. The academy opened its doors for the fall school year, August 2017. What was to be a 90-day renovation project became a 30-day fast-track project. Robinson General Contractors (RGC) began the renovation on July 1, 2017 and was successfully completed on July 31, 2017. “We met the deadline and customer’s expectations,” says Vice President Kurt D. Robinson, Robinson General Contractors. He is a seasoned engineering and project manager with 15 years of experience in the commercial construction industry on behalf of both military and civilian contracts. In 2010 when Kurt Robinson founded RGC alongside Yvette Garcia-Robinson, his wife and president of the company,
the pair sought to bring quality and care back to the commercial remodeling business. Yvette has expanded RGC beyond San Antonio completing several groundup projects in commercial and federal markets. She has gained six certifications with SCTRCA (WBE, DBE, MBE, ESBE, HABE, SBE) as well as certification with the State of Texas as a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) and has also obtained SBA 8(a) certification. This project consisted of a renovation on a fast-track time line, converting an existing building into a useable school in 30 days which required all new floors, paint, walls, electrical, lights, safety and accessibility upgrades, plus metal stud framing, drywall, VCT, carpeting, solid wood doors in HM frames, new lighting packaging and controls. Compass Rose Academy
continued on Page 20