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San Antonio Construction News • July 2016
Reaching far and wide
Greater fish to catch
1st Place, Guided Division The Gibson Plumbing team has grown to be about 200 strong, including its subcontractor base. L-R: Juan Posada, RMP; Bret Bartley, GM; Barry Bankler, owner; and Ray Casanova, director of Residential Plumbing
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ontinuing to grow, Gibson Plumbing recently expanded to serving the Dallas area. This extends the company’s reach up the I-35 corridor as it has jobs going in both Austin and Dallas from its home in San Antonio. William C. Gibson started the company in 1954, doing plans at night and the work during the day, and then he started to build crews. In the 1980s, the business transitioned to his son, William A. “Billy” Gibson. In 2003, the Gibsons were preparing for retirement and sold the company to Barry Bankler, who has been the owner and president for the last 13 years. About six years ago, Gibson Plumbing expanded into multi-family construction. Noting that they currently have 23 multi-family apartment projects going, Bret Bartley, general manager, observes, “Multi-family will be the biggest portion of our business this year, revenue-wise, and that’s certainly high. It would be over 50 percent this year, and it
used to only be a third.” As business increases, Bartley emphasizes that finding skilled labor as the workload grows is, by far, the biggest issue the company faces. For this reason, he was a founding member and now serves as a director of the Texas Construction Careers Initiative (TCCI), a nonprofit organization that hosts the annual Construction Career Day for high school students at Freeman Expo Hall. A CPA by trade, Bartley worked for Sysco Foods for a little over 13 years, and during his tenure, he transitioned out of the accounting aspect and more into operations, becoming director of transportation. In 2004, he took an opportunity with Gibson as controller, eventually becoming CFO and then general manager. Gibson Plumbing is a full-service residential and commercial plumbing company, specializing mainly in the singlefamily residential and multi-family markets. –mh
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he Greater San Antonio Builders Association (GSABA) hosted its 2016 Saltwater Fishing Tournament Jun. 10-11 from the Port Aransas Civic Center. Along with the anglers, comprising a total of 40 teams, the event drew 200 people to the Friday night dinner at the civic center. –mh
Winners: Guided 1st: Greenhaven Landscape and Irrigation 2nd: JP Hart Lumber 3rd: Builders First Source Unguided 1st: Urban Concrete Contractors 2nd: GVTC 3rd: Bella Vista Homes
1st Place, Unguided Division
A new twist on the old game
Meet the new board
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he Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) Texas annual meeting was held Jun. 10 at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, and the new PHCC Texas board was elected and installed. –mh
The 2016 PHCC Texas Board of Directors L-R: Tony Dixon, Ferguson; Craig Lewis, R.E.C. Industries; Greg Bolin, Bolin Plumbing; Sam Dowdy, S&D Plumbing; Randy Hunter, R.E.C. Industries; Rick Shelton, Shelton Plumbing; Patrick Freund, Primo Plumbing; Dickie McCurdy, MMM Plumbing, Heating, A/C; Chris Sproles, Central Texas Plumbing Solutions; Jessica Burden, Milton Frank Plumbing; Stephen Cox, Cox Plumbing; Carter Ramzel, Benchmark Plumbing; Milton Frank, Milton Frank Plumbing Carter Ramzel, Benchmark Plumbing, received the PHCC Texas Contractor of the Year Award.
1st Place Team
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he Texas Air Conditioning Contractors Association (TACCA) Greater San Antonio Chapter hosted its 27th annual Golf Tournament Jun. 6 at the Club at Sonterra. This year, there was a twist on the tourney with awards given for 1st, 5th and 8th places. –mh Winners 1st: Beyer Mechanical – Barry Stevens, Jesse Delgado, Jamie Amoretti, Tim Megason
5th: Johnstone Supply – Mike Wallace, Alan Deering, Eric Rossnagel, Shannon Tippie 8th: Texas Air Products/Mitsubishi – Todd Buck, Clint Doege, Josh Bailey, William Witson Closest to the Pin: Nick Skeen, Goodman Longest Drive: John Valenzuela, Beyer Mechanical Longest Drive: Keith Bumpass, Robert Madden