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Volume 18
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Number 10
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OCTOBER 2016
FARR into the future
Rast celebrates 40 years
L-R: Adrian Garcia and his father, Felix Garcia, started a family legacy in the construction industry that is welcoming the third generation to the table.
L-R: Patick McShane, Glenn Boggs, Betty Boggs, Margaret Wagner and Stephanie McShane are excited about their new facility.
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ollowing in the footsteps of his father, Adrian Garcia established a family business, FARR Builders, for his generation and those to come, and the next generation is already bringing value to the company. Adrian’s credits his father, the late Felix M. Garcia, FMG Contracting, with being its patriarch founder. When his dad suffered a stroke about 18 years ago, Adrian and his brothers, Rene and Roland, kept the company going and branched out. FARR, which spells out their initials, began as a concrete contractor but evolved into doing residential construction. Adrian notes that Roland has always told the third generation that if they are
going to join FARR Builders, they needed to bring something to the table. Adrian says that no one walks in and gets a job just because they are family. They have to bring an education and help to improve the business. The third generation has come in and is having a positive impact. When Adrian’s son, Daniel, graduated from Texas State University with a degree in construction technology and project management, he joined FARR in 2008 and got the company 8(a) certified and doing military work. In 2012, Adrian’s son, Steven, joined FARR and got the company into doing land development. Steven continued on Page 24
W
hen Glenn Boggs purchased Rast Iron Works, San Antonio, in 1976, he had a list of goals he wanted to accomplish before he retired. Forty years, four buildings, a recession and plenty of stories later, Boggs’ bucket list is about complete with just owning a bigger ranch left on the extensive list. Rast is currently finishing up building its new location at 6430 Railway in San Antonio, complete with a 55,000-sf steel fabricating shop. “We had a building on I-10 but we couldn’t expand any more,” Boggs said. “For us to grow, we had to expand and grow to this new facility. We had to be more efficient. The equipment that we
purchased – several million dollars worth – is going into this facility to make us more competitive.” Rast celebrated its 40-year anniversary in March, something Boggs attributes to the company’s hands-on approach and personal touch when it comes to dealing with any problems. “Typically, it’s team work,” Boggs said. “Besides team work with your employees, it’s teamwork with your GCs. It just takes everyone working together as a team. You always have problems on a job, but it’s the way you handle it. “I learned a long time ago, if there is a problem, go to where the problem is and talk to them in person because it gets recontinued on Page 24
Installing cleanup measures on the river
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he San Antonio River Authority (SARA) needed a trash boom to collect trash that accumulated at a certain focal point on Zarzamora Creek. Having worked with SARA and the City of San Antonio (COSA) on previous projects, RCO Construction self-performed all of the work and completed the project in a few short months, wrapping up in June. “It’s well documented that after major rain events we have here in San Antonio, the stormwater runoff collects at many pockets of the river,” explains R.J. Delagarza, project manager. “So everything from environmental debris like logs, branches and marine algae, and even floating trash and plastics can accumulate in these areas. “This can create an uninhabitable environment for the marine life, and it also causes an expensive cleanup for the city. To combat the issue, we installed a heavyduty containment boom that spans
about 150 feet across Zarzamora Creek, and that’s anchored down by two 20foot concrete piers on either side of the riverbank.” Anything traveling down the river this way will get caught in this boom, and depending on the water level, a galvanized skirt, attached to the boom to help when the water rises, will lift up any trash that has accumulated at this point. In addition to the boom, RCO installed an access driveway to a floatable concrete pad. This will make it a lot easier for vehicles to come up and down for workers to pick up the trash. Though the owner of the site is SARA, the City of San Antonio performs the cleanup. RCO coordinated with both entities, both during construction and close out to show them how to clean and maintain the boom. The RCO Construction team, working with Elastec, completed a trash boom project that will help alleviate some of the issues SARA and the City of San Antonio have had with cleanup on one part of the San Antonio River.
continued on Page 24