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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Discovery Green
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Volume 13
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Number 11
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NOVEMBER 2016
The legacy continues
Going, going …
L-R: Ken Taylor, Chris Taylor, Joe Watkins, Paul Taylor and Daniel Weber
Upcoming auctions are scheduled for Houston Nov. 9-10, El Paso Nov. 22, and Fort Worth Nov. 30-Dec. 1. itchie Bros. was established in 1958 belief that if you “Treat a customer like a by brothers Ken, Dave and John friend, he will be a customer for life.” Ritchie in Kelowna, BC, Canada. “Customer service is everything at The company expanded into the United Ritchie Bros.,” says Dolan Aucoin, sales States in the 1970s and today has opera- director. “We sell a service and rely upon tions in 19 countries, including 44 auc- repeat business, so a strong passion for tion sites worldwide. customer service is a major driving force Today, 22 of the Ritchie Bros. auction in helping us grow. When we hire emsites are located in the United States, in- ployees we are looking for people with cluding two in Texas in Houston and Fort that same passion for customer service. Worth. In 2015, Ritchie Bros. sold approxi- “We don’t have any patents, we mately $4.25 billion of equipment aren’t selling a product, our employees through 345 unreserved auctions and its are our secret sauce: they make us who online equipment marketplace Equip- we are. We live and die by the service mentOne. they provide our customers. Our employ The company prides itself on cus- ees are our most important assets. tomer service and quality employees, According to Aucoin, Ritchie Bros. is harking back to co-founder Dave Ritchie’s continued on Page 18
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ir Depot Air Conditioning has roots going back to 1977. Owner Kenneth Taylor purchased the company in 2004. According to Taylor, the company has grown from between eight percent to 12 percent every year since 2004. “We had a wet spring this year,” Taylor said. “It put a damper on the usual activity that happens in the spring. “I think another ongoing pull on our industry is the local economy in the Houston area has been down because of the oil industry. People are more frugal these days.” Air Depot Air Conditioning has operated at its current location at Cypress North Houston Rd. for six years.
Taylor says his favorite part about being a company owner is seeing the growth of the city and being able to meet and talk to the people who help make it happen. “My brother Paul was a very key individual at our organization and had a tremendous amount of experience,” Taylor said. “As he got older, he decided it was time to retire. Many of his duties were assumed by my son, Chris. Chris is the general manager now. These days I am trying to groom Chris to get him ready for my position which is not too far down the road.” Air Depot Air Conditioning has an annual Christmas party where employees continued on Page 18
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Good eats ahead
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ort Bend County residents can now dine at a new Mexican restaurant in Richmond. Suntech Building Systems Inc. completed the El Rancho Mexican Restaurant. The owner is Marciel Herrera. Jairo Romeo was the project manager, Tim Rogers was the project superintendent and the architect was Treadway Architects Inc. “This is a large building with high visibility from Highway 59 in a great location within a densely populated area,” Romeo said. According to Romeo, the primary exterior construction materials used for the 7,376sf new construction project were concrete, metal and steel structure, stone, brick and plaster. Interior materials included wood and stucco with ceramic and terracotta finishes.
“The major challenge we met and overcame was to complete the project within the original timeline even though there were more than 70 rain days that occurred during the project schedule,” Romeo said. He says the construction team had a strong working relationship with the owner through out the project. “Our core focus is retail chain customers,” he said. “We really like to get to know our clients and learn how best to serve them during the project and in the future.” Founded by Doug Larson in 1985, Suntech Building Systems is a general contractor headquartered in Houston and also has offices in New Braunfels and Dallas. The company’s core business is ground up retail, which includes restaurants, fuel and retail work. –ab El Rancho Mexican Restaurant