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San Antonio Construction News • APRIL 2018
Terry Adams, P.E. President
Jay Rudd Vice President Rudd & Adams Masonry Inc. Boerne, TX
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t takes a team to run a company, but a friendship to start one. In 1993, Terry Adams and Jay Rudd established their company. Today as one of the premier commercial masonry contractors in the San Antonio and Austin areas they have built themselves on knowledge, respect and hard work. The spotlight has been on some of their projects (Trinity University: Northrup Hall, U.S. Federal Courthouse: Austin), but this time it’s on them. Meet Terry and Jay. Where were you born? Jay: I was born in Plainfield, NJ Terry: I was born in Lubbock, TX
When did you make your way to Texas? Jay: I moved to the Austin area in 1977. Terry: I moved to San Antonio about a week after I was born. My parents graduated from Texas Tech and moved down to San Antonio. Do you have any siblings? Jay: I have a sister in Houston and a deceased brother. Terry: I have one brother up in Austin. What was your childhood like? Jay: I spent most of my childhood outside. I like the outdoors and fishing. I remember spending every minute I could on the water. Terry: I grew up in Grey Forest most of my childhood. We lived near a creek and my brother and I spent a lot of time fishing. My mom had signed me up for piano lessons one time and instead I would just hop down to the creek and told her I was not going to the piano lesson. Can you tell us a little about your educational background?
Jay: I completed high school. Terry: I graduated from the University of Texas with a civil engineering degree. I also did some postgraduate studies within the construction management department at UT. Did your parents come from the construction industry? Jay: No, my parents were not involved in construction. Terry: My dad did work for a construction company for a while as a project manager. That’s when I was introduced to it. I just remember it was a lot of hard work. What was your first job? Jay: I was working for a moving company while attending high school. They allowed me to carry things and drive because I did have a driver’s license. Did you ever drop a box? I never dropped anyone’s items because you were always working for that tip. Terry: I was a painter’s helper working for Glenn Rogers, a painting contractor. I started at the age of 15. I would help him in the summers and did it for a couple of summers. After that, I was working in construction with my dad’s company. Are you married? Jay: Yes, my wife’s name is Loretta. Terry: Yes, my wife’s name is Sylvia. Do you have any children? Jay: We have one daughter, Jacklyn. Terry: We have four boys between 24 to 30 years of age. Three of them live in the San Antonio area and one lives in Chicago. What’s he doing in Chicago? Terry: He’s a doctor doing his radiology residency. Do you have any pets? Jay: We have three dogs. Their names are Tonka, Lola and Paloma. Paloma is our newest puppy. Terry: We don’t have any right now. What are some family activities you do? Jay: We mostly work around the house. We also enjoy traveling when we can. We recently just got back from a nice trip to Mexico City. Terry: We recently bought Enchanted Springs Ranch Event Venue in Boerne. We spend most of our time working there, that’s our getaway. What’s your favorite past time? Jay: What I would like to do if I had time (laughs) is go fishing. Do you look for a particular fish? I’m looking for anything that will bite (laughs). Terry: In the spring and summer we go to the lake and take the boat out. Nor-
Terry Adams and Jay Rudd
mally, we have our grandkids with us and do all sorts of water activities. Oh, and fishing. Same as Jay, I’m looking for anything that will bite (laughs).
Terry: I agree with Jay, that’s the biggest change. They had just come out with the fax machine when we started. Now nobody uses those anymore.
How did you two meet? Jay: Terry and I were longtime friends and teammates. We played for the Austin Huns Rugby Club. We hit it off since we were both involved in construction at the time. Terry: Right, so we were friends for a long time before we started the business. We had those rugby days and similar interests.
Have you noticed a change in the workforce? Terry: The workforce seems to have diminished, but the workload has increased. There is definitely a shortage of qualified workers out there.
What work were you doing at that time? Jay: At that time I was working as a masonry supervisor. Then when the time seemed right, we decided to go into the masonry business together. Terry: I had worked with general contractors and then I was working on the Alamodome project as a project manager for VIA. When that project was coming to an end is when Jay and I talked about doing something together. He agreed and our first job was a fireplace. What challenges did you face while starting Rudd & Adams Masonry? Terry: It’s like any new business money is the biggest problem. It was difficult to have enough to do what we needed to do. I’d say the hardest part of it was having the cash flow to make it work. What changes have you seen in the construction industry throughout your years of experience? Jay: The biggest change was transitioning to electronic information. We notice less and less paper and more emails and digital documents.
The company turns 25 this year, what’s next for the company? Terry: We want to continue to keep the company strong for our children. I have two of our sons working with us. Also, another son is finishing college and he’ll come work for us. It’s important for us to continue the business and train the younger generation how to do things. My oldest son Greg is a senior project manager. Another son Kevin is also a project manager. Jay: I want us to continue to be a strong company and provide a safe workplace for our employees. I’d like to see us go for 25 more years. Jay, your daughter has also taken part in the company, what is her role? Jay: Jacklyn is our operations manager and safety director. She spends a lot of her time in the field with our supervisors. Is there anything else you would like to share about the company? Terry: We would like to thank our employees. We have hard working and dedicated guys who work for us. A big part of our success is because of how hard those guys work. In addition, we work with a lot of great contractors and we are fortunate to have so many good team members. Jay: We are proud of our company and the work we’ve produced. We hope that there are plenty of masonry projects in Central Texas for years to come. The company will host events in the fall to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Rudd & Adams Masonry Inc. is a masonry contractor in Boerne. –lv