RO 50th Legacy Book

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS BUILDING TEXAS FOR 50 YEARS

1969

was a memorable year. Richard M. Nixon began his Presidency; the country remained

in the turbulence of the Vietnam War; the famous Woodstock Music Festival shocked the nation; the New York Mets won the World Series, the New York Jets won the Super Bowl and, in September, two trusted friends decided to venture into the commercial construction business for themselves. One, Steve Rogers, a Mechanical Engineer from Texas Tech University, was working in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Stran-Steel Corporation, makers of metal buildings. The other, Pat O’Brien, a Civil Engineer from Texas A&M University, was working in Texas for Texaco, supervising the construction of service stations. Steve said, “We saw what was being built and decided we could do it every bit as good as that and probably better.”

And so this company’s story began...

Both men were superior relationship builders. Clients liked and trusted both of them because of their small town friendliness and authenticity. They were also extremely competent. Steve knew how to sell and design; Pat knew how to build both by self-performing and subcontracting. The fact that both were degreed engineers gave significant credibility to their fledgling company. They originally named the company RogersO’Brien Construction Company and Engineers.

Their first job was for $11,000: a metal roof on a truck wash for Mobil Oil in Waskom Texas, the last town before you reach Louisiana on I-20. This was followed by a steady progression of small jobs because bonding capacity, the life blood of a general contractor, was difficult to obtain and very restricted for a startup company.

The business continued growing every year, which demanded increased space for employees. RO moved from the Skipping Street office to Ken Kemps Building in Carrollton for a few years, and then reached a key milestone in 1973, when it acquired the property at 11145 Morrison Lane, at that time just a gravel road.

They borrowed the money from a Houston Bank, where Steve’s stepfather Louis Ridgway, a Houston blueprint company owner, banked and had a strong relationship. They built their own metal building with room for the growing amount of people and equipment, but also as a place where they could showcase the types of metal buildings they could design and build. RogersO’Brien would house its headquarters at this address for 28 years.

1971- RO wins Stran-Steel Dealer of the Year

Texas Instruments gave Rogers-O’Brien a range of relatively small projects in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, ranging from a loading dock expansion, to an addition of an existing plant in McKinney. At that time, RO was the smallest contractor selected by TI, as a result of the head of TI’s construction initiative being convinced that he and Pat O’Brien shared the very same beliefs about how buildings should be built.

Becoming a contractor for TI was a difficult and demanding process, but one that gave that construction companies a badge of honor, a designation that carried weight in the marketplace.

On May 3, 1991, all 103 employees were invited to RO’s first annual Quality Achievement Day. It would later become known as Field Appreciation Day.

An exciting time for the continuously growing company, RO celebrated its 25th anniversary throughout 1995.

On September 1, 1995, Pat O’Brien bought the interests of Steve Rogers. At the same time that Steve left, Preston McAfee, Pat’s son, returned to the company, as Executive Vice-President. Preston shared with Pat the desire to continue building the company by continuous learning and the relentless pursuit of improvement in all areas.

In 2003, RO made a bold step with an expansion to Austin, Texas when the opportunity surfaced to acquire a proven building team who had worked for Faulkner Construction. Royce Faulkner was ready to retire, but he also wanted to find the right home for several of his longtime, loyal employees, so he reached out to Preston. With this acquisition, came many key RO personnel that are still with the company to this day.

Between 2009 and 2013, RO gained momentum with its highly visible projects in Austin and Dallas, a newly founded VDC department, its first tower crane, and the strategic hire of third generation, Justin McAfee.

In 2014, the company opened a Houston office.

Preston stated, “If we were going to be a real Texas contractor, we needed to be in Houston; it is another dynamic market.”

In 2016, RO updated its mission and vision, to include six core values.

After approximately 15 years of work in the San Antonio market, RO made it official with an office in The Alamo City. The office doors were opened in early 2019, adding to an already exciting year for the company. As part of RO’s local expansion, leadership is proud to announce San Antonio native, John Archer, as Director of the San Antonio office.

RO is looking forward to the next 50 years of building Texas, with third generation, Justin McAfee, stepping into the role of President and CEO.