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Thursday,
November 2, 2000
Contractors' expo offers chances for big moneyMore than a
billion dollars in construction contracts available
By Andrea Jares
Caller-Times
More
than a billion dollars worth of construction contracts are up for grabs
today at the Hispanic Contractors Association de Tejas Convention and
Exposition.
The fifth annual event begins today at the
Omni Marina Hotel in Corpus Christi. The total contract amount is the
largest ever to be for the statewide event.
"Our goal
was $500 million and we thought that was ambitious," said Rolando
Barrera, vice chair of the South Texas Chapter, which represents Nueces
County contractors.
The contracts come from companies
and government agencies that have construction plans and budgets in
place for the coming year. Any contractor is welcome to peruse the
contracts at the free exposition. More than 350 contractors have
registered to attend the conference.
With the exception
of contracts from the Texas Department of Transportation, all of the
contracts are up for bid. Among those taking bids are H.E. Butt Grocery
Co. and the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
The membership, which is composed mostly of small
business owners, is pushing this year to have construction projects
divided into smaller pieces so that more contractors can participate in
the process.
Projects such as the building of the
Alamodome in San Antonio have been successful examples of how smaller
businesses can take pieces of a project and construct it into a whole,
Barrera said.
"If you're helping small business, you're
helping all of Corpus Christi," he said.
Other issues
that will be discussed at the conference are construction law,
marketing, safety and loss control, employee benefits and technology.
The conference also is designed to take the mystery out
of applying for government contracts. While government contracts can be
intimidating, Barrera said, they can make a difference in the number of
options that are available to small businesses.
"We
want to advocate more outreach," he said.
Some local
contractors are looking outside of Corpus Christi to centers where
growth is exploding, Barrera said.
"If contractors want
to continue to grow, they have to move out of Corpus Christi," he said.
"It's a cold, hard fact. It's unfortunate, but it's true."
Speakers such as John Avila, chairman of the board of
one of the largest general contractors in the country, Thos S. Byrne
Inc., as well as the former chair of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce Massey Villarreal will also speak to the conference attendees
on Friday.
Business
writer Andrea Jares can be reached at 886-3678 or by e-mail at
jaresa@caller.com
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