Interstates’ Lubbock, TX, Regional Office opened in September 2018 and has already grown to 15 employees. After hiring a great local team for projects in Littlefield, TX, and Clovis, NM, Lubbock was chosen as a strategic location for expanding Interstates’ business across several industries.
Serving West Texas through the Panhandle
With a population of around 296,000, Lubbock is a crossroads of culture in West Texas that features a thriving arts and culture scene as well as Texas Tech University. Lubbock is also a crossroads of industries, making it a smart pick for Interstates. “We had looked at this region for a long time,” says Doug Brunsting, Vice President of Regional Offices at Interstates. “Lubbock is at the center point of our traditional agriculture and food & beverage clients north into the Panhandle and Oil & Gas clients south into the Permian Basin. We cover a larger geographic footprint than most other offices due to how our clients are spread out,” he says.
Recent Projects
Kade Colley is Operations Manager at Interstates’ Lubbock office. He says the regional office’s third year has been “exceptionally good” as more and more projects are lined up. “We have established a good consistency in our staff, both from an office side and a craft personnel side. This has led to more opportunities and more clients. We are busy with single-day service calls all the way up to projects in the $1-2M range,” he says.
The Lubbock office recently completed a large project at a pet food facility, adding an automated canning and palletizing line. “That was a big project for us that included a 9-day shutdown and required all hands on deck,” says Colley.
Growing Steady in Lubbock
While there are always challenges with opening a new office, the Lubbock location was lucky to start with a strong base of local talent. “We’ve recruited some strong people from the area, so we had a good starting point for having a craft workforce. We also had some key team members from within Interstates who transferred to this office,” says Brunsting.
As the Texas regional office continues to grow, Interstates’ company-wide values shine through. According to Kevin Pulido, Foreman at Interstates, “We have a very talented group of employees, and one unique thing is how clients are quick to point out how much safety we bring to the site. Not many companies drive safety the way Interstates does, and I’m very glad to be a part of this new location.”
Colley’s pride in his team is evident. “From the office personnel to the field leadership all the way down to our younger apprentices, we’ve built a fantastic team down here. They’ve been resilient and loyal through the growing pains of a startup office and the COVID-19 pandemic, and I truly feel we have the right team in place,” he says.