JBI Electrical Systems

Have Job? They'll Travel

By Angelle Bergeron

While working for an electrical contractor in 1989, Jacky Martin decided to go into business for himself. "I figured if it didn't work out, I could always put the tools back on and go back to work," said Martin, owner of Fort Worth-based JBI Electrical Systems Inc.

With projected earnings of $21 million for 2004, it's not likely Martin will need to don his work belt anytime soon. "My philosophy was to grow, and the company has done a lot of that," he added.

By 1995, JBI had 40 employees. Today, the company has about 200 employees with additional offices in San Antonio and Dallas.

The company's focus has always been on commercial projects, both new and remodeling. "We started doing some remodeling for a supermarket chain and began traveling wherever they needed us to," Martin said. While working to satisfy that particular client, JBI kept on the move, acquiring more employees and capturing the attention of other supermarkets, retail chains and industrial distribution centers. "We were then able to open a communications division for the company that handles data as well as telephone, sound, security and paging systems," he said.

The entire experience taught Martin some valuable lessons in mobility and capability that have been instrumental in maintaining JBI's successful market niche.

"That's the one thing that we've done through the years that the majority of contractors don't do - traveled a lot to meet our customers' needs," Martin said. "We are licensed and bonded to do business in 14 states. There aren't many electrical contracting companies that travel."

One reason for that may be the hassle involved in obtaining necessary licensing in each state, said Carter Hicks, vice president. Different states have unique criteria for licensing and continuing-education requirements.

For Martin, traveling was always a natural part of doing business.

By 1999, JBI was doing so much work in Dallas that Martin decided to open a branch there. "It made it much easier to operate in that market, which is becoming quite large," he said. "It's simply easier to hire and retain employees."

A San Antonio branch followed in 2001.

JBI has been a member of the Industrial Electrical Contractors since 1994. "We are continuing to put apprentices through their four-year program, which includes classroom time and on-the-job training," Martin said.

All job foremen periodically attend continuing education classes. JBI's on-staff safety director is OSHA certified and provides ongoing safety training, as well as CPR and first aid.

JBI received the Associated Builders and Contractors' Safety Training and Evaluation Process award for 2003 in recognition of the company's safety programs. The firm was also honored with the national IEC's Spark award for 2003.

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Martin insisted that professional credentials and awards are meaningless if personal ethics and pride don't factor into the equation. "As certain trends in the trade have changed to lower what we feel is an acceptable quality of work, we try to remain old school and take pride in what we do," he said.

As an example, Martin pointed to the use of metal-coated cable, which has begun to appear in a lot of retail work. "In some applications where the work will be seen, it looks messy," he added. "We try to use lead pipe that is appealing and square to the building to cover it up."

JBI is currently expanding its design-build capabilities in an effort to further satisfy customers' individual needs. "Design-build allows you to work much closer with your customers and owners," Martin said. "We have retail customers we've worked with for years. When they want to remodel buildings that were previously used for something completely different, they just tell us what they want."

JBI's work is about 50 percent public and 50 percent negotiated bid, Martin said

The company is currently working on a new high school for the Eagle Mountain Saginaw Independent School District near Forth Worth. "The project represents a $3 million electrical job for us," Martin said. The 104-acre site includes a sports complex, football stadium and performing arts center.

The company recently performed the electrical work for Fort Worth's pre-eminent theater, Casa Manana, and earned an award from the Austin division of the Associated General Contractors for the project.